You can now redeem Alaska miles on Royal Jordanian — but you might want to think twice
Quick summary
Alaska Airlines joined Oneworld last March, but despite this, Alaska's Mileage Plan members still cannot redeem their miles across the Oneworld alliance.
Over the last two months, Alaska has made progress, adding both Iberia and Royal Air Maroc to its list of redemption partners. Now, Alaska Mileage Plan members can also redeem miles on Royal Jordanian. However, as we recently saw with Royal Air Maroc, awards on Royal Jordanian aren't cheap.
This addition — which was first reported by AwardWallet — gives Mileage Plan members more award options on flights to the Middle East and Northern Africa. In the U.S., this includes flights from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) and New York-JFK to its hub in Amman (AMM), and Detroit (DTW) service is set to restart later this year.
Here's what you need to know about redeeming Alaska miles on Royal Jordanian flights.
Redeeming Alaska miles for Royal Jordanian flights
Every partner airline has its own set award redemption rates on Alaska's website. As alluded to, the award chart for Royal Jordanian isn't particularly impressive. Here's a look at one-way award pricing:
- North America to the Middle East: 42,500 miles in economy, 85,000 miles in business class
- North America to Africa: 50,000 miles in economy, 100,000 miles in business class
- North America to Europe: 60,000 miles in economy, 120,000 miles in business class
- The Middle East to the Middle East: 17,500 miles in economy, 35,000 miles in business class
- The Middle East to Africa: 20,000 miles in economy, 45,000 miles in business class
- The Middle East to Europe: 20,000 miles in economy, 45,000 miles in business class
- The Middle East to Asia: 30,000 miles in economy, 70,000 miles in business class
The Alaska Mileage Plan program prohibits mixing partner itineraries, so you cannot book a flight on Royal Jordanian that connects with another Oneworld partner unless it's with Alaska Airlines.
Fortunately, you can add a stopover in Royal Jordanian's hub, Amman (AMM), on long-haul itineraries between regions.
Although the taxes and fees on these awards are low and a free stopover is nice, overall, these rates aren't a good deal.
For example, American Airlines AAdvantage charges just 40,000 miles in economy and 70,000 in business class for a one-way Royal Jordanian ticket from the U.S. to Amman.
Likely, the best value of Alaska miles on Royal Jordanian flights is within the Middle East. A flight from Amman to Dubai (DXB) requires 17,500 miles in economy and 35,000 miles in business class. Still, you can book the same ticket with British Airways Executive Club for as few as 11,000 Avios in economy and 22,000 Avios in business class.
Related: The best way to get to Jordan using points and miles
Bottom line
Although Mileage Plan members have been able to earn miles on Royal Jordanian since Alaska entered the Oneworld alliance in early 2021, members can just now redeem on Royal Jordanian.
Unfortunately, award redemption rates did come in higher than we would have hoped. This is especially true when you consider the high value that we place on Alaska miles, and the fact that they are hard to earn compared to other airline loyalty programs.