You’re sitting on a mountain of Mileage Plan miles. Maybe you just hit your MVP Gold status, or perhaps that Bank of America credit card bonus finally hit your account. Now, your sister needs a flight to Seattle, or your best friend is short a few thousand miles for a dream trip to Japan on JAL. Naturally, you want to help. You think, "I'll just move them over." But wait. Before you click that shiny "Transfer" button on the Alaska Airlines website, you need to realize something. It's often a trap.
Honestly, knowing how to transfer Alaska miles to another person is less about the technical clicks and more about understanding the math. Most people dive in headfirst and realize too late they just spent a fortune to move "free" currency.
The Brutal Reality of the Transfer Fee
Let's talk numbers. Alaska Airlines uses a third-party platform called Points.com to handle these moves. They aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. If you want to move miles from your account to someone else's, it’s going to cost you $10 per every 1,000 miles. On top of that, there is a $25 per-transaction handling fee.
Think about that for a second.
If you want to send 10,000 miles to a friend, you’re paying $100 plus the $25 fee. That’s $125. For 10,000 miles. In many cases, you could almost buy those miles outright for a similar price during a sale, or better yet, just buy the flight ticket with cash. It’s expensive. It’s annoying. But if you're determined, it is possible. You just have to decide if the convenience outweighs the cost. Usually, it doesn't.
Limits You Need to Know
You can’t just dump a million miles into a stranger's lap. Alaska has guardrails. You can transfer up to 30,000 miles in a single transaction. Over a calendar year, a single account can receive a maximum of 100,000 miles. Same goes for sending. You're capped at 100,000 miles out. If you’re trying to fund a family’s worth of First Class seats on Cathay Pacific, this "transfer" method is going to hit a ceiling very quickly.
Also, your account has to be active. If you just opened an account five minutes ago, don’t expect to move miles instantly. There’s a vetting process. Security matters.
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Why You Should Probably Just Book the Flight Instead
Here is the pro tip that the "Transfer Miles" page won't tell you: You don't actually need to transfer miles to give someone a flight.
Seriously.
You can just log into your own account, search for a flight, and when it asks for the passenger information, put their name in. It’s totally legal. It’s allowed by the terms and conditions. Most importantly? It’s free. No $10 per 1,000 miles. No $25 handling fee. Just the standard taxes and fees (usually $5.60 for a domestic one-way).
This is the "secret" way of how to transfer Alaska miles to another person without actually transferring them. You retain control of the miles until the moment of booking. Your friend gets the ticket in their inbox. Everybody wins. The only downside is that the person traveling won't earn miles on that flight (because it's an award ticket), but they wouldn't have earned miles on a transferred award anyway.
When Booking for Someone Else Makes Sense
- When you have a massive surplus and they have zero.
- When you’re trying to avoid the 100k annual transfer limit.
- When you want to save that $125+ fee for a nice dinner at the destination.
The Shared Family Account Myth
People often ask about "pooling." Airlines like JetBlue or British Airways let you create a "Family Account" or "Household Account" where everyone's miles sit in one big bucket.
Alaska doesn't do this.
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They are a bit old-school. Every Mileage Plan member is an island. While they have incredible partners like Qatar Airways and Finnair, their internal accounting is rigid. If you want to combine miles from a spouse’s account and your account to get one big ticket, you are stuck with the transfer fees mentioned above. There is no "free" family pooling. It’s a bummer, I know.
How to Actually Execute the Transfer (The Technical Steps)
Okay, so you've done the math. You’ve decided that paying the fee is worth it. Maybe your friend is 2,000 miles short of a massive redemption and it’s cheaper to pay $45 ($20 for the miles + $25 fee) than to let the award space disappear.
- Head over to the Alaska Airlines website and log in.
- Navigate to the "Book" tab and look for "Buy and share miles."
- Select "Share Miles."
- You’ll be redirected to the Points.com portal.
- Enter the recipient's name and their Mileage Plan number. Get this right. A typo here is a nightmare to fix.
- Choose the amount.
- Enter your credit card info and hit "Send."
Usually, the miles show up almost instantly. Sometimes it takes 24 hours. If it takes longer than 72 hours, you’ve got a problem and need to call customer service. But generally, the system is snappy because, well, they're making money off you.
Points.com and the "Hidden" Tax
One thing people forget is that these transfers are processed by Points.com, which is based in Canada. Depending on your credit card, you might get hit with a Foreign Transaction Fee. It’s rare for major US travel cards nowadays, but if you’re using a basic debit card or an older rewards card, keep an eye out for an extra 3% charge on your statement.
Also, these transfers do not count as "Travel" for most credit card bonus categories. If you use a card that gives 3x points on travel, don't be surprised if this transaction only earns 1x. It’s categorized as a "service," not an airline ticket. Small detail, but if you're a points nerd, it matters.
What About Transferring From Credit Cards?
A lot of people confuse "transferring miles to another person" with "transferring points into Alaska."
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Currently, Alaska is not a transfer partner for Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, or Capital One. The only major flexible currency that moves into Alaska is Marriott Bonvoy.
If you have Marriott points, you can send them to your Alaska account or even someone else’s (though the names usually need to match for a smooth transfer). Marriott gives you a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. It’s a slow process, sometimes taking a week, so don’t do this if you’re trying to grab a seat that’s going to disappear in an hour.
The "Points Broker" Warning
If you search for how to transfer Alaska miles to another person, you might run into websites offering to "buy" your miles or help you "trade" them.
Avoid these like the plague.
Selling your miles is a violation of the Mileage Plan terms of service. Alaska Airlines has a very active fraud department. If they catch you selling miles to a stranger or using a broker, they won't just cancel the flight; they will shut down your account and strip you of every mile you’ve ever earned. It’s a lifetime ban. It isn't worth it. Only transfer miles to people you actually know and trust.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're still looking to move those miles, stop and do these three things first:
- Calculate the "Cents Per Mile" cost. If the transfer fee makes the miles cost more than 2 cents each, you are losing money. Just buy the ticket.
- Check the Award Calendar. Before you send the miles, make sure the flight your friend wants is actually available for award booking. There is nothing worse than paying to transfer miles only to realize the "Saver" award is gone and the "Peak" price is double what you have.
- Verify the Member Number. Ask your recipient to send a screenshot of their Mileage Plan dashboard. Names must match exactly as they appear on the account.
If you only need a few thousand miles to top off an account, transferring is a necessary evil. But for anything larger, just book the flight for them from your own portal. It keeps your cash in your pocket and your miles where they belong—working for you, not the airline's bottom line.