Alaska Airways needs to be the skier’s and snowboarder’s airline, and a brand new partnership with a well-liked ski cross may need simply earned the service that title.
Alaska already has an enormous community of flights into and across the Mountain West, connecting vacationers to a number of the greatest ski locations on this planet. At a few of these resorts, you may even ski free while you fly Alaska to get there, too.
However now Alaska has teamed up with probably the most beneficial ski passes on the market: The Mountain Collective.
From now via Sept. 25, Alaska Mileage Plan members who buy a Mountain Collective cross for the 2023/24 ski season get 5,000 bonus Alaska miles. If in case you have Alaska Airways elite standing, that factors bonus jumps to 10,000.
And when you might have an Alaska Mileage Plan account while you purchase your cross, you additionally get an additional free day of snowboarding at a Mountain Collective resort of your selection.
What’s the Mountain Collective?
The Mountain Collective cross is completely different from the large Ikon or Epic passes, which each come at a price ticket of $1,000 or extra. As an alternative, the Collective has a roster of 26 mountain resorts all over the world the place cross holders get two free ski days at every.
The Mountain Collective cross comes at about half the value of the larger passes. It is at the moment $630 for the upcoming ski season. For youngsters, it is $500, and for teenagers beneath 12, it is solely $200.
Apart from the value, the most effective factor in regards to the Mountain Collective is the standard of its associate resorts. Once you purchase the cross, you get two free days at a number of the most particular mountains on earth.
From Alta and Snowbird in Utah to Jackson Gap and Massive Sky within the Northern Rockies, all the way in which to Chamonix in France and Niseko in Japan, the Mountain Collective offers you entry to scores of high-end ski resorts worldwide.
When you think about {that a} single-day carry ticket at a spot like Aspen/Snowmass or Massive Sky routinely runs north of $200, the Mountain Collective is a implausible deal.
Learn Subsequent: Which Ski Go is Proper for You? Breaking Down the 2023/2024 Mega Ski Passes
Alaska Airways and the Mountain Collective
This promotion ends Sept. 25, so if you wish to take benefit, it is time to begin trying into whether or not the Mountain Collective is an effective match on your ski season.
The 5,000 bonus Alaska miles (or 10,000 bonus miles you probably have Alaska MVP standing or increased) are a boon all on their very own. It is a good chunk of miles that may provide help to e book a minimum of a part of your ski journey this yr.
In actual fact, in line with Alaska’s award chart, flights inside the U.S. and Canada begin at simply 5,000 Alaska miles one-way. Which means this factors bonus pays on your flight to the mountains, too!
Wish to fly from the Bay Space to Salt Lake Metropolis (SLC) to ski Alta, Snowbird, or Snowbasin in the midst of January? Your factors bonus and $6 in taxes and costs can pay on your one-way fare!
Likelihood is, Alaska Airways will help you get to your ski and snowboarding vacation spot. You’ll be able to fly Alaska to the next Mountain Collective resort gateways
- Bozeman, Montana (BZN) – Massive Sky
- Jackson, Wyoming (JAC) – Jackson Gap, Grand Targhee
- Solar Valley, Idaho (SUN) – Solar Valley
- Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah (SLC) – Alta, Snowbasin, Snowbird
- Denver, Colorado (DEN) – Arapahoe Basin, Aspen/Snowmass
- Albuquerque, New Mexico (ABQ) – Taos
- Calgary, Alberta (YYC) – Banff Sunshine, Revelstoke, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Solar Peaks, Panorama
Alaska Airways Mileage Plan members who buy the Mountain Collective cross additionally get a bonus free day at a resort of their selecting – a perk often reserved for early-bird signups within the spring. Nevertheless, you need to make your choice at checkout with this promotion.
The third free day is a implausible profit. I used it final yr on a protracted weekend in Massive Sky and it saved me tons of of {dollars} on a single-day carry ticket on the high-end resort.
Should you suppose you might have simply two, weekend ski journeys in you to any two of those resorts this yr, this promotion is value it. Earn some Alaska miles only for buying your ski cross after which use these miles to assist fund your journey. Wonderful!
To reap the benefits of this promotion, you need to have an Alaska Airways Mileage Plan account (it is free to enroll) and purchase your Mountain Collective cross via the hyperlink on Alaska’s web site.
Is Alaska Formally the Skier’s and Rider’s Airline?
This newest promotion may need simply solidified Alaska as the most effective airline for skiers and snowboarders. Alaska is basically shopping for you a flight to the mountains to make use of the ski cross you had been going to purchase anyway. It is a fairly unbelievable deal.
Plus, Alaska has a novel program that is been in place for years now that lets you ski totally free the day you land at taking part resorts if flying Alaska.
With a same-day Alaska Airways boarding cross for a flight you have accomplished, you may ski totally free on the following resorts:
- Alyeska – Anchorage (ANC)
- Bogus Basin – Boise (BOI)
- Eaglecrest – Juneau (JNU)
- Purple Lodge – Billings (BIL)
- Purple Mountain – Spokane (GEG)
- Schweitzer – Spokane (GEG)
- Marmot Basin – Calgary (YYC) and Edmonton (YEG)
- Steamboat – Hayden (HDN)
Considered one of these resorts – Marmot Basin – can be on the Mountain Collective. That successfully will get you one other bonus day on prime of your Mountain Collective two free days as properly. Should you use your free third day from the promotion, you may ski 4 days at Marmot Basin totally free and have your flight to the resort paid for!
I feel Alaska Airways is formally the most effective airline for skiers and riders, taking that crown from Southwest Airways. The one cause Southwest reigned supreme for therefore lengthy is its two, free checked baggage coverage, which is a big profit for skiers and riders touring with gear and ponderous baggage.
On Alaska, you may should pay on your checked ski gear as a standard checked bag for $30 every method (as long as it is beneath 50 kilos.) The one option to shirk that checked baggage charge is to buy a first-class ticket or maintain an Alaska Airways Visa Signature Card, both of which is able to earn you free checked baggage.
Thrifty Tip: As is the case with most airways, your ski or snowboard boot bag and your ski bag depend as one single bag! Do not let a gate agent make you pay for a second checked bag in the event you’re checking your boots.
Learn extra: The whole lot You Must Know About Alaska Airways Baggage Charges in 2023
Backside Line
Alaska’s latest promotion giving vacationers 5,000 free bonus factors when signing up for the Mountain Collective ski cross reveals that the service needs to be the skier and rider’s airline. And we predict they’ve completed it!
Alaska’s intensive flight community all through the Mountain West, its partnership with the Mountain Collective, and its Fly Alaska, Ski Free promotion have mixed to make it probably the most skier-friendly carriers on this planet.