This is one of the portal offers we see from time to time and it presents the big mileage amount that can make this a nice roundabout way of buying miles for less than retail. It is using Magazines.com and, today, the airline to earn with is Alaska and their Mileage Plan program.
Buy Any Amount of Alaska Miles for 2.5 Cents Each
Link: Alaska Mileage Plan Deal on Magazines.com
Good Deal or Not?
Buying Alaska miles at 2.5 cents each is not a huge deal but is better than buying them at retail price. The reason that price is not a huge deal is because Alaska does have some semi-frequent deals on buying miles directly from them at the 40% amount and even up to 50% as a bonus. That brings the miles down to just under 2 cents per mile.
The problem with those mileage sales is that you only get the big bonus if you buy a large amount of miles. While that can be a great deal if you have a specific use in mind, it could also involve spending almost $2,000 to max out that deal and get the biggest bonus. That is a lot of money for many of us that like to travel on the cheap!
The nice part about portal deals like this is twofold – it does not count toward the 150,000 mile cap on purchased miles and you could buy as few as a couple of thousand miles if you just need to top up for an award. That makes deals like this pretty interesting.
Just remember that 40 miles per dollar is not the best we have seen for Alaska and Magazines.com – they have had up to 50 miles per dollar. Still, this is a nice deal if you need to top up.
Making the Deal Even Better
If you want to make it sweeter, spending $200 through the Alaska Mileage Plan shopping portal will earn you an extra 500 miles. If you were to do all that $200 in spending on magazines, you would earn a total of 8,500 miles for a cost of 2.3 cents per mile. Still not as good as a 50% bonus but not bad if you just need 8,500 miles for a business class award that is worth thousands!
The Fine Print and Details
Here are the details you need to know to make sure you get your 40 miles per dollar. Chief among them – don’t use a coupon code that is not on the Alaska Mileage Plan website or you will lose the portal miles!
- Not eligible on automatically renewed subscriptions.
- Orders cancelled within 90 days are not eligible.
- Not eligible on select Magazine Titles including American Patchwork & Quilting, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Gardens, Diabetic Living, Do-It-Yourself, EatingWell, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Family Circle, FamilyFun, Fitness, Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, Midwest Living, Parents, Siempre Mujer, Successful Farming, Traditional Home, Wood, Fit Pregnancy, Flex, Globe, Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, National Examiner, Natural Health, OK! Magazine, Shape, Soap Opera Digest, Star and The National Enquirer.
- Partial or full purchases made with a Gift Card may be ineligible.
- Additionally, the purchase of a Gift Card/Cash Equivalent may also be ineligible.
- Not eligible on purchases made with coupon or discount codes that are not found on this site.
- Purchases made with a gift card may be ineligible.
For those wondering about the “automatically renewed subscriptions”, that simply means that you won’t earn the portal bonus if you have a magazine subscription purchased today when the subscription renews.
If you don’t know what to do with all those magazines, check out your local hospital, library, or other organization. They love getting things like this and you may even be able to get a write off (but check with your accountant to be sure).
