This offer is pretty much always there but the links do change from time to time. In going through some of my links, I saw that the previous one I had written about had expired so thought it would be good to remind you again how easy it is to get more Alaska miles!
Credit card companies love using existing cardholders as part of their referral market. Not only is it cheaper to pay with miles/points than paying cash (as they do with affiliates) but it is always helpful to hear about offers from friends and family as their experiences may be more in line with what the new customer may expect.
Earn 2,500 Alaska Airline Miles By Referral
Alaska Airlines has the same type of referral program as Chase and American Express where you can refer people to get the credit card and then you get miles when they are approved for their card. In this case, the referral bonus is lower than what Chase gives out as it is only 2,500 miles per referral. But, since the card itself only offers 25,000 miles to new members, this percentage of the referral is kind of in line with what Chase gives on its referrals.
How To Do It
To start, go to this website – here – and enter the necessary information. It asks for your name and Mileage Plan number as well as your e-mail address.
After doing that, enter the names of friends and family for whom you want to refer for the card. It needs first names, last names, and e-mail addresses. You have enough for up to 5 friends but you can select more after filling out that part.
The next step is that your friends or family members will receive the e-mail with the offer and then they can apply! If they apply and are approved, you will qualify for the 2,500 miles.
Why This Is Great
There is no credit card around right now that it as easy to churn as the Alaska Airline cards (really, any Bank of America cards). I do not know how long it is going to stay like that but there are many people that just continue to get the card again without a problem. While Alaska has made it a little harder for people that try to get multiple cards on the same day, it is still a very churnable card.
Not only that but Bank of America is normally quite generous with instant approvals and higher credit lines – even when other banks may not give you any more cards/credit. Combine that with the fact that you receive the 25,000 miles just for having the card be opened and it is a pretty easy process!
Now, the card does come with an annual fee of $75 that is not waived, but that is a small price to pay for the 25,000 Alaska miles you receive for opening up a credit card. These miles are easily some of the most flexible around today since you can use them on airlines with all major alliances and even those without the alliances (Emirates).
So you can really maximize this referral process by just having the same people sign-up again and again through your own link! If you have 5 friends/family members that will sign-up, just send them another referral another couple of months later and you can just keep racking up the miles! If you did 5 at a time, that is an easy 12,500 Alaska Airline miles – especially since they are almost guaranteed to get approved (not a real guarantee but as I said, Bank of America is very generous).
You can do the same with your immediate family – just go back and forth referring each other for the next cards every few months and watch your totals rise!
The Better Card Offer Conundrum
While the offer is almost always 25,000 miles for applicants, there is a way to get the offer that also gives you $100 statement credit (essentially wiping out the $75 annual fee). It does require that the customer spends $1,000 in 3 months, but that is very doable. The miles themselves post after the account opens so just to get the miles takes no spending.
Getting the offer is a little bit harder than just clicking an application link. To get this offer, you need to go through the process of making a booking with Alaska (not actually booking a reservation, though). When you get to the payment window, you will receive the $100 statement credit offer. That’s it!
But, you will not receive a 2,500 mile referral if they do that! So, what to do? What I suggest is to tell family and friends about the card first and tell them what the miles can be used for and how easy it is to get these miles (no spending!). Then tell them that there is another way they can get money back as well but that it requires some spending. If they do not mind about the spending, show them how to access the better offer. If they would rather not have to spend anything on that card, tell them you can send them a referral link to apply.
That’s it! It is difficult to be the referrer, though! Of course you want friends and family to get the best possible offer but you also want some miles for yourself, right? It always feels better, however, to know that you are helping friends and family (and blog readers!) get the best possible card offer as it will help them be able to learn and appreciate the system as much as you do. Who knows, maybe they will even give you some of their miles some day for showing them how to get in it!
[…] The 2,500 Alaska Mile Referral – Get More Miles! by Running With Miles. Better off getting your friends the $100 statement credit offer, but there is also this option. […]
It’s been a while since I applied for BofA Alaska cards, back when we could do multiples at once. I heard that has since been killed off, so how does the churning process go now? One per day? Every month? Is there a schedule like Citi’s 8/65? Thanks