How to Transfer Alaska Miles to Any Other Person

Alaska Airlines lets you transfer miles to any other Mileage Plan member online. The cost is $10 per 1,000 miles + a $25 processing fee per transaction, with 1,000–30,000 miles per transfer and a 100,000-mile yearly cap in or out of any single account. Transfers are non-refundable and usually post instantly (up to 72 hours).

Step-by-step: Transfer Alaska miles

1. Confirm details: You’ll need the recipient’s Mileage Plan number and their name exactly as it appears on their account.
2. Go to Alaska’s “Buy, Share or Gift miles” page and choose Transfer miles (powered by Points.com). Sign in.
3. Enter recipient + amount (1,000–30,000 miles, in 1,000-mile increments).
4. Pay the fees (see costs below). Canadian residents pay applicable tax.
5. Wait for credit: Miles post immediately in most cases, but can take up to 72 hours. Transfers are not reversible and don’t count toward MVP status.

Key limits & rules (official):

• Min transfer 1,000; max 30,000 per transaction.
• 100,000 miles per calendar year can move into or out of any single account.
• $10 per 1,000 miles + $25 processing fee per transaction; non-refundable.
• Must have an activated My Account profile; EasyBiz company accounts aren’t eligible.

What it Really Costs

(Formula: $10 per 1,000 miles + $25 per transaction)

Given these fees, transferring is usually a poor value unless you’re topping up for an immediate, high-value redemption.

Сheaper, Better Alternative (Most of the Time)

1. Book the award in their name using your miles. Alaska explicitly allows you to redeem miles for someone else—even if you’re not flying together. That avoids transfer fees entirely. Just enter the traveler’s information at booking.
2. Purchase miles. Another way to add miles to your balance without transferring them is to purchase miles directly to your account during a promotion: Alaska regularly holds mileage sales through Points.com. Although standard prices are higher than the transfer cost, large bonus promotions can reduce the effective price to ~1.7–2.0 cents — sometimes this is more profitable than paying a transfer fee. Check the “Buy/Donate Miles” page on the Alaska website when a promotion is running. Here is one of the latest offers.
3. Sharing HawaiianMiles. You can transfer HawaiianMiles for free between two Hawaiian accounts if either the sender or recipient is a primary Hawaiian Airlines cardholder (no per-mile or transaction fees; up to 10 free share transactions per account per calendar year). If neither party is a cardholder, paid sharing applies ($25 fee + $0.01 per mile, 2,000-mile minimum, typically via Reservations). You can also move miles 1:1 for free between your own HawaiianMiles and Alaska Mileage Plan accounts (same individual). With the Hawaiian–Alaska program integration slated for October 1, 2025, terms may change—always check current rules before moving miles.

When should you actually transfer?

• You’re just short on the recipient’s account for a time-sensitive redemption and your account has the spare miles.
• You’ve maxed out other options and the effective cost is acceptable for the value of the specific award you’ll book.