Alaska Airlines announced today a new way of redeeming your miles. You can get now TSA Pre-Check for 10.000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles to waive the $85 application fee. With TSA Pre you can leave your shoes, belt and jacket on and your laptop and liquids stay in the bag and don’t need to be removed. All this speeds up the screening process tremendously.
Besides that, you will only go through a regular metal detector and not through the Nude-o-Scopes anymore.
This offer is only available for a short time. You can redeem your miles until April 30, 2016 to get TSA Pre.
Here is how it works:
- Email TSAredemption@alaskaair.com by April 30, 2016 with your name and Mileage Plan number.
- Within 72 hours, Alaska will deduct 10,000 miles from your account and send you an email with your authorization code.
- Apply for TSA Precheck and schedule your screening appointment. Customers applying are responsible for ensuring they are Precheck-eligible.
According to Alaska Airlines press release, Alaska Airlines is the first airline to offer redeeming miles for TSA Pre.
Be aware, if you don’t use your authorization code or are denied TSA Pre, you wont get any miles back. They are gone! So check first.
In my opinion a bad deal and here a couple of reasons:
- You can get Global Entry for $100 which includes TSA Pre and gives you an expedited immigration process as well.
- Some Credit Cards reimburse you for the application fee of either TSA Pre or Global Entry. Like the American Express Platinum Card
- Mileageplan Miles are way to valuable for TSA Pre
On the other side I welcome more options to redeem your miles. For some people that might be a great deal and very useful.
I just recently got my Global Entry (which includes TSA Pre) and I have to say that I love the expedited process. I flew out from LAX yesterday and it took me not even 5 minutes to get through security. Looking at the lanes for main cabin or priority, which would probably need about 20 minutes to clear, this was super fast.
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.