[ANALYSIS] MBNA Alaska Airlines MasterCard
I have not seen too much advertisement on this hidden gem, the MNBA Alaska Airlines MasterCard. The highlights of this credit card are:
- $75 annual fee
- Earn 25,000 points upon approval
- Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on Alaska Airlines purchases
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- 1 annual coach Companion Fare
- $50 off a new Board Room membership initiation fee
For the first year of having this credit card, the $75 fee is definitely worth it because 25,000 points gets you a free flight ticket around North American and that is worth more than $75. If you fly frequently on Alaska Airlines, this is absolutely great value because 3 points per dollar is almost unheard of in Canada. Furthermore, if you are looking for a alternatives to airlines from Canada, and want a way of racking up the points quickly, this is it!
In terms of keeping credit card beyond the first year, the only real value to the $75 is the $50 off a new Board Room membership and the Companion Fare. The Board Room is Alaska Airlines Business Class lounge program (which has over 50 affiliated lounges worldwide). The cost of the membership bepends on your elite status with Mileage Plan. If you value the lounge and plan to get a membership anyway, you already got value for $50 or the $75 annual fee. If you can also make use of the Companion Fare, the $75 is definitely worth it.
At the very least, this credit card is a great way to help you keep your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account active, because if no mileage is credit to your account during the first 9 months after opening or if there is no activity for longer than 2 years, you will lose your points.
This credit card is especially valuable to those of you living in the west coast, because Alaska Airlines is more common there. However, even though Alaska Airlines is not part of any alliances, they are partners with 14 other airlines. Some of the notable ones include: Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Delta and Emirates, which covers a huge part of the world.