Alaska Airlines and Philippine Airlines' relationship has reached a significant new phase. Philippine Airlines' ability to earn Atmos Rewards points on its flights began before, but the program has now opened the redemption aspect of the deal as well that is, members can redeem Philippine Airlines award flights directly on Alaska's platform.

In the Philippines, it's a very useful new booking route, and for travelers wanting an excellent connector flight into Southeast Asia, it's just another good option. But with Philippine Airlines set to join Oneworld in 2027, this is essentially a taster of redemption opportunity which will be available via a number of programmes at once.

The Partnership pays for the cost of Providing Services

There are several gateway airports in the U.S. available for flights to the Philippines, with the most strong connections to Alaska available via Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, which are all key hubs for Atmos Rewards members. The airline also flies to Chicago O'Hare and New York JFK, providing a direct redemption opportunity for east-coast travelers who don't need to fly to the west coast, first.

The potential connecting power from Manila is considerable. Compared to other carriers, Philippine Airlines' regional network is strong and accessible for some destinations that are tricky to reach efficiently from the U.S., which could be beneficial for travellers going on multi-stop Asia trips, and not just from Manila.

Students will Examine the meaning of Redemption Rates and what to Anticipate them

Alaska Atmos Rewards offers a distance-based award chart, instead of dynamic pricing, which means transpacific award rates are consistent and similar across travel windows and booking dates. An AWB ticket from the U.S. to Manila on Philippine Airlines in business class will typically be worth between 75,000 and 85,000 points based on Alaska's Asia award chart.

It's a reasonable price for business class on transpacific routes compared to other business class programs that are vying for the same routes, and the award space that's available on Alaska's website is decent, which is a better opening position than many of the new redemptions from partner programs tend to provide.

When a Plane is Towing a tug, it is known as a Philippine Airlines Product

If members are thinking of redeeming for a business class ticket on this partnership, they should know what the experience aboard a Philippine Airlines' long-haul airplane is like.

Many of its transpacific routes are crewed with A350-900s, and its business class cabin on these planes offers a solid premium experience, but certainly not the industry's best. It's a decent lie-flat cabin service offering that's not the kind of “business class” service that stirs up the kind of enthusiasm that ANA or Singapore Airlines's B classes do among frequent flyers on a 14-hour flight.

The introduction of A350-1000s is a more interesting addition to the fleet, as Philippine Airlines has been developing an all-new onboard product for them. These aircraft are a positive step up from the current A350-900 configuration and with wider deployment across the transpacific network, the product narrative of this partnership could get even better.

Why The Oneworld Angle?

This alliance is further bolstered by Philippine Airlines' confirmed membership in the Oneworld alliance in 2027. With the carrier's arrival in Oneworld, its award space will virtually be available across all Oneworld partners American Airlines AAdvantage, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and other programs.

Alaska as a full member of Oneworld has also agreed to have a more formal arrangement for award redemptions from Philippine Airlines once the airline is fully integrated within Oneworld. This current relationship was formed before that integration, showcasing Alaska's history of developing strategic relationships more in an entrepreneurial way than relying on formal alliance structures to dictate when.

With the partnership being new, and availability fairly open, it may be a better time for Atmos Rewards members to book any Philippine Airlines award now than when the entire Oneworld network is on the same inventory and demand surge.

Before Booking, it is Important to know the following:

For anyone looking into award redemption with Philippine Airlines using their Atmos Rewards program, here's a quick breakdown of the most pertinent aspects:

• Business class transpacific awards are priced at around 75,000 to 85,000 Atmos Rewards points one way (one-way based on Alaska's distance based chart for Asia).
• Now available on Alaska's website: Awards are directly accessible on Booking Channel, just as for any other partner redemption.
• Strongest gateway connectivity: Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle; Chicago, New York JFK are served.
• Aircraft: The A350-900s are used for a large share of the transpacific service, and new A350-1000s with the new interiors are being added.
• Philippine Airlines will be joining Oneworld in 2027, and in the future will open redemptions via more Oneworld partner programs.

Atmos Rewards Points for a Philippines Trip is offered for the First Time

For those who still don't have enough Atmos Rewards points for a transpacific redemption, the quickest ways to get the points are through Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards, or through the program's transfer partners. One of the most convenient flexible currency options for adding onto a balance before a particular booking, Bilt Rewards is transferred to Atmos Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. If that's the case and you're using Bonvoy as your main hotel currency, you can use Marriott Bonvoy for transfers at a 3:1 rate. Earning points also accrues with flights on Oneworld partner carriers while using your Atmos Rewards number on flights operated by Atmos, Hawaiian Airlines or other Oneworld carriers.

If you're flying business class and you need to redeem 170,000 points to get a round-trip ticket at the top of the class, you're on the right track. Part of that can be made up with a worthwhile Alaska co-branded card welcome bonus in one earning term.

The Bottom Line

It's the second leg of a partnership that began in 2025, with award flights on Philippine Airlines now available to Alaska Atmos Rewards members. Alaska's Asia chart is being used to calculate these transpacific awards on a distance basis between the U.S. and Manila, and the awards are in the price of 75,000 to 85,000 points one-way, which is described as decent and are now bookable directly on Alaska's website. 

This is a timely preview of what's to come with the extended access through partnership: when the Oneworld full framework opens up, the same space will be available to other programs as well, but when it's still fresh and the partnership hasn't been around for long, it could be easier to find a seat than it will be after a booking year has passed.