Great news coming from Alaska Airlines as they will be launching a new non-stop Toronto – Seattle route this May! This marks Alaska’s return to Toronto after nearly 30 years as they previously flew Toronto to Los Angeles back in the 90s. This new route is key to the new partnership between Alaska and Porter Airlines. Between the two airlines they will serve all of Alaska’s key west coast hubs of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle out of Toronto.
The Toronto to Seattle route
The new route will operate once daily starting on May 16, 2024 and it will be operated with a Boeing 737-900 (Not the Max 9 which is currently grounded). The schedule is as follows:
| Route | Start Date | Departs | Arrives | Frequency | Aircraft |
| Seattle – Toronto | May 16, 2024 | 7:00 a.m. | 2:40 p.m. | Daily | 737-900 |
| Toronto – Seattle | May 16, 2024 | 3:40 p.m. | 5:55 p.m. | Daily | 737-900 |
The flights are primarily timed for connections made in Toronto to/from Porter Airlines other Eastern Canadian cities. However, there are some decent connections available out of Seattle in the evenings to cities along the West Coast such as Portland and even to Honolulu, Hawaii.
Alaska Airlines – Porter Airlines Partnership
The partnership between the two airlines was announced this past December with an interline agreement and the ability to earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles on Porter Airlines flights (booked via Alaska only) that took effect immediately.
Later in 2024 both VIPorter and Mileage Plan members will be able earn miles in their respective loyalty programs no matter where they book their flights.
Also coming later in 2024 will be access to mileage redemptions with enhanced availability for both VIPorter and Mileage Plan members on each other’s airline.
At 2,060 miles, this new route just squeaks into in Mileage Plan’s 1,401 to 2,100 miles distance band which means economy class redemptions will start at 10,000 miles one way and business class (Alaska calls it First) will start at 25,000 miles one way.
Earning Alaska Airlines Miles in Canada
Even though the MBNA Alaska Airlines Mastercard was officially discontinued last year there is still one open avenue to collecting Mileage Plan miles in Canada outside of earning with Alaska and their airline or hotel partners (including Canada’s own Coast Hotels!) . Currently that avenue is by converting Marriott Bonvoy points to Mileage Plan.
Here in Canada you can earn Marriott Bonvoy points with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card or the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card. Bonvoy points convert at a ratio of 3:1 to Alaska Airlines and if you convert 60,000 points at a time the program adds an extra 5,000 miles to your total (60,000 Bonvoy points = 25,000 Mileage Plan miles)
You can also convert American Express Membership Rewards Points earned on cards like the American Express Cobalt Card and Platinum Card to Marriott Bonvoy and then convert those to Alaska Airlines.
Above I mentioned ‘open avenue’ as there is one closed avenue for earning Mileage Plan miles in Canada and that is if you have a Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard. Holders of these cards, which for the most part are closed to new applications, can covert Club Rewards points to Mileage Plan Miles.
Future Mileage Plan earning in Canada
As you know though if you have followed RWRDS Canada for the past year, there are plans for one more avenue for earning Mileage Plan miles here in Canada! That avenue is the planned conversion option from MBNA Rewards to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Ever since MBNA announced the discontinuation of their Alaska cards they have promised that 1:1 conversion to Alaska Airlines from their proprietary rewards program is in the works and that is huge for this Alaska-Porter partnership.
If and when MBNA Rewards begin offering their 1:1 conversion option to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan it will mean MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard holders will be earning as much as 5.5 Mileage Plan miles per dollar spent and MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercard holders will be earning as much as 4.4 miles per dollar spent.
It is the high earn rates on the MBNA cards combined with the proposed 1:1 conversion that make this a huge deal. If you take the redemption rate above of only 10,000 miles you could potentially be redeeming for a one way flight with only $1818.18 in spend (at 5.5 points per dollar). That is an amazing earn to burn ratio that rivals Canada’s best credit card, the American Express Cobalt Card.
Wrapping it up
Alaska Airlines is launching new flights between Toronto and Seattle that will further enhance the connectivity of their partnership with Porter Airlines. It also opens up one more route for Canadian Mileage Plan and VIPorter members to be able to earn and redeem miles on.
Click here to learn more about Alaska’s new route
Images via Alaska Airlines