In late 2023, Alaska Airlines and Porter Airlines announced plans to collaborate. The partnership has been very slow to ramp up. In early 2025, we finally saw the carriers introduce reciprocal mileage earning opportunities, and now we’ve seen the companies introduce reciprocal mileage redemption opportunities. Let’s cover all the details.
Alaska Mileage Plan & Porter partnership details
Alaska Airlines and Porter Airlines have a partnership, intended to take advantage of Porter’s strong presence across Eastern Canada, and Alaska’s US West Coast links, to provide passengers more flight options between coasts.
For context, Porter has historically operated De Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprops out of Toronto Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ), though has lately taken on a new strategy, as the airline is now competing across North America out of Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), thanks to new Embraer E195-E2s. Porter has launched flights across the United States, including to Alaska gateways like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In late 2023, this partnership initially kicked off as an interline agreement, so that passengers could purchase itineraries that include travel on both airlines through the Alaska or Porter websites, or through online travel agencies. However, over time, we’ve seen this partnership improved, with reciprocal opportunities to earn and redeem miles.
Earn Alaska miles for travel on Porter
As of January 2025, it’s possible to earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles for all Porter flights, regardless of whether you book through the websites of Alaska or Porter. You can also earn VIPorter rewards for all Alaska flights, though I think the Mileage Plan angle is probably more interesting for the OMAAT community.
For those looking to earn Mileage Plan miles, the earnings rates differ based on whether you book through Alaska’s website or Porter’s website. Below is the mileage earning chart for partner flights booked through the Alaska site (PorterClassic fares earn 100% elite qualifying miles, while PorterReserve fares earn 150% elite qualifying miles).
Below is the mileage earning chart for partner flights booked through partner sites (PorterClassic fares earn 50% elite qualifying miles, while PorterReserve fares earn 100% elite qualifying miles).
The catch is that you won’t necessarily find the same fares on the websites of the two airlines. Porter sells a lot more discounted fare bundles directly, which aren’t bookable through Alaska. Furthermore, Porter frequently has promo codes for flights, and they are only valid if booking directly through Porter.
So everyone will want to compare options directly, but in most situations, you’re probably better off booking direct with Porter, at least if you’re simply looking for the best price.
There are some advantages to booking through Alaska. Obviously you’d get better mileage earning. On top of that, you could use Alaska Wallet funds to pay for a Porter flight when booking that way. Similarly, if you needed to cancel, you could get Alaska Wallet funds for the cancelation. So for some people, booking through Alaska might be worth it, even if it’s more expensive.
Redeem Alaska miles for travel on Porter
New as of July 2025, Alaska Mileage Plan has rolled out award redemptions for Porter flights. Pricing follows the standard Alaska Mileage Plan award chart, which you’ll find below.
PorterClassic tickets follow the economy chart, while PorterReserve tickets follow the premium economy chart. Note that this is just “starting at” pricing, so in some cases there might not be saver level award availability, but there are awards at higher (dynamic) costs.
The redemption values here are potentially awesome, especially when you consider what a nice experience Porter offers. For example, you could fly from Tampa (TPA) to Toronto for 7,500 miles in economy, or 10,000 miles in premium economy.
That’s a solid value, and I think this is a redemption option that will come in handy for many!
My take on the Alaska & Porter partnership
I’m thrilled to see this partnership, mainly because Porter now partners with a major frequent flyer program, with reciprocal earning and redemption options. I’ve been curious to fly with Porter, but Porter hasn’t had any major airline partners prior to Alaska. Therefore I’d consider this to be a huge value-add.
That being said, in terms of commercial cooperation, I’d say this partnership is better than nothing, but not exactly a match made in heaven. When you look at the Canadian airline industry, Air Canada belongs to Star Alliance (and partners with United), and WestJet partners with Delta, and that doesn’t leave a whole lot for Alaska, American, and the oneworld alliance.
As Porter continues to grow, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the airline eventually either join the oneworld alliance, or cooperate more closely with American as well. I feel like this might be the first step in that direction.
Bottom line
In late 2023, Alaska Airlines and Porter Airlines launched a partnership. Initially this just consisted of an interline agreement, though we’ve increasingly seen reciprocity rolled out. Earlier this year, reciprocal mileage earning opportunities were introduced, and now we’ve seen reciprocal mileage redemption opportunities made available.
Given that Air Canada and WestJet already have partnerships with major US airlines, and also given the pace at which Porter is growing, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is all the first step toward closer oneworld cooperation.
What do you make of the Alaska & Porter partnership?
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