This holiday season, the sky’s the limit with gifts from Alaska Airlines that will make your adventure-seeking loved one’s dreams of exploration come true. With the holidays quickly approaching, sharing a few offers from Alaska that may be of interest for any travel-centric gift guides you’re developing this year. 

Buy, share or gift miles. 

Build up your own Mileage Plan™ account or share your up to 100,000 miles with someone else to provide endless opportunities for adventures and moments that will be cherished forever.  

Alaska gift certificates. 

Unlike the fleeting joys of the season, these gift cards come with no expiration date.* Let the traveler in your life choose when and where they want to take flight, turning your thoughtful gesture into a timeless memory. Always in supply. Instant delivery.  

Donate miles for Maui 

Contributions made to the Alaska Airlines Disaster Relief Pool through December 31, 2023 will be donated to Kanu Hawai‘i and Maui Rapid Response to provide travel support for Maui residents impacted by the wildfires.  

Relax & unwind in our Lounges. 

From freshly brewed coffee to scrumptious pancakes and comfy seating, holiday travel doesn’t have to be so stressful after all. Enhance the airport experience and gift a ticket to relaxation, comfort, and a carefree airport experience with an Alaska Airlines Lounge Pass. Plus, for the avid traveler, consider a year-long Lounge Membership. 

Treat yourself to bonus miles. 

You deserve a treat. Shop 1,100+ stores through Mileage Plan™ Shopping to earn up to 1,500 bonus miles. Shop online or in-store, offer ends Nov. 17, 2023. 

Warm up with 60,000 bonus miles. 

Right now, get 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account with an Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card. 

Drive, save and earn. 

Hitting the road from the runway? Don’t miss out. Alaska Mileage Plan members save up to 35% off Avis and Budget base rates and earn up to 1250 miles per rental.* 

Additional restrictions, taxes and fees may apply.* 

When a frequent flyer wrote in that his mother-in-law was turning 100 and wanted to celebrate on Alaska Airlines — you know, we broke out the party hats and pulled out all the stops.  

Velma is a spry 100-year old woman who lives in assisted living and still drives. She attributes her good health to a shot of Crown Royal Whiskey with water every evening.  

She loves being with her family, who live in Florida, but doesn’t travel often, according to her son-in-law. But that changed five years ago when he surprised her with a trip to Orlando on Alaska for her 95th birthday. During the flight, Velma confessed that she found flying Alaska quite enjoyable and said if she reached the age of 100, she’d do it again. 

And Velma kept her word. On Oct. 6, she boarded Alaska Airlines Flight 340 to fly to Orlando, on her 100^th birthday.  

“We had so much fun,” said Flight Attendant Wendy, who along with Flight Attendants Jena, Darshan and Emily made sure Velma felt like a birthday girl.  

Before boarding, Velma got a special meet and greet with our pilots. Our agents led guests in a round of “Happy Birthday.” Once on board, the celebration continued.  

Using supplies they had on hand and crafting chops that would make Martha Stewart jealous, they fashioned empty silver coffee bags into a crown, strung pretzel and Biscoff packages into a sash and crafted paper streamers.  

And, of course, they poured her favorite adult beverage, with a splash of water (even though Crown Royale isn’t a regular item on our beverage carts).  Upon landing employees in Orlando greeted Velma with a “Happy Birthday” sign.  

Velma’s return trip the following week was equally enjoyable, with special attention from our crew on board.   

“It was such an honor,” said Wendy, who noted that Velma also got a nice tote of Alaska logo goodies, provided by the company. 

Now back home, Velma has the crown, sash and the sign on display in her assisted living apartment — all reminders of her birthday trip.  But it doesn’t appear that her suitcase will be gathering dust anytime soon — as she just signed up for our Mileage Plan 😊.  

On social, Steve says he is a “dad, husband, Seattle sports fan and employment attorney” who is “funny once a year. Twice in leap years.” 

Funny and employment attorney are not terms you typically see together, but Steve, director of  Employee Relations, Mediation, and Investigations (ERMI), has made a name for himself at Alaska as a leader who cares and doesn’t take himself too seriously.  He’s also a leader with a visible disability.  

“My story in a nutshell is that I’m profoundly deaf,” Steve said. He lost most of his hearing during infancy, which affected his speech development at an early age. It’s been a life-long disability. “I don’t remember life before hearing loss, as it’s all I’ve known,” he said.  

Steve hears with cochlear implants (surgical devices near his ears, which help with sound perception). “I rely on lipreading to supplement my hearing. I also lean heavily on closed captioning in video calls,” he said. 

Steve leads a team of Employee Relations professionals at Alaska who investigate violations of our People Policy. It’s pretty heavy stuff, but something Steve believes he was meant to do.  

“I strongly believe my life experiences with deafness have led to a major part of my (and my team’s) philosophy, which is helping employees feel heard and validated through what can be a very traumatic process,” he said.  

He speaks from experience, having seen bias as a kid growing up as teachers didn’t know how to accommodate his learning.  He overcame those odds, graduating from high school, getting a law degree, and passing the bar exam. 

“There’s still a stigma about disability today, but it’s less overt than it was when I was a kid,” he said.  It’s why today, he regularly reaches out as an advocate for people with disabilities on social media. He wrote a series of articles on LinkedIn titled “Flying while disabled: what works well, and what airlines can improve.” Steve is also part of ACCESS, a Business Resource Group (BRG) focused on disability advocacy for our business and encourages employees with disabilities to pursue leadership opportunities. 

He says of the 250+ directors and above at Alaska, he doesn’t know of many with a disability. “That’s not a knock on Alaska,” he said. “But rather, it’s a reflection of the reality that disabled folks are significantly underrepresented in employment in general, and those numbers drop even more as you get higher into the leadership ranks.” 

Alaska has taken several measures in the last year to do better, including being the first airline to set up a Disability Office to coordinate on all areas of disability advocacy for employees and guests, achieving our goal of 7% for representation of employees who self-identify as having a disability and creating more accessible employee spaces for corporate and airport employees. 

Steve fully recommends Alaska as an employer that is doing the right thing to help employees with a hearing disability feel whole at work.  Things like having people turn their cameras on in meetings so he can read their lips and closed captioning for live meetings are game changers for employees with hearing loss. 

He regularly tells his training classes about his disability, addressing it with his signature humor. “Talking about it upfront helps people unfamiliar with a significant hearing loss like mine to see me as a fuller person and not just as “the guy with those big hearing aids.”