World Of Points

MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard, truly an elite credit card

Diego -

The MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard is the big brother to the MBNA Alaska Airlines Platinum Plus Mastercard.

Annual Fee & Signup Bonus

  • $99
  • 30,000 Alaska Miles when you spend $1000 in the first 90 days

Earning rates + Bonuses

  • 3x miles per dollars spent Alaska Airlines
  • 1x mile per dollar spent on everything else
  • $121 US Alaska Airlines companion fare ($99 base fare plus $22 to pay for taxes and fees)
  • Minimum 10% off Avis and Budget in Canada and the US and minimum 5% international
  • First free checked bag plus 1 free checked bag per companion to a total of 6 free bags
  • Price Protection up to $500 CAD on Alaska Airline flights

Redemption Options

  • Redeem miles for flights on Alaska Airlines and their partner airlines
  • Alaska Airlines companion fare for a second ticket on the same flight for flights in Canada, Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico

Insurance

  • Common Carrier Accidental Death & Dismemberment Benefits up to $1,000,000
  • Unexpected Return Home up to $2000
  • Coverage against loss, theft, or damage to personal effects for the duration of a vehicle rental period $1,000 per insured/ $2,000 per account
  • Purchase Assurance Lifetime total accumulative limit of $60,000 per account
  • Extended Warranty Benefits 1 year

Thoughts

The World Elite version of this card is only really worth the extra $25 over the Platinum Mastercard for the extra 10,000 Alaska Miles and if you actually travel on Alaska as you get extra features that are only available on Alaska Airlines like free checked bags.

You can get more Alaska Miles by transferring Marriott Bonvoy Points at a rate of 3:1 and if you transfer 60k Marriott Points they will give you an extra 5k Alaska Miles.

The companion fare can only be booked on Alaska Airline flights in Canada, the US, including Alaska and Hawaii, and Mexico in economy. The best use of the companion fare will be on expensive tickets like cross-continental flights or flights to expensive locations like Alaska and Hawaii.

Alaska a very different award chart compared to most other airlines as the amount of miles you pay is based on region and does not take into account distance. So you will get better redemptions on longer flights. For Example: A Cathay Pacific flight from North America to Asia costs 50k in Bussines or 70k in First Class. While a flight from New York to Hong Kong costs $26,000 and a flight from Los Angles to Hong Kong on the same day costs $20,000 in First Class. If you were going to pay for the flight it would make more sense to go to LA as it would save you $6,000 but as the points you will spend are the same amount you will get a better value going from New York. 

CPP = (ticket price ÷ points needed)*100

CPP = (20,000÷70,000)*100 = 28.5 CPP

CPP = (26,000÷70,000)*100 = 37.2 CPP

you can see from my calculations that you are getting almost 9 CPP extra for the flight out of New York not to mention that you get to spend extra time on one of the world's best First Class offerings.