And if it's like other airlines the credit is only good for the named passenger. I sure hated when they made that change for SW. You used to be able to use the credit for anyone.
Not true with Alaska. By default, it goes into your wallet. When money is in your wallet, you may use it for any ticketing you do while you are signed into your account. You won't see the wallet funds applied to the airfare until you reach the step where you are ready to pay, when there will be a box to check as to whether or not you want to apply wallet funds. However there isn't an option to select how much of the available wallet funds to use. It will apply the full amount unless wallet funds are greater than the air fare. In that case it will be pay the ticket with the wallet funds, and leave the balance in your wallet.
By default, credits are deposited into the wallet in the account at which the ticket was purchased. If you want to put the refund into a different account, or you want it to go to another person, then you need to request that they send you a credit certificate. You need to specifically request a certificate. That will arrive in your email, with a certificate number. Then you will get a separate email that has the PIN for the certificate. You can then use the certificate and the PIN to put the funds into any Alaska Air account - or even give the certificate and PIN to someone else so they can put it in their account. If you do wind up with the money credited to a wallet and you don't want it there, you can call Customer Service and ask them to reverse the transaction and send you a certificate. That can take several days to happen.
I do this kind of stuff frequently with Alaska Air. I have two portals - one personal and one business - and when I get credits and refunds I need to be sure that they wind up in the proper account. Most of my miles accrue to my personal account, even when I'm traveling on business. So when I cash in miles using a miles + money business transaction (which I do frequently - I seldom fly on miles only), I need to make the reservation in my personal account, but I use a business Alaska Airlines visa card for the purchased part of the fare (that way the transaction winds up in my business ledger). If I then cancel the flight, though, Alaska will put the credit into my personal wallet instead of my business wallet. So I've learned to ask them for a credit certificate instead of posting the refund into my wallet. I then use the credit certificate to put the money into my business wallet.