Along with being rewarded with useful miles, when vacationers select to fly Alaska Airways and its accomplice airways and credit score flights to the Alaska Airways Mileage Plan loyalty program, they could qualify for MVP elite standing. You’ll be able to entry unique and useful advantages and perks by attaining elite standing, enhancing your general journey expertise.
Relying on which MVP elite standing is achieved, you may get pleasure from perks like complimentary first-class upgrades and most popular seating, plus bonus miles that may be redeemed for future journey on Alaska or its airline companions.
In case you are contemplating striving for these perks, weighing the advantages towards the drawbacks of remaining loyal to at least one airline program is necessary. Whereas pursuing elite standing and remaining loyal to at least one service generally is a no-brainer for some — notably those that dwell close to an Alaska Airways hub — others could also be higher off remaining airline free brokers, selecting one of the best service for every flight.
On this information, we’ll consider MVP standing and clarify the completely different standing tiers, how one can obtain them and if striving for this standing is well worth the effort for the occasional or frequent Alaska Airways flyers. Plus, with Alaska’s current acquisition of Hawaiian Airways and a plan to overhaul Mileage Plan in 2025, acquiring elite standing with this airline could now be in your radar.
What’s Alaska Airways standing?
Alaska affords completely different MVP standing tiers based mostly on the variety of elite qualifying miles earned by the airline and its world companions and spending on Alaska’s cobranded bank card.
Your Alaska elite standing is activated once you go the required threshold for that tier, is subsequently legitimate for the remainder of that calendar yr and usually expires on Dec. 31 of the next calendar yr. For instance, if you happen to attain your 2024 MVP Gold qualification in October 2024, your standing will probably be legitimate by Dec. 31, 2025.
Associated: Alaska Airways overhauls Mileage Plan with milestone perks and extra
Alaska elite standing tiers
Anybody can be part of the Mileage Plan program without cost on-line as a base member. Doing so will make you eligible to gather Alaska miles, and as you spend extra time flying Alaska or its companions, you can even acquire standing.
Alaska Airways’ printed elite standing tiers from lowest to highest are:
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- MVP
- MVP Gold
- MVP Gold 75K
- MVP Gold 100K
To qualify for MVP standing, you will need to attain various thresholds of elite qualifying miles based mostly on Alaska, Oneworld and world accomplice airways’ flights and cobranded bank card spending.
| Standing tier | Variety of elite qualifying miles required |
|---|---|
| MVP | 20,000 |
| MVP Gold | 40,000 |
| MVP Gold 75K | 75,000 |
| MVP Gold 100K | 100,000 |
As you fly extra on Alaska or spend on a cobranded bank card, you may climb the standing ladder. As you stay loyal to Alaska and attain greater tiers, the perks change into extra profitable. For instance, you may obtain complimentary lounge entry or free upgrades.
The identical is true for the 4 printed elite standing tiers of rival airways United and Delta.
Associated: 6 nice advantages I obtained as an American Airways elite flying Alaska Airways
How one can qualify for Alaska elite standing
Fly on Alaska-operated or accomplice flights to earn EQMs
Regardless of many airways transferring away from calculating elite standing based mostly on precise mileage flown towards a model of the quantity spent with the service, Alaska has been a holdout. For Alaska flyers, the elite standing is calculated through the variety of elite qualifying miles earned, to not be confused with redeemable Alaska base miles.
Nonetheless, the variety of elite qualifying miles earned relies on the service flown and fare class. For example, a first-class ticket on Alaska within the J fare class earns 200% elite qualifying miles. Then again, a Savor economic system ticket within the X fare class will earn solely 30% elite qualifying miles.
Word that Alaska has unveiled its 2025 earnings charts, with notable will increase to EQMs earned on worldwide first- and business-class flights booked on accomplice airways through alaskaair.com.
You’ll be able to take a look at Alaska’s 2024 and 2025 earnings charts right here.
Earn Alaska elite standing by bank card spending
In 2023, Alaska introduced adjustments to how elite members earn standing. Starting this yr, incomes standing by elite qualifying segments is now not potential; you will solely earn standing by accruing elite qualifying miles. Due to this fact, it’s potential to earn Alaska elite standing with out ever stepping foot on an Alaska Airways aircraft.
Plus, following Alaska’s acquisition of Hawaiian Airways, the service expanded how members can earn EQMs from bank card spending, which is at the moment capped at an incomes price of 20,000 EQMs per yr. Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, Alaska Airways Visa Signature® bank card and Alaska Airways Visa® Enterprise card cardholders will earn 1 EQM for each $3 spent (as much as 30,000 EQMs annually on certified purchases).
Due to this fact, if you happen to spend $60,000 in your private or enterprise Alaska card annually, you’ll earn 20,000 EQMs, which suggests you will have achieved MVP standing simply by bank card spending.
Earn Alaska MVP standing by a standing match
Following the merger of Alaska and Hawaiian Airways, when you’ve got standing with both service, your standing will probably be matched as follows:
| When you have: | You may be matched to: |
|---|---|
| Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP standing | HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold standing |
| Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K or MVP Gold 100K standing | HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum standing |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold standing | Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP standing |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum standing | Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP Gold standing |
And, even when you do not have standing with both airline, loyalty members can mix their elite qualifying miles from each applications to attain standing.
| Mixed EQM stability: | Standing you will get with Mileage Plan: | Standing you will get with HawaiianMiles: |
|---|---|---|
| 20,000 EQMs | MVP | Pualani Gold |
| 40,000 EQMs | MVP Gold | Pualani Platinum |
| 75,000 EQMs | MVP Gold 75K | Pualani Platinum |
| 100,000 EQMs | MVP Gold 100K | Pualani Platinum |
Extra methods to earn Alaska EQMs
In 2025, there are a number of further methods Mileage Plan members can earn elite qualifying miles. Alaska executives introduced that members will earn 1,000 EQMs for each 3,000 miles earned on nonflight actions, reminiscent of by Lyft, Mileage Plan purchasing portal and the eating program.
Moreover, members will start incomes EQMs on award flights. Mileage Plan members will earn the identical quantity of EQMs as they might on a paid ticket; nevertheless, members is not going to earn Alaska base miles on award redemptions.
What are Alaska’s elite standing advantages?
Whereas the perks are nice for all members with Alaska Airways elite standing, as you progress up the tiers, the advantages change into much more worthwhile.
MVP
That is the bottom elite tier in Alaska’s program, the place you’ll obtain advantages reminiscent of:
- 50% bonus miles (altering to 25% bonus miles in 2025)
- Oneworld Ruby standing
- Precedence check-in, safety and boarding
- Most popular seating
- Two free checked baggage (by 2025; one free checked bag beginning in 2026)
- Precedence name routing
- Alaska Lounge membership low cost
- First-class upgrades on the time of reserving with Y and B fares
- Premium-class upgrades on the time of reserving with Y, B and H fares
- First- and premium-class upgrades on Alaska nonqualifying fares (besides Savor) 48 hours earlier than departure
- Entry to additional legroom seating on American Airways beginning 24 hours earlier than departure
- Complimentary entry to home upgrades on American beginning 24 hours earlier than departure
MVP Gold
As you stage up with Alaska, you obtain all the identical perks as MVP, plus:
- 100% bonus miles (altering to 50% bonus miles in 2025)
- Two free checked baggage
- Oneworld Sapphire standing
- Complimentary same-day flight adjustments and standby for full flights
- Complimentary premium beverage or chocolate in Primary Cabin
- 4 first-class upgrades on the time of reserving with Y, B, H and Okay fares (by Dec. 31, 2024)
- Premium-class upgrades on the time of reserving with Y, B, H, Okay, M, L, V, S and N fares
- First- and premium-class upgrades on Alaska nonqualifying fares (besides Savor) 72 hours earlier than departure
- First- and premium-class companion upgrades
- First-class visitor upgrades (most of 4 per yr)
- Entry to additional legroom seating on American Airways at reserving
- Complimentary entry to home upgrades on American beginning 48 hours earlier than departure
MVP Gold 75K
For much more frequent Alaska flyers, you obtain all the identical perks as MVP Gold, in addition to:
- 125% bonus miles (altering to 100% bonus miles in 2025)
- 50,000 bonus miles upon qualification (solely by Dec. 31, 2024)
- Oneworld Emerald standing
- Three free checked baggage
- 4 Alaska Lounge day passes
- First-class upgrades on the time of reserving with Y, B, H, Okay and M fares
- Premium-class upgrades on the time of reserving on all fares besides Savor fares
- First- and premium-class upgrades on Alaska nonqualifying fares (besides Savor) 120 hours earlier than departure
- One one-way worldwide improve certificates on American Airways
- Complimentary entry to home upgrades on American beginning 72 hours earlier than departure
MVP Gold 100K
That is the highest tier in Alaska’s program for its most frequent vacationers, the place you’ll obtain all the identical perks as MVP Gold 75K, plus:
- 150% bonus miles
- 100K Selection Profit upon qualification
- Complimentary snack or meal in Primary Cabin
- Two one-way worldwide improve certificates on American Airways
For Alaska elite standing members reaching the MVP Gold 100K tier, you may be invited to pick one of many 100K Selection Advantages for the next yr:
- 50,000 bonus miles
- Alaska Lounge+ membership
- Capability to present MVP Gold standing
- Complimentary Wi-Fi each time you fly on Alaska
- Complimentary Clear Plus membership
In 2025, Alaska is rolling out a brand new record of 100K Selection Profit choices, which embrace:
- 50,000 bonus miles
- 75,000 miles off an Extras* redemption
- Alaska Lounge+ membership
- Complimentary Wi-Fi on each flight
- 4 improve certificates
- Nominate somebody for MVP Gold standing
For elite members who attain 150K, 200K and 250K milestones, you may choose two of the next perks (beginning in 2025):
- 15,000 bonus miles
- 25,000 miles off an Extras redemption
- Two complimentary Alaska Lounge day passes
- Two improve certificates
- Roll over 10,000 EQMs to the next yr
Even if you happen to do not attain the 100K milestone or better, Alaska introduced new milestone rewards for Mileage Plan members. In 2025, loyalty program members will have the ability to choose from the next record of perks when a brand new milestone is reached:
10,000 EQMs
Decide one of many following:
- 750 bonus miles
- Preorder a complimentary meal to your flight
- One complimentary Wi-Fi go
- Strive MVP standing for a visit
- Earn double miles with nonair companions
- Improve your subsequent Avis automobile rental
30,000 EQMs
Decide one of many following:
- 2,500 bonus miles
- $25 off a future Alaska flight
- 4 Wi-Fi passes
- Strive MVP Gold standing for a visit
- $100 off an Alaska Lounge membership
55,000 EQMs
Decide two of the next:
- 5,000 bonus miles
- 10,000 miles off a redemption from Extras
- Reward MVP standing for a visit
- One complimentary Alaska Lounge day go
- Two improve certificates
85,000 EQMs
Decide two of the next:
- 15,000 bonus miles
- 25,000 miles off an Extras redemption
- Two complimentary Alaska Lounge day passes
- Two improve certificates
- Reward MVP Gold standing for a visit
- Nominate somebody for MVP standing
- Roll over 10,000 EQMs to the subsequent yr
*Extras is a journey expertise platform (that includes sporting occasions, concert events and different actions) that Alaska will launch.
Can a bank card make it easier to earn Alaska MVP standing?
Alaska has private and enterprise bank cards, each obtainable by Financial institution of America. They provide the next advantages. (Phrases apply.)
| Card | Greatest for | Welcome bonus | Incomes price | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airways Visa Signature® bank card | Alaska Airways flyers | Earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Well-known Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and charges from $23) after making $3,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of opening your account. | 3 miles per greenback spent on Alaska purchases; 2 miles per greenback spent on gasoline, native transit, electrical automobile charging stations, cable and a few streaming providers; 1 mile per greenback spent on all the things else | $95 |
| Alaska Airways Visa® Enterprise card | Alaska Airways flyers with an eligible enterprise | Earn 50,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Well-known Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and charges from $23) after making $3,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of account opening. | 3 miles per greenback spent on Alaska purchases; 2 miles per greenback spent on gasoline, native transit, EV charging stations, transport and native transit (together with ride-hailing providers); 1 mile per greenback spent on all the things else | $70 to your firm and $25 per card |
At present, cobranded cardholders will earn 4,000 elite qualifying miles for each $10,000 spent; nevertheless, you may solely earn a most of 20,000 EQMs from spending on a card. As talked about above, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, cardholders will earn 1 EQM for each $3 spent (as much as 30,000 EQMs) yearly.
Along with the dear redeemable miles earned, Alaska’s cobranded playing cards include perks like free checked baggage, reductions on inflight purchases and the flexibility to work towards MVP elite standing. As such, it could simply make sense to maintain one of many airline’s bank cards in your pockets yr after yr.
Associated: Your full information to incomes and redeeming with Alaska Airways Mileage Plan
Is Alaska Airways elite standing value it?
In the event you already fly Alaska often or plan to in 2025 and are maybe contemplating including an Alaska Airways bank card to your pockets, you may discover it straightforward to earn elite standing within the Mileage Plan program and discover the advantages properly well worth the effort. Plus, with the extra perks and new status-earning alternatives in 2025, chances are you’ll be much more satisfied to qualify for elite standing.
Nonetheless, it’s value noting that Alaska and Hawaiian Airways will finally merge into one loyalty program. Presently, it’s anticipated that the precise particulars and advantages of that joint program is not going to be revealed till 2025.
In the event you earned Alaska elite standing in 2023, it is legitimate by Dec. 31, 2024. To determine whether or not to pursue extending your standing into 2025 or 2026, it’s essential to contemplate how a lot you will be touring on Alaska and Oneworld companions sooner or later. In the event you push onerous to earn MVP Gold 100K standing, for instance, the dear perks outlined, together with upgrades and free checked baggage, are solely useful if you happen to fly incessantly sufficient the next yr to make use of these perks.
Moreover, there isn’t any level in pursuing elite standing with an airline if you cannot feasibly fly it (or its companions) often. Make sure to contemplate Alaska’s service from your private home airport(s) and the way straightforward it’s to get to your required vacation spot with the service.
With that in thoughts, you will need to contemplate the trade-offs in pursuing standing. One of the frequent is deciding whether or not to make use of your most popular airline when it’s not essentially the most handy or most cost-effective possibility. Would you e book a one-stop Alaska flight if Delta had a cheaper nonstop possibility? If the reply is not any, it might not be value going out of your approach to earn standing with Alaska.
Moreover, when you’ve got already obtained elite standing with one other airline and marvel if Alaska’s elite standing is value it, you would apply for a standing match problem. You’ll be able to submit your frequent flyer standing with one of many airways listed on Alaska’s web site to obtain the equal Mileage Plan standing for 90 days.
Associated: Alaska Airways baggage charges and how one can keep away from paying them
Backside line
Alaska Airways is broadly thought of a high airline within the frequent flyer neighborhood due to its MVP elite standing and useful mileage forex. Plus, with the acquisition of Hawaiian Airways and the rollout of recent milestone advantages and program perks coming in 2025, Alaska Airways’ elite standing is tempting even loyal AAdvantage TPG workers members.
Nonetheless, the service has made some unwelcome adjustments just lately, reminiscent of introducing a distance-based construction and charging sky-high redemption charges for brand new companions.
Whereas reciprocal improve advantages with American Airways are useful for Alaska elite members flying American, it may additionally imply upgrades will probably be more difficult to attain, notably for lower-tier elite members. When contemplating whether or not it’s value attaining MVP standing, you will need to have a look at the place your travels will take you this yr and subsequent yr to see if the perks outweigh the prices. In case you are working onerous to earn elite standing advantages, it would be best to guarantee you’ll journey sufficient with Alaska and its accomplice airways when you attain your required standing tier to make that tough work worthwhile.
Total, having MVP standing generally is a good enhance to make an gratifying Alaska Airways flying expertise much more seamless.
Up to date as of 10/22/2024.
