Alaska Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the United States, but since I’m going alphabetically this week I’ll present them first. Based in Seattle, WA, with additional hubs in Anchorage, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, Alaska is primarily a West Coast airline that recently joined American Airlines in the Oneworld Alliance. Despite its size it is known for operating many coast-to-coast flights and as well as a large number of routes to Hawaii.
The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program is one of the few to still issue elite qualifying miles based on the distance you fly rather than the amount you spend for your ticket. Alaska also is the only carrier that still publishes a fixed award chart — although not all redemptions are a great value. This makes it appealing to those who aren’t a big fan of measuring their loyalty in dollars.
Elite qualifying miles are tracked separately from redeemable miles, which are the kind you redeem for free flights and other awards. Redeemable miles are also a lot easier to earn, with frequent bonuses, travel partners, shopping portals, and through credit card spend, etc.
Meanwhile, elite qualifying miles are pretty much only earned by flying. There have been a few limited promotions that let you earn qualifying miles with a credit card, but these are often targeted and only started appearing in the last year. It’s not clear that they will become a frequent occurrence so you should not rely on them.
In addition to elite qualifying miles there are elite qualifying segments, which are individual flights flown regardless of distance. Segments may be useful to track if you often take short flights or trips with lots of connections. You only need to qualify for elite status using miles or segments, not both.
However, there is one additional requirement that applies to all elite status tiers: You must take a minimum number of flights marketed and operated by Alaska Airlines. You could theoretically earn a lot of elite qualifying miles and segments by flying exclusively on Alaska’s Oneworld Alliance partners, but that wouldn’t be enough. You need to have a certain minimum number of flights on Alaska itself, and those flights need to be issued by Alaska (with an Alaska flight number) and not a codeshare.
How to Earn Elite Qualifying Miles and Segments
Elite qualifying miles are fairly straightforward to earn on Alaska Airlines. Every mile flown is a mile earned, and you can see the number of miles when you book or look it up on a tool like GCMap. Certain premium fares earn bonus elite qualifying miles, such as first class tickets that earn between 50% and 100% bonus miles. That means if your flight was 2,000 miles and you purchased a full-fare J ticket in first class, you’d earn 4,000 total elite qualifying miles, plus one elite qualifying segment (there’s no bonus on segments).
All flights on Alaska Airlines have a 500-mile minimum. You will always earn at least 500 redeemable and 500 elite qualifying miles.
Earning elite qualifying miles on a partner airline is more complicated. Many adjust the number of miles both up and down depending on which fare you purchase. Some highly discounted flights on American Airlines in the N and O fare classes earn just 25% of the distance flown, for example. But it’s still based on distance and not price. In the unlikely event that you find a very cheap ticket in a premium fare class, you could do well.
Qualification Criteria for Elite Status
| Elite Qualifying Miles | Elite Qualifying Segments | Alaska Airlines Segments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | 20,000 | 30 | 2 |
| MVP Gold | 40,000 | 60 | 6 |
| MVP Gold 75K | 75,000 | 90 | 12 |
| MVP Gold 100K | 100,000 | 140 | 24 |
Remember, you need to satisfy either (1a) the Elite Qualifying Miles requirement OR (1b) the Elite Qualifying Segments requirement. You also need to satisfy (2) the Alaska-operated flights requirement. Flights marketed and operated by Alaska Airlines will have a flight number beginning with “AS” and Alaska’s name is on the side of the plane.
Always remember to include your Alaska Airlines loyalty number in your reservation if you want to earn credit for your travel. You can confirm this by reading your ticket details on confirmation online. It’s difficult to get credit if you use a different airline’s loyalty number by mistake. As a last resort, get it fixed when you check in for your flight or at the gate.
Benefits of Alaska Mileage Plan Elite Status
Alaska Mileage Plan status is unusually generous when it comes to domestic routes because the carrier has a limited international network. That includes perks like complimentary first class upgrades at booking, lower elite qualifying requirements, extra bonus miles, and free lounge access included with first class tickets. All members can also enjoy Alaska’s unique Parental Leave policy that extends your status when you have a new child.
MVP Elite Benefits
- Complimentary upgrades on all flights, excluding a companion, beginning at 48 hours before departure
- Complimentary upgrade at booking for Y and B fares
- Complimentary seating in Premium Class at booking on Y, B, and H fares
- 2 free checked bags
- 50% bonus redeemable miles
- Oneworld Ruby status
MVP Gold Elite Benefits
- Complimentary upgrades on all flights for you and a companion, beginning at 72 hours before departure
- Complimentary upgrade at booking for Y, B, H, and K fares
- 4 one-way guest upgrade certificates on Alaska Airlines
- Complimentary seating in Premium Class at booking on Y, B, H, K, M, L, V, S and N fares
- Complimentary drink in Main Cabin
- 2 free checked bags
- 100% bonus redeemable miles
- Oneworld Sapphire status
MVP Gold 75K Elite Benefits
- Complimentary upgrades on all flights for you and a companion, beginning at 120 hours before departure
- Complimentary upgrade at booking for Y, B, H, K, and M fares
- 4 one-way guest upgrade certificates on Alaska Airlines and 1 systemwide upgrade certificates on American Airlines
- Complimentary seating in Premium Class at booking (any fare except Saver)
- Complimentary drink in Main Cabin
- 3 free checked bags
- 125% bonus redeemable miles and a once-annual bonus of 50,000 miles upon qualifying
- Oneworld Emerald status
MVP Gold 100K Elite Benefits
- Complimentary upgrades on all flights for you and a companion, beginning at 120 hours before departure
- Complimentary upgrade at booking for Y, B, H, K, and M fares
- 4 one-way guest upgrade certificates on Alaska Airlines and 2 systemwide upgrade certificates on American Airlines
- Complimentary seating in Premium Class at booking (any fare except Saver)
- Complimentary drink and stack in Main Cabin
- 3 free checked bags
- 150% bonus redeemable miles (plus the once-annual 50,000 miles earned upon qualifying for 75K)
- Oneworld Emerald status
Mileage Plan Million Miler Benefits
In addition to the standard tiers, you have the option to earn Million Miler status with Alaska Mileage Plan, which means you’ve flown one million miles on Alaska-operated flights. Partner flights don’t count, nor do bonus miles or credit card miles. Million Miler status includes MVP Gold status for life but confers no other special perks. At this time there are no benefits for earning two million miles or more.
Alaska Lounge Membership
It’s worth noting that Alaska Airlines is also pretty generous with access to its Alaska Lounge network. All elite tiers get a discount on annual membership, ranging from $50 off for MVP Gold to $150 off for MVP Gold 75K and 100K members. The network isn’t large, but for an additional charge you can purchase an extended membership that also includes access to American’s Admiral Club network and a few other partner lounges.
Not feeling spendy? In an unusual perk for a domestic airline, all first class customers receive complimentary Alaska Lounge access, but only if you actually pay for first class. Upgraded passengers must have a membership or day pass.
