The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan has five tier levels with MVP Gold 100K as the top tier. This tier is now on benefit year three as the airline continues to make tweaks to this level to improve benefits for its top-tier customers. I usually fly in first class but I do have a flight next week to Fort Lauderdale in premium economy. MVP Gold 100K customers get a seat in premium economy at any fare except for basic economy (Fare code X). I’ll be honest, I picked a flight that had a lot of first class seats open so I am hoping for an upgrade.
The Free Economy Class Meal or Snack
Last year, a new benefit for a free meal or snack for MVP Gold 100K passengers while flying in economy.
The is an asterisk in the description of the free food item. Here is what the asterisk states:
This benefit used to be called a “free snack” which amounted to something slightly better than a pack of Biscoffs. The upgrade to a snack pack is certainly a step in the right direction. I do have to be realistic, what I get will not be a first class meal but I am OK with that if I am seated in economy.
Why do I have to provide a credit card for something that the airline says is complimentary? How and when do I get my money back? The ordering deal is at best, vague.
Meet “BOB”
“BOB” is buy on board and not your uncle Bob. Before Covid, Alaska Airlines used to carry a lot of snack and light meal options on board. After Covid, these options are primarily sold on a pre-order basis so there are not many extras on each flight. This is most likely a decision to cut down on catering waste and save money.
When you look at the asterisk explanation, I believe that the airline wanted MVP Gold 100K passengers to preorder so they would be guaranteed their choice on the flight. Now, it seems that MVP Gold 100K passengers can now order “BOB” totally on a complimentary basis.
My “BOB” Experience
As I said earlier, I am scheduled to fly from PDX to FLL on Tuesday. I was looking at my flight schedule and I decided to look at the preorder food link. Immediately, the verbiage on the bottom left caught my eye – “This one’s on us”. Let’s see how this worked out. I chose the Sunrise Breakfast Sandwich which sells for $10.50.
I selected the Sunrise Breakfast Sandwich and here is what I saw:
Sure enough, the price was adjusted to $0.00 or just plain free. I decided to try this again with my evening return flight. For this flight, I chose the Charcuterie Platter.
Again, the price was adjusted back to $0.00 at the time of making my food preorder selection. Kudos to Alaska Airlines for simplifying the use of this MVP Gold 100K benefit. The last time that I tried to use this perk, the website did ask me for a credit card number.
Final Thoughts
I know frequent flyer programs and the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is one of the most generous. It is one of the few programs where elite status is earned solely by miles flown and not dollars spent. Alaska continues to make improvements to its elite tier levels. The free meal option for MVP 100K passengers is a great improvement and they now have it working so your choice is complimentary from the start. Thank you Alaska Airlines for making this work the way it was intended to work.
