Alaska Airlines used to be different. The former CEO Brad Tilden loved elite customers and treated them better than the 1x flyer. Elite customers was Brad’s bread and butter and he ensured that elite customers felt special and were taken care of. Upgrades went to elite guests before sold. Every time. No matter what. Ben Moneycucci not so much!
While Delta, United, and American turned elite upgrades into a lottery ticket with worse odds than Powerball, Alaska clung to a simpler idea: fly us a lot, we’ll take care of you. Top‑tier elites cleared upgrades early, often five days out, and first class cabins weren’t aggressively strip‑mined for cash before elites even had a chance.
That era is ending quietly, deliberately, and without an announcement.
If you’re an Alaska elite wondering why your upgrades feel harder to come by, why the cabin looks wide open yet nothing clears, or why you’re suddenly upgrading at the same time as mid‑tiers, you’re not imagining things. Alaska is selling upgrades before upgrading elites, and new data suggests the airline may have functionally eliminated the 120‑hour (five‑day) upgrade window even for its most loyal flyers. The future is airport upgrades minutes before departure or if you’re a powerball winner, 72 hours.
Alaska Is Selling the Cabin Before Elites See It
Let’s start with what’s obvious.
Alaska now aggressively sells first‑class upgrades to everyone. Not just at check‑in. Not just close‑in. But weeks in advance, directly through the seat map and app. You don’t need status. You don’t need a special fare. You just need a credit card.
This is a fundamental shift. Historically, Alaska left a meaningful chunk of the first‑class cabin untouched for elites, releasing seats into upgrade inventory early and often. If you want first buy first. Want an upgrade. Be Elite. Now, those seats are being priced, marketed, and sold long before the upgrade window opens. Even the app sends you a notice to upgrade your seat before departure. Alaska is answering to investors and leaving frequent flyers in coach.
And no, this isn’t just “fare difference repricing.” This is Alaska behaving exactly like Delta and United monetizing every last square inch of the premium cabin and letting elites fight over whatever scraps remain.
If you’ve noticed that:
- First class looks empty but upgrades don’t clear
- You’re #1 on the list for days with no movement
- Seats only open up at the gate
That’s because those seats were never meant for you in the first place. If you want first, buy first. That’s what happens when you have a CEO with a finance background. Thanks Moneycucci.
5 day Upgrade Window is Dead
Officially, Alaska still claims its top elites clear upgrades at 120 hours before departure. That’s the policy. It’s published. It exists on paper. In reality? Increasingly meaningless.
Across multiple routes and reports, from reddit to facebook groups, top‑tier elites are seeing upgrades behave as if the clock doesn’t start until never. Or if you look at Alaska’s website. Now just 72 hours! The same window historically reserved for mid‑tier Golds.
Flights with wide‑open first‑class cabins sit untouched at T‑120. Nothing clears. 2 or 3 days before departure. Nothing. At the gate. When you’re lucky. Because for $50 someone from Seattle to Los Angeles is willing to pay. After all that’s cheaper than checking a bag an buying a drink or two.
This isn’t a one‑off. It’s a pattern. And when a “benefit” exists on a chart but not in the system, it’s no longer a benefit. It’s a carrot.
Is the new Rule T-72?
Elite flyers have a clear priority and Alaska claims that it’s up to 120 hours before departure
| Mileage Plan Status | Upgrade Window Opens |
|---|---|
| Titanium | 120 hours (5 days) before departure |
| Gold | 72 hours (3 days) before departure |
| Silver | 48 hours (2 days) before departure |
| No status | No complimentary upgrades |
Yet this week I was reviewing my flight to Miami and the on the website I clicked “waitlist and options”
What I found shocked me…..I can’t be upgraded until 72 hours in advance?
Is This a New Policy or an IT “Issue”?
Alaska hasn’t announced any changes to the upgrade window. So what’s going on? Other than Moneycucci selling everything he can for an extra buck?
Option 1 – A preview of the future
Alaska IT is known for being crap. Plus they are in the middle of a big integration with Hawaiian airline, the new Atmos rewards program and a new website which is mostly crap at this point. As Alaska tries to “optimize” revenue, IT issues are apparent. So they are leaking information here letting us know that
Airlines almost always flip the switch internally before telling customers. As we know, the new upgrade logic is already live which prioritizes selling seats and limits elite upgrade. What we’re seeing now is likely a preview, not a bug of Alaska. When behavior consistently benefits the airline’s bottom line, it’s not an accident. It’s policy just not one they’re ready to put in a press release.
Option 2: This Is an IT Problem (An Excuse and likely the Truth)
Sure, Alaska could claim this is an unintended glitch. After all their IT sucks. Or Maybe it’s someone in HQ who doesn’t fly, who does the coding for the page but doesn’t understand how it reads. After all if you’re an IT geek and not a frequent flyer, you wouldn’t understand how this is misinterpreted.
Alaska Airlines backend systems are changing fast and the people who make the changes don’t actually understand the consumer side. I get it. We all don’t fly. We all can’t be aware. But this is really an excuse!
I pulled up a different flight, departing within 72 hours and when I clicked “Waitlist and option” this is what I saw
OOOOHHHH This likely means VIEW waitlist. Silly Alaska say that!
Bottom Line
Alaska Airlines isn’t killing elite upgrades outright. That would cause backlash. But CEO Ben Moneycucci is following in the contrails of the other major airlines in the United States. Instead of rewarding loyalty Alaska is monetizing first class, releasing fewer seats to upgrades, delaying clearance until the last possible moment, and keeping the published benefits unchanged even though they know that elite upgrades are basically dead.
So really, on paper, nothing has changed. In reality though everything has. The real question though is Alaska limiting upgrades to 72 hours? Or is Alaska messaging on the upgrade list terrible? You tell me. When was the last time you were upgraded in advance of 72 hours?