How To Get Alaska Airlines Elite Status (And Is It Worth It?)

Key Takeaways

• Earn Alaska Airlines elite status by flying a certain number of qualifying miles with Alaska or its partners within a calendar year. The lowest tier is 20,000 miles.
• Elite tiers include MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K, each offering increasing benefits like complimentary upgrades, priority boarding, and bonus miles.
• Status can also be earned through status matches and challenges, making it accessible for frequent travelers switching loyalty from another airline.

Who doesn’t love airline elite status? Getting perks like free checked baggage, upgrades, and lounge access can be helpful, but sometimes the path to elite status is unclear.

At Upgraded Points, we’ve covered ways to earn elite status with lots of popular airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Today, it’s Alaska Airlines’ turn.

In this post, we’ll show you everything you need to know about how to get Alaska Airlines elite status, including the minimum requirements, tiers of elite status, the benefits of each level of status, and the all-important question — is it even worth trying to get Alaska Airlines elite status?

How To Earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Elite Status

Earning elite status in the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program is relatively straightforward compared to many other airline elite status programs out there.

The earning period runs on a calendar year, from January 1 to December 31. You keep your status for the remainder of the year in which you earn it, as well as the following calendar year.

To earn elite status, you’ll need to meet the minimum number of elite qualifying miles. There is no longer a requirement to meet a minimum number of flights or segments.

Elite qualifying miles are earned by flying on Alaska Airlines and its qualifying partners, with a minimum of 500 miles earned per flight. Award tickets don’t earn elite qualifying miles.

In 2024, you can earn elite qualifying miles through the Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards. You’ll get 4,000 EQM for every $10,000 spent (with a maximum of 20,000 EQM earned) on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card or Alaska Airlines Visa^® Business credit card.

Once you earn elite status with Alaska Airlines, it will be valid through the following calendar year. For example, if you earned Alaska Airlines MVP status in October 2024, your status would be valid through December 2025.

After flying 1,000,000 miles on Alaska Airlines, you’ll be a Million Miler and have MVP Gold status for life.

Status Match to Alaska Airlines

Mileage Plan also has a great status match program. If you have elite status with another airline, you can apply for a status match to Alaska Airlines.

You can match to MVP status from the following statuses:

You can match to MVP Gold status from the following statuses:

You can match to MVP Gold 75K status from the following statuses:

Once you apply for a status match, you’ll have 90 days to fly a certain number of miles to keep your status.

• To keep MVP status, fly 5,000 miles on Alaska
• To keep MVP Gold status, fly 10,000 miles on Alaska
• To keep MVP Gold 75K status, fly 20,000 miles on Alaska

Once you fly the required miles on Alaska, your elite benefits will be extended based on when you started your status match challenge.

If you start by the end of June, your benefits will be extended to the end of that calendar year. If you started your challenge between July and December, your benefits will be extended through the following calendar year.

Bottom Line:

You can status match to Alaska Airlines from a number of other airline statuses. After status matching, you’ll have 90 days to fly a specified number of miles to keep your benefits. To maximize the time you can take advantage of your matched status, start your status match challenge between July and December so your benefits will be extended to the end of the following calendar year.

Alaska Airlines Credit Cards

The Alaska Signature card can help you earn Alaska Airlines elite status and it’s a great way to earn lots of Alaska Airlines miles. It comes with perks, including free checked bags and a yearly Companion Fare.

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card

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Provides the potential to earn plenty of miles to fly with Alaska Airlines or over a dozen partners. Plus, get an annual companion fare from just $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) when you spend at least $6,000 a year on the card!

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card

Provides the potential to earn plenty of miles to fly with Alaska Airlines or over a dozen partners. Plus, get an annual companion fare from just $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) when you spend at least $6,000 a year on the card!

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

60,000 miles + $99 Companion Fare™

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$960

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.74% - 28.74% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

With the Alaska Signature card in your wallet, you can get great perks and earn miles at the same time. This is a win-win if Alaska is the airline you prefer to fly with! Plus, its annual companion fare is a great benefit for traveling couples.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x miles per $1 spent on Alaska purchases
• 2x miles per $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging, local transit (including rideshare), cable, and select streaming services
• 1x mile per $1 spent on all other purchases

Cons

• Charges a $95 annual fee
• Does not earn transferable rewards

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Get 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of your account opening.
• Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™. Get a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
• Free checked bag. Any cardholder who purchases airfare with their card, and up to 6 additional guests traveling on the same reservation, may check their first bag free.
• Enjoy priority boarding so you can get to your seat quicker, when you pay for your flight with your card.
• Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases. And earn unlimited 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don’t expire on active accounts.
• Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America^® account.
• A faster way to earn status with your Alaska Airlines credit card. Throughout 2024, for every $10,000 you spend on purchases, you’ll automatically earn 4,000 elite-qualifying miles (EQMs), up to 20,000 EQMs total.
• Enjoy 20% back on all Alaska Airlines inflight purchases and get $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership when you pay with your new card.
• With oneworld^® Alliance member airlines and Alaska’s Global Partners, Alaska has expanded their global reach to over 1,000 destinations worldwide bringing more airline partners and more ways to earn and redeem miles.
• Flexibility with no blackout dates on Alaska Airlines flights when booking with miles or a companion fare.
• Plus, no foreign transaction fees.^†

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.74% - 28.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Frequent Flyer Program

Small business owners may want to check out the Alaska Airlines Business card.

Alaska Airlines Elite Status Benefits

Alaska Airlines elite members have access to select benefits, regardless of elite level:

• Priority check-in and boarding
• Free checked bags (2 for MVP and MVP Gold and 3 for MVP Gold 75K and MVP Gold 100K)
• Preferred seating
• Express security screening at select airports
• Dedicated reservation phone line
• Priority call routing in call centers
• Elite Leave for new parents, allowing you to keep elite status for an additional year during pregnancy or parental leave

In addition, elite members have the following benefits:

100K Choice Benefit

Upon earning MVP Gold 100K status, members can choose 1 of 5 100K Choice Benefits:

• 50,000 bonus miles
• Alaska Lounge+ membership
• Gift of MVP Gold status
• Complimentary Wi-Fi every time you fly
• Complimentary CLEAR^® Plus membership

Hot Tip:

Having elite status helps you get first class upgrades on Alaska Airlines.

Oneworld and Global Partner Benefits

In addition to benefits on Alaska Airlines, elite members get benefits from Oneworld Alliance partners and global partners. Benefits include priority check-in, access to preferred or pre-reserved seating, and Priority on waitlists and when on standby, among others.

There are additional perks involved for those with higher elite status including priority boarding, access to Oneworld business class lounges, access to Oneworld Alaska lounges, extra baggage allowance, and priority baggage handling.

Oneworld Alliance Partners

Global Partners

Alaska Airlines elite members have access to the following Oneworld Alliance benefits.

American Airlines Benefits

Alaska Airlines elite members have access to the following benefits on American Airlines:

Other Partner Airlines Benefits

MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K members plus 1 guest will have access to the following partner lounges:

• Select Hainan Airlines lounges
• Select Icelandair lounges

Is Alaska Airlines Elite Status Worth It?

Whether or not Alaska Airlines elite status is worth it or not depends on how you use the program. Let’s take a look at a few of the benefits of Alaska’s elite status to see what they’re actually worth for an average traveler.

Free Checked Baggage

Alaska Airlines elite members get a minimum of 2 free checked bags per flight. Alaska’s checked baggage fees are increasing to $35 for the first bag and $45 for the second. This means that if you fly 6 times per year round-trip and check 2 bags each time, having elite status would save you $960!

If you don’t have Alaska Airlines elite status but would still like to avoid paying baggage fees, you can consider Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards. Both of these cards come with a free checked bag for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation.

Premium Class Upgrades

Alaska Airlines elite members can upgrade to Premium Class at the time of booking, depending on which fares you book. Premium Class comes with roomier seats, complimentary beer and wine, plus priority boarding. Premium Class upgrades start at $15 per flight, so if you fly 6 round trips per year, you’ll save $180.

Elite Miles Bonus

As an Alaska Airlines elite member, you’ll earn 50% to 150% in bonus miles. If you’re an MVP member who flies 20,000 miles per year, that’s a bonus of 10,000 miles.

According to our most recent valuations, Alaska miles are worth ~1.8 cents each. That means your bonus of 10,000 miles is worth about $180. If you’re an MVP Gold 100K member who flies 100,000 miles, your 150% bonus will give you an extra 150,000 miles with a value of about $2,700!

Bottom Line:

Being able to earn bonus Alaska miles is a great perk of having elite status with Alaska Airlines.

Final Thoughts

Alaska’s MVP elite status program is a great way to improve your flying experience. Thankfully, getting Alaska Airlines elite status is relatively straightforward.

Each calendar year, you’ll need to fly at least 20,000 eligible miles. As you get higher elite status, the requirements to earn the status also go up.

Best of all, you can enjoy the benefits of Alaska Airlines elite status on their many Oneworld partner airlines as well.