About the Changes

Alaska Airlines announced today that it will make a series of changes to its Mileage Plan loyalty program starting January 1, 2025. Overall, these changes look pretty positive.

More Ways to Earn Elite Status

Starting January 1, 2025, you will have more ways to earn elite status:

  • Award tickets: For every mile flown on a ticket booked with Mileage Plan miles, you will earn 1 elite qualifying mile (EQM). Note that these miles are not redeemable miles you can use for future award flights; they only count toward elite status qualification. What is especially interesting here is that you can earn EQMs this way even when flying partner airlines, not just Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
  • Credit card spending: Earn 1 EQM for every $3 spent, up to a maximum of 30,000 EQM total, which would require $90,000 in spending. Hitting the cap would earn you MVP status, which starts at 20,000 EQM, and get you about 3/4 of the way to MVP Gold.
  • Partners: Alaska Airlines has many non-airline partners, such as its shopping portal, dining program, Lyft, and more. For every 3,000 redeemable miles earned through these partners, you can earn 1,000 EQM. Note that Alaska's shopping portal sometimes runs promotions like “earn 2,500 bonus miles after spending $1,000”; it is still unclear whether those bonus miles will count toward EQM.
  • EQM rollover from the prior year: Mileage Plan is introducing milestone rewards, and one option is to choose to roll over 10,000 EQM into the next elite qualification year.

One thing worth highlighting is that the miles required for an award ticket and the EQMs you earn from it are not the same thing. In other words, your award ticket might cost only 30,000 miles, but with open-jaw and stopover routing, you may be able to fly a very long distance and earn a large number of EQMs. There is probably plenty of room for creative strategies here.

Milestone Rewards

Currently, elite tiers are determined by EQM earned:

  • MVP = 20,000 EQM
  • MVP Gold = 40,000 EQM
  • MVP Gold 75,000 = 75,000 EQM
  • MVP Gold 100,000 = 100,000 EQM

These qualification requirements are not changing, but milestone rewards will be added along the way and beyond.

10,000 EQM (choose one of the following benefits)

  • 750 bonus miles
  • A complimentary pre-order meal
  • One free Wi‑Fi pass
  • MVP trial status
  • Double miles with non-airline partners
  • Upgrade your next Avis rental

30,000 EQM (choose one of the following benefits)

  • 2,500 bonus miles
  • $25 off a future Alaska ticket
  • Four Wi‑Fi passes
  • Gift one MVP Gold trial
  • $100 off an Alaska Lounge membership

55,000 EQM (choose two of the following benefits)

  • 5,000 bonus miles
  • 10,000 miles off an ‘Extras’ redemption
  • Gift one MVP Gold trial
  • One complimentary lounge day pass
  • Two upgrade certificates

85,000 EQM (choose two of the following benefits)

  • 15,000 bonus miles
  • 25,000 miles off an ‘Extras’ redemption
  • Two complimentary lounge day passes
  • Two upgrade certificates
  • Gift one MVP Gold trial
  • Gift MVP status
  • 10,000 EQM rollover

150,000 EQM (choose two of the following benefits)

  • 15,000 bonus miles
  • 25,000 miles off an ‘Extras’ redemption
  • Two complimentary lounge passes
  • Two upgrade certificates
  • 10,000 EQM rollover

200,000 EQM (choose two of the following benefits)

  • 15,000 bonus miles
  • 25,000 miles off an ‘Extras’ redemption
  • Two complimentary lounge passes
  • Two upgrade certificates
  • 10,000 EQM rollover

250,000 EQM (choose two of the following benefits)

  • 15,000 bonus miles
  • 25,000 miles off an ‘Extras’ redemption
  • Two complimentary lounge passes
  • Two upgrade certificates
  • 10,000 EQM rollover

Other Changes

  • Extra earnings when booking partner flights on Alaska's website/app: Alaska will award 100% mileage earning in economy, though Saver and basic economy are excluded. Premium cabins will earn more: 150% for premium economy, 250% for business class, and 350% for international first class.
  • Award tickets can include multiple airlines: Right now, award tickets can include Alaska Airlines plus one partner airline, but you cannot book an award with two partner airlines in the same itinerary. That will change, starting with awards between the U.S. and Europe, and then expanding globally in 2025.

Negative Changes

Although these upcoming changes are mostly positive overall, some of them may negatively affect certain Mileage Plan members. The main downside is that some benefits are being removed and replaced by milestone rewards.

  • MVP Gold: will no longer automatically receive four upgrade certificates
  • MVP Gold 75,000: will no longer automatically receive four Alaska Lounge passes, and will also no longer receive 50,000 bonus miles

Summary

The biggest takeaway is that there will be many more ways to earn EQMs and qualify for Alaska elite status, which should be especially useful for people who do not fly that often. Most notably, award tickets will now earn EQMs. On top of that, the milestone rewards look solid, giving members something to work toward at each level. You may even be able to top off the EQMs needed for certain milestone rewards through credit card spending.