Alaska
Alaska Airlines Overhauls Mileage Plan: Faster Elite Status, New Perks, And Unlock Better Award Flights – View from the Wing
Alaska Airlines has announced changes – nearly all improvements – to its Mileage Plan program for 2025. I spoke with Alaska’s Vice President of Loyalty, Alliances, and Sales Brett Catlin about the effort – which he calls a “phase one.”
- In this first phase, he acknowledges, they’re taking what he views as the best recent innovations from other programs – like counting all activity with the program towards status, making award travel count, and rewarding customers with new benefits in between status levels.
- Then phase two will come in six to nine months and will be more “innovative stuff” that involves engaging and rewarding customers who are just beginning to transact with Alaska.
Put another way, he sees Alaska as a very strong program for those who are very frequent flyers, and with a lot of miles. Today’s changes are about doing more for this group.
The next set will aim to “get more people in funnel [going from] first flight to elite status.” For instance, just as they’ve taken the bundle of Club 49 benefits for Alaska residents and brought that concept (Huaka’i by Hawaiian) to Hawaii with discounts, free bags, and special co-brand cardmember offers, they see the possibility of extending the idea to a broader customer group as well.
Alaska Airlines
Award Travel Counts Towards Status
Award travel flown beginning January 1, 2025 will count towards status-earning. Qualifying miles will be earned based on distance flown both for Alaska Airlines flights and for partner flights when booking travel using Mileage Plan miles. (Alaska Airlines flights booked using miles from other frequent flyer programs, like American AAdvantage or British Airways Executive Club, will not earn status credit.)
Japan Airlines, Tokyo Narita
A Qatar Airways roundtrip award between Los Angeles and the Maldives will earn 20,720 qualifying miles.
Virgin was first with award travel counting towards status and there was a strong logic since members pay hefty fuel surcharges for these flights.
Then Delta SkyMiles followed suit, but neither Delta nor Virgin credited award travel on partner airlines like Alaska will. Delta got that started only this year. As a technical matter, this is challenging. There’s an Alaska ticket number, and a Mileage Plan number in the reservation, but no one else has managed this before.
All Partner Activity Counts Towards Status
Last year, Alaska Airlines introduced credit card spending as a way to earn credit towards status, capped at 20,000 qualifying miles.
Airlines like American, Delta and United have all taken steps towards counting credit card and sometimes other partner transactions, recognizing that those are far higher margin for the airline than actually flying. American has gone the farthest, with credit from card spend uncapped and accumulating status credit the fastest.
After dipping their toes in this water for 2024, Mileage Plan is expanding how non-flight activity will count towards status-earning in 2025.
- Alaska Visa cardholders will earn one elite-qualifying mile for
every $3 spent, up to 30,000 qualifying miles each year. - Other partner activity – like online shopping and Lyft rides – will earn 1,000 qualifying miles per 3,000 redeemable miles earned (with no cap).
American roughly doubled the qualifying thresholds and started awarding one loyalty point (status credit) per redeemable mile earned. Alaska isn’t quite as generous as that but partner transactions will begin going much further.
Brett Catlin tells me that they’re limiting how much credit card spend can contribute to status “to make sure we can manage” the elite pool, delivering benefits both for those earning status exclusively by flying and also given any increase in the elite pool from those who newly qualify with this expanded criteria. While this cap is “the permanent offer,” over time we may see the cap go up.
I asked him about language about “qualifying partners” counting, thinking that this might be akin to only some partners at American AAdvantage counting (e.g. Bask Bank savings account-earning usually hasn’t counted) but he assures that this is simply meant to account for transfer relationships like Bilt (points transfers don’t count, but “everyday partners all count.”
New Milestone Moments Earned Between Elite Tiers
I think that Hyatt did the best job six year ago of making some benefits easy to earn, and benefits continue to accrue, at small increments of activity. For them, every 10 hotel nights earns additional perks (including elite nights from credit card spend).
American Airlines has moved in this direction, too, with their Loyalty Point Rewards. Members accrue free seat assignments and Avis (and soon Hyatt) status as they strive for higher status levels, and additional perks as they keep flying beyond those levels.
Alaska is adopting this model as well, with benefits starting after just 10,000 qualifying miles.
- 10K milestone Pick one (1):
- 750 bonus miles
- Pre-order a complimentary meal for your flight
- One (1) complimentary Wi-Fi pass
- Try MVP status for a trip
- Earn double miles with non-air partners
- Upgrade your next Avis rental
- 2,500 bonus miles
- $25 off a future Alaska flight
- Four (4) Wi-Fi passes
- Try MVP Gold status for a trip
- $100 off an Alaska Lounge membership
- 5,000 bonus miles
- 10,000 miles off an Extras redemption
- Gift MVP for a trip
- One (1) complimentary Lounge day pass
- Two (2) upgrade certificates
- 15,000 bonus miles
- 25,000 miles off an Extras redemption
- Two (2) complimentary Lounge day passes
- Two (2) upgrade certificates
- Gift MVP Gold status for a trip
- Nominate someone for MVP status
- 10,000 elite-qualifying miles rolled over
- 50,000 bonus miles
- 75,000 miles off an Extras redemption
- Alaska Lounge+ membership
- Complimentary Wi-Fi on every flight
- Four (4) upgrade certificates
- Nominate someone for MVP Gold status
- 15,000 bonus miles
- 25,000 off an Extras redemption
- Two (2) complimentary Lounge passes
- Two (2) upgrade certificates
- 10,000 elite-qualifying miles rolled over
30K milestone Pick one (1):
55K milestone Pick two (2):
85K milestone Pick two (2):
100K Choice Benefit: Pick one (1):
150K / 200K / 250K milestones Pick two (2):
Alaska Airlines First Class
If you qualify for a milestone perk that lets you make two selection, both can be of the same thing if you prefer (for instance, upgrade certificates twice).
It’s interesting to see rollover qualifying miles as a milestone choice, accelerating status earning in the following year. That’s something that Delta offered for many years – and eliminated for this year.
Obviously the biggest benefits are at the highest thresholds, encouraging members to go above and beyond their status level and keep flying, spending, and engaging the program. Still, even something like a free pre-order meal on board can be meaningful.
And these give early access to trying a status that hasn’t yet been earned. That will be more generous than advertised. For instance, a temporary MVP status is actually valid for 14 days – and they won’t advertise it, but it will be be recognized by partners as well (they’re loathe to make promises here, since partners won’t see status instantly, it’s refreshed less than daily).
Meanwhile, a benefit like earning double miles on partners is far more generous than the comparable offer from American (20% Loyalty Point bonus at 60,000 qualifying points and 30% bonus at 100,000). Catlin tells me that they are still “working through how long” this will be valid for, but it will be “months not weeks.” Credit card earn won’t be doubled.
Alaska Airlines
Multi-Airline Redemptions Finally Coming
Alaska Airlines has been talking about letting members combine different airline partners on a single award ticket for more than three years. They’ve joined oneworld, and introduced a new distance-based award chart which is meant to support this. We’ve still been waiting. Currently two different airline partners means two different awards.
However Alaska will finally be adding multi-carrier redemptions “this winter” to allow mixing and matching partners on a single one-way journey. At first they will support this only between the U.S. and Europe, and then “throughout next year” this will expand across regions and partner airlines.
Cathay Pacific First Class
Simplified Earning For Partner Flights
Right now each airline partner earns Mileage Plan miles at a different rate, and also a different rate if you book as an Alaska Airlines codeshare versus booking directly through that airline.
Alaska is going to a single chart for flights booked through Alaska channels: 100% of flown miles in coach (non-basic economy) and 150% for premium economy; 250% for business class; 350% for international first class. That’s harmonizing at generally the top end of the scale.
However in order to earn at that rate, you’ll have to book through Alaska. When some partners got huge bonuses for premium cabin travel seven years ago, Catlin explains, Alaska didn’t offer to sell those flights directly. They now sell 23 partners online, and will go to 30 next year. They don’t want 30 separate earn charts for this – but if you book a partner flight through the partner you’ll see lower earnings.
Qantas A380 First Class Cabin
Introducing Miles for Experiences
Next year Alaska will introduce “Extras” which will be their experiences and events platform.
This is something that numerous programs, especially in the hotel space but also United and Delta offer. Some of these are cool, but most members don’t pay attention to them – the odds that there’s a good fit that fits a schedule is often perceived a slow, pricing can be high, and they’re cumbersome to discover.
That’s almost a good thing, because otherwise demand for a limited availability product might be too much to handle. The value in brands delivering unique experiences is that their relationships can create connections with other brands and people that a member couldn’t access on their own – play tennis with a world champion, special VIP access to a concert, cooking lessons from a famous chef.
Catlin recognizes that this “Has to scale” and it needs to be “broadly interesting” to members. He calls out SPG Moments are their inspiration, and thinks that “really interesting, unique content, creates a halo or perception that Alaska miles unlock experience.”
Changes To Upgrade Priority
“Later in 2025” Alaska will re-order how they sort upgrade priority. Within each elite tier, million milers will be at the top of the list and then members will be prioritized “how many elite-qualifying miles they’ve earned – not by how much they paid for their ticket.”
I pressed for details on how elite qualifying miles will be calculated for this. I was told that initially they will “sort based on in-year EQMs” (how many have been earned so far in 2025) but ultimately in 2026 they’ll switch to “rolling EQMs” which takes some additional technical work, since it’s a new, separate qualifying miles counter to look back a year from any given point.
The move to recognize million milers at the top of the upgrade list is interesting. It’s literally the opposite of what American Airlines does, where status as a result of lifetime loyalty is at the bottom of the upgrade list – since only qualifying activity during the most recent 12 months matters.
Catlin explains that Alaska’s million miler status is “difficult to earn” since it counts flown miles only on Alaska. They’ve only just had their first 3 million miler though several more are on the cusp.
Additionally, while Alaska doesn’t waitlist for confirmed upgrades – it has to be available for immediate confirmation when you call in – they’re going to introduce automatic alerts for members to do this so they don’t need to subscribe to third party tools to find out when space is available.
While a “waitlist would be ideal” and something they “want to work towards,” addressing an immediate member pain point has them automatically notifying members who are on flights where space opens when the member has a guest upgrade certificate in their account.
Alaska Airlines First Class
Who Wins, Who Loses?
There are a few things members do lose in Alaska’s changes. Not announced, but in 2026 the first tier of elites (MVPs) will see their free checked baggage allowance reduced from 2 to 1. That’s closer to industry standard, and a result of their oneworld membership – since they gave this benefit to their own members, they had to offer two checked bags to oneworld ruby members as well and that gets expensive.
At the same time, later in 2025 MVP members will get complimentary upgrades (to both extra legroom coach and first class) for companions traveling on the same flight with them.
Additionally, MVP Gold 75K members get a 50,000 mile bonus plus lounge passes and upgrade certificates today but will have to choose their preferred benefits going forward. There’s no takeaway from the top 100K tier, and they get more choices, but 75Ks will see some loss.
Ultimately though I think most members win out with these changes, which isn’t something I’m often able to say (or have often, over the last 8 years really).
Alaska Airlines
More From View from the Wing
Alaska has seen this movie before: oil prices spike, politicians celebrate and Juneau starts figuring out how fast it can spend the money.
The U.S. attack on Iran has pushed global oil prices higher, rattling energy markets and sending crude prices upward as supply fears ripple through the global economy. Energy markets surged as tanker disruptions and facility shutdowns across the Middle East threatened supply — a reminder that geopolitical shocks can move oil prices overnight.
For Alaska, that means something very specific: more money. But before Gov. Dunleavy and the Alaska Legislature start eyeing a fresh pile of cash like kids staring at a cookie jar, let’s get something straight. This is not prosperity. This is a temporary windfall driven by war.
And if the past is any guide, Juneau has a good chance to screw it up.
[Related news coverage: Spike in oil prices will boost Alaska revenue, but not enough to cover projected deficit]
Oil prices jumped sharply after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and analysts say prices could climb even higher if the conflict drags on. Some forecasts suggest oil could exceed $100 per barrel, which could mean roughly $1.5 billion more in revenue for Alaska in the coming year, according to reporting by the Juneau Empire.
That kind of money would erase much of the state’s budget deficit and could even fund a dividend north of $3,000.
Cue the political stampede.
In an election year especially, there will be lawmakers eager to promise giant Permanent Fund dividends fueled by this sudden surge in oil revenue. Expect campaign ads. Expect grandstanding. Expect speeches about “returning the wealth to the people.” And even before the attack on Iran, Gov. Dunleavy was already pushing an unsustainable full dividend for each Alaskan.
It’s a stupid idea — not because Alaskans don’t deserve dividends but because temporary revenue should never be used to make permanent promises. War-driven oil money is the worst possible revenue on which to build promises.
Alaska should know better by now
Alaska’s finances remain wildly exposed to oil price swings. A single dollar change in oil prices can move the state budget by roughly $25 million to $35 million, according to Alaska Public Media.
That volatility is exactly why treating a war-driven price spike as stable revenue is fiscal stupidity.
Even lawmakers watching the markets closely say the state should not assume the spike will last. As legislative leaders told Alaska Public Media, Alaska cannot build its spending plans around overly optimistic oil prices. Yet history tells us that when oil money shows up unexpectedly, discipline in Juneau disappears faster than reindeer sausage at the Tanana Valley State Fair.
The last time a global conflict sent prices soaring was after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Oil shot above $100 a barrel for months. What did Alaska do? The Legislature and governor approved a massive dividend and energy payments totaling more than $2 billion. The state spent the money almost as fast as it arrived — don’t we wish we had those billions today?
Like any temporary high, it felt good at the time, and politically, it was wildly popular. It also did absolutely nothing to solve Alaska’s long-term fiscal problems.
The temptation is coming
The state’s spring revenue forecast arrives in about two weeks. If oil prices remain elevated, the numbers will suddenly look far healthier than they did a month ago.
That’s when it gets tempting. Lawmakers will start talking about “surplus revenue.” Candidates for public office will promise bigger dividends. The governor’s allies will argue the state can suddenly afford everything. Don’t fall for it.
As longtime Alaska fiscal analyst Larry Persily recently wrote in the Alaska Beacon, rising oil prices quickly create a long list of spending ideas in Juneau. But the real question isn’t how much money might arrive — it’s how long it will last. And nobody knows the answer to that. War-driven oil spikes can disappear just as quickly as they arrive.
If Alaska receives a revenue windfall from this conflict, the state should treat it for what it is: a one-time shot in the arm.
That means save it, invest it and strengthen the state’s fiscal stability.
Deposits into reserves like the Constitutional Budget Reserve — or even better, the Permanent Fund — would help rebuild the savings Alaska burned through during the last decade of deficits. Strategic investments in infrastructure, education and economic development would strengthen the state long after oil prices fall again.
What Alaska should not do is hand the entire windfall to voters as a massive dividend. That’s not fiscal policy. That’s a sugar rush.
A simple message for Juneau
There is nothing wrong with Alaskans benefiting when oil prices rise. Oil built this state, and its revenues still help pay for essential services. But relying on war-driven price spikes to fund giant dividends is reckless.
This moment will test the discipline of Alaska’s leaders. The attack on Iran may deliver Alaska a sudden burst of revenue. But the state’s long-term problems — structural deficits, unstable revenue and growing needs — will still be there long after oil prices settle down.
So here’s the message the governor and the Legislature need to hear: If this windfall arrives, don’t blow it the way you did last time.
Save it. Invest it. And for once, resist the urge to torch the cash in the middle of an election year.
Alaskans, like millions of Americans in other parts of the country, will move their clocks one hour ahead on Sunday for daylight saving time.
Many see the twice-a-year clock shift as an irksome practice that should be eliminated. Research has shown that the clock changes disrupt circadian rhythm, leading to negative health effects.
So what, if anything, are Alaska lawmakers doing to change the situation?
The Senate voted in May to advance a bill that would permanently eliminate daylight saving time in Alaska — but only if the federal government agreed to move Alaska to Pacific Standard Time, the same time zone used by Washington state, Oregon, California, Nevada and parts of Idaho.
Sen. Kelly Merrick, an Eagle River Republican who sponsored the bill, said her proposal aims to address concerns that arise from past proposals to eliminate daylight saving time while keeping Alaska in its current time zone. Effectively, that would mean Alaska is offset from Seattle by two hours for part of the year, creating challenges for Alaskans who are dependent on Lower 48 time zones — including bankers, broadcasters and tourism operators.
The House has yet to take up Merrick’s bill. There are also two dueling House bills introduced last year — neither of which has advanced — to either permanently remain in daylight saving time or permanently remain in standard time.
Federal law allows states to exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time, which generally begins in March and ends in November. However, states are not allowed to move permanently to daylight saving time without congressional authorization.
The U.S. Senate voted in 2022 in favor of moving to permanently adopt daylight saving time. The legislation has not been voted on in the U.S. House.
Hawaii and Arizona are the two states to exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time so far.
Alaska has long considered various proposals for eliminating the twice-a-year clock changes, with more than a dozen bills proposed in three decades. None have passed both bodies.
But there is relatively recent precedent for changing the way Alaskans set their clocks.
Until the 1980s, Alaska had four time zones. Before the change, the Southeast Panhandle, including Juneau, operated in Pacific Standard Time — the same as the West Coast of the Lower 48. Clocks in most of the state were set two hours earlier — the same time zone as Hawaii. Kotzebue, Nome and much of the Aleutian Chain were on Bering Standard Time, an hour behind Hawaii.
Moving most of the state to a single time zone was meant to create simplicity for both residents and visitors alike.
What would it mean for Alaska to permanently move to Pacific Standard Time? On the shortest days of the year, the sun would rise in Anchorage around 11 a.m. and set around 5 p.m. On the longest days of the year, the sun would rise in Anchorage shortly after 5 a.m. and set well past midnight.
For proponents of after-work outdoor recreation, the idea may seem appealing. For longer stretches of the year, Alaskans will be able to enjoy sunlight after leaving the office or school. The price to pay? More mornings waking in the dark.
Visitor numbers to Alaska were nearly flat last summer following a dip in cruise ship traffic, an unusual plateau for an industry that typically sees solid growth.
The state saw just 4,000 more tourists last summer, compared to the previous year, according to a new report commissioned by the Alaska Travel Industry Association.
That’s a bump of 0.1% percent, in a total of 2.7 million visitors.
“A flat season is OK, I guess,” Jillian Simpson, president of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, said in an interview this week.
“It’s not great,” she said. “Certainly it feels like there’s an opportunity for tourism to be growing in Alaska. But it wasn’t a decline. And so that feels like a win.”
Early season last June, some operators reported slightly slower bookings in some sectors, such as international visitors, amid geopolitical and economic concerns caused by President Donald Trump’s global trade wars and rhetoric.
The leveling off in visitor numbers is unusual for the industry, she said.
“We’ve been on a steady trend of growth for several years,” she said, not counting the COVID-related downturn in 2020 when cruise ships to Alaska were canceled.
Also potentially affecting the summer tourism numbers: The group had less marketing funding to reach potential visitors, she said.
That money dropped after the group had used a COVID-related $5 million federal grant the previous year.
Alaska saw about 1.8 million travelers arrive by cruise ship last year, a decrease of 0.4% from the year earlier, the report said.
About 900,000 travelers arrived by air, an increase of 0.8%.
Less than 100,000 people arrived by highway or ferry.
Anchorage snapshot
While most cruise guests visit Southeast communities, about a quarter of them travel to Seward and Whittier, delivering visitors to Anchorage.
That cross-gulf cruise traffic fell 5% from the year before, the report said.
That likely had to do with how cruise lines allocated their ships last year, Simpson said.
The cross-gulf numbers are expected to rise this summer, in part because a new dock in Seward will be available to handle larger ships, she said.
Anchorage bed tax revenues, a tourism indicator, were down last summer, compared to a year earlier, the report said.
The annual income fell to $45 million, falling more than $4 million from the year before, an 8% drop.
Hotel demand for Anchorage last summer was a bit softer compared to the year before, said Jack Bonney with Visit Anchorage, the city’s tourism bureau.
But that trend has recently reversed, with growth in January up from the year before.
Hotel supply was tight last year, with some renovations underway and some hotels in recent years coming off the tourism market.
But the situation for hotel supply has started to shift, too, with growth in that area, he said.
For example, a 141-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel has planned to open its doors in spring in Midtown, at 4960 A St.
Cross-gulf cruise ship capacity is also expected to grow this summer by 10% to 15%, he said.
That should also help boost visitor numbers, Bonney said.
Advance hotel bookings for so far this year are showing positive signs, he said.
“It appears that, at least for advanced bookings, at the same time last year, we’re ahead of the game,” he said.
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