This Airline Just Made It Easier to Earn Status—and It's Already Rated the No. 1 Domestic Airline Loyalty Program
Alaska Airlines recently updated its frequent flier reward benefits.
The new tiers start at 10,000 miles and offer perks or status in increments.
Travelers can earn perks such as future flight credit or discounted lounge access.
It just got easier to experience the perks of frequent flier airline status.
Alaska Airlines recently announced it would be dropping the minimum mile requirement to only 10,000 miles for frequent flier perks with the airline. This means that it is now faster than ever to achieve benefits and perks by flying with the airline.
Alaska previously had a minimum of 20,000 miles to achieve its lowest status, called MVP. The next tier was 40,000, then 75,000, and finally 100,000 for the highest tier.
Starting at 10,000 miles, travelers can choose a perk including earning 750 bonus miles, or experiencing MVP status for a trip. The MVP status offers priority check-in, free checked bags, seating upgrades, and more.
Once a traveler hits the 20,000 mile threshold, they will earn MVP status overall, with all of the perks listed as well as Oneworld airline alliance Ruby status. The Oneworld alliance includes Alaska, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Qatar Airways.
With each increment of 10,000 points, travelers unlock additional perks and statuses. For example, the 30,000 tier offers a perk of four Wi-Fi passes, or 2,500 bonus miles.
'We're on a multi-year journey to make the industry's most generous loyalty program even more rewarding,' Brett Catlin, the carrier's vice president of loyalty, said in a statement.
The loyalty program updates come at a time where other airlines have downgraded benefits for frequent fliers and customers, providing an opportunity for Alaska to potentially capture new business. For example, Southwest Airlines made headlines in March 2025 for ending its long-standing free bag policy on most tickets. Also in March, United Airlines increased fees and removed guest access for many members of its United Club airline lounge.
Alaska Airlines also offers a status match challenge, which means that if a passenger has a high tier of status on a competitor airline, Alaska will match that level of status for their own tier. For example, members of Southwest Airlines' rewards program at the A-List Preferred can get a match to MVP Gold, and members of United's program at the Platinum level can get a match to MVP Gold 75K.
In its annual report looking at the best frequent flyer programs, WalletHub recently named the Alaska Mileage Plan from Alaska Airlines the No. 1 in the country.
Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
GOP looks to win over Collins, Murkowski on Trump bill
Senate Republicans are trying to win over Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to back the party's ambitious tax cut plan amid fears they could lose a couple of conservative senators. President Trump has made it a priority to engage with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who all have concerns about the emerging package. But some Republicans worry Johnson and Paul could be particularly tough sells on the legislation, which makes winning over Murkowski and Collins all the more important in a vote where the GOP cannot afford more than three defections. 'It's shortening,' one Senate Republican told The Hill about the party's margins. Paul has long been viewed as highly likely to vote against the eventual bill as it includes a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike. He's made it known that is a red line for him. But it's Johnson who is a more acute problem for leadership. According to two sources familiar with the meeting, Johnson on Wednesday got into an extended back-and-forth with Trump during the Senate Finance Committee's meeting at the White House, with one of the sources going a step further and describing it as 'contentious.' While Republicans think Johnson may still come to back the bill, the exchange only made GOP leaders more unsettled about him. That means they have to make sure Murkowski and Collins, who memorably voted against Trump on various issues in his first term, are in play on the bill. 'It's a very delicate balance,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill. 'Obviously, we have people that have different priorities, different equities that run the gamut in terms of the political spectrum.' 'We're hearing everybody out, finding out what's important to them, and figuring out if there's a way to address that in the context of the bill,' Thune continued. 'But it's a process.' Thune is bearing the brunt of the Collins-Murkowski work, multiple Senate GOP sources said. He's held a number of one-and-one and small group meetings. Both senators have big-ticket items they want to see revised in the bill. Murkowski has made clear her worries about potential Medicaid work requirements, as she believes her state will have trouble implementing them due to its outdated payment systems for the program, and the bill's potential nixing of renewable energy tax credits. The pair have both expressed concerns over what overall reductions could mean for key segments of their states, including tribes for Murkowski and rural individuals and hospitals for Collins. The Maine Republican also cited possible Medicaid beneficiary cuts when she voted against the budget blueprint in early April. The push is only expected to intensify in the coming days as relevant committees unveil their portions of the bill text. 'We're still building things on our side. … Everyone is pulling this gumby in lots of different directions,' Murkowski told reporters on Thursday, explaining that while there are provisions for energy and the Coast Guard that are very positive for her state, more is needed on the Medicaid side. Murkowski also indicated that while she has not gotten the call from Trump just as conservatives did, she also is in touch with other administration figures. Among those is Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, whom she talked to briefly after he addressed a Senate GOP luncheon last week. The two are expected to speak early this week to discuss her concerns more in depth. Collins separately is expected to lean on a number of agency heads as she carries out what members have described as a methodical process. 'Susan works extremely hard, [is] very detailed, knows everything, has a lot of history. [There's] different issues in Maine than in a lot of other places and everybody respects that.' said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( a member of GOP leadership. There are also political considerations at play, leading some to believe Murkowski will be easier to win. Collins is up for reelection next year in a state that voted for former Vice President Harris. Whether either backs the bill may depend on the impacts of the package on their respective states. Murkowski backed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in large part because the bill opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, which had been among her top priorities in the upper chamber throughout her tenure. 'If it works for Alaska, he's not going to need to pressure me,' Murkowski said when asked if it would be a mistake for Trump to pressure her during this process. 'If it works for Alaska, it works for me and gets my vote.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
A US territory's colonial history emerges in state disputes over voting and citizenship
WHITTIER, Alaska — Squeezed between glacier-packed mountains and Alaska's Prince William Sound, the cruise-ship stop of Whittier is isolated enough that it's reachable by just a single road, through a long, one-lane tunnel that vehicles share with trains. It's so small that nearly all its 260 residents live in the same 14-story condo building.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Senior Taiwan official visits site of new Alaska LNG project
TAIPEI (Reuters) -A senior Taiwanese official said on Saturday he had this week visited the site of a potentially enormous new liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska that the Trump administration has been pushing hard to allies in Asia as a supply option. Energy developer Glenfarne had said on Tuesday that 50 firms had formally expressed interest in contracts worth more than $115 billion from its Alaska LNG project, a massive infrastructure deal championed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Writing on his Facebook page, Pan Men-an, secretary-general to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, said he had attended an energy conference in Alaska at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and visited the state's North Slope. Phase One of the project is expected to deliver natural gas about 1,230 km (765 miles) from the North Slope to the Anchorage region. "Despite the freezing temperatures, we talked enthusiastically about building resilience and responsibility as democratic partners in the face of global climate change and the challenges of authoritarianism," Pan wrote. "In the face of trade challenges and international turbulence, we have no choice but to rise to the occasion," he said, without mentioning whether he had signed any deals while there. The presidential office said late on Friday that Pan had been accompanied by Fang Jeng-zen, chairman of Taiwan's state-owned energy company CPC. CPC in March signed a non-binding agreement to buy LNG and invest in the project, a move Taiwan's president has said would ensure the island's energy security. If built, the Alaska LNG project will export up to 20 million metric tons of the superchilled gas a year. It would open direct access for U.S.-made LNG to Asian markets without having to go through the Panama Canal or around the Horn of Africa, reducing transit time and costs. Taiwan has pledged to massively ramp up its purchases from the United States, including energy, to reduce a yawning trade surplus that has angered Washington. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
