Alaska Airlines Elite-Qualifying Guide 2020

Alaska Airlines has extended its 50% elite-qualifying bonus through the end of the year. Plus, Alaska Airlines VIsa cardholders can earn elite-qualifying bonuses without flying at all.

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When Alaska Airlines released its quarterly earnings summary in May, they made a small mistake, but one that would have been of enormous importance for the airline’s frequent flyers. The press release said that every elite-qualifying mile (EQM) earned in 2020 would “apply to 2021 status achievement.”

Not so fast! The airline has since corrected its mistake, and only miles earned by April 30, 2020 will rollover to 2021.

That’s still not bad, especially if you’d flown with Alaska during the first two months of the year, before the coronavirus cratered air travel. It’s just not the awesome news we were hoping for.

That said, Alaska has given status chasers plenty of reasons to fly this summer, and throughout the remainder of 2020. Keep in mind that the airline is already extending whatever status you’d already earned through December 31, 2021. You don’t need to do anything, unless you’d like to boost your status for next year. (If you’re MVP Gold 75k, you will not receive the 50,000-mile bonus that you’d normally receive for achieving your status through flying. But the airline is promising “additional opportunities” to earn that reward).

That said, here is what to expect for Alaska Airlines elite-qualifying the rest of the year.

EQM Rollovers for 2021

If you traveled on Alaska Airlines during the first four months of 2020, you’re in luck. Because every EQM earned through April 30th will rollover to 2021.

My wife and I had taken a trip to Hawaii during January. I’d also flown to Seattle in late February, just before air travel started to fall off due to Covid-19. By April 30th, I’d already earned 13,746 elite-qualifying miles on Alaska Airlines. So when January 1st rolls around, instead of a reset to zero, I’ll start 2021 with 13,746 EQMs. I’ll need just 6,254 EQMs (flown exclusively on Alaska) to earn MVP status for 2022, and 26,254 EQMs for MVP Gold.

If you didn’t earn EQMs on Alaska before April 30th, you’re out of luck. But keep reading, as there are plenty of ways to make up the deficit.

Status Boost: 50% EQM Bonus

Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines offered its Mileage Plan members a nice 50% elite-qualifying bonus for all flights through mid-April. The airline then extended this offer through May 31st. Members had to sign up for it. So if you’re weren’t flying or you hadn’t signed up in advance, you missed out.

But good news! Alaska has extended this 50% EQM bonus through the end of the year, with no sign-up necessary. Typically, Alaska only offers a class of service bonus. For example, First Class flights earn a 75% class of service bonus.

But through the remainder of 2020, Mileage Plan members will earn EQMs at a 1:1 rate, plus a 50% bonus — for a total of 1.5 elite-qualifying miles earned for every 1 mile flown.

Remember, we’re talking only about elite-qualifying miles, those that determine our status for the year. This bonus has no impact on flight miles earned, those that can be spent for future travel. The earning rates for flight miles remain the same:

• No Status — Earn 1 mile for every 1 mile flown (1:1)
• MVP — 50% bonus
• MVP Gold — 100% bonus
• MVP Gold 75k — 125% bonus
• Class of service bonuses apply to both flight miles and EQMs

How the Bonus Works

Let’s give you a real world example. My wife Debby and I have scheduled a trip between New Orleans (MSY) and Seattle (SEA) at Thanksgiving. We’ve elected to fly First Class on this trip, and we are both Alaska MVPs.

Here’s what we’ll earn:

Alaska Airlines Visa EQM Bonus

If you have the Alaska Airlines Visa card, you’re in luck. Between now and September 30th, you can earn elite-qualifying miles on Alaska Airlines through your spending. For every $5,000 you spend, you’ll receive 2,500 EQMs, up to 10,000 EQMs.

Even if you spend a lot of money on the Alaska Airlines Visa card, this offer won’t mean anything unless you’re already flying quite a bit this year. But if you’re just a little bit short of elevating your status in 2021, this could be the difference. Especially now, thanks to the 50% EQM bonus.

My wife Debby is an Alaska MVP, and she wasn’t expecting to make it to the next level this year. Not based on travel alone. But thanks to the 50% EQM status boost, she’ll come very close to mid-tier MVP Gold status. And with the credit card bonus, she’ll easily earn a minimum of 2,500 EQMs — just enough to put her over the top for MVP Gold status.

If you fly Alaska even a couple times a year, I’d recommend the Alaska Airlines Visa card. It’s one of the 13 credit cards I keep in my wallet. For an annual fee of just $75/year, you’ll get Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare each year, even in your first year of card membership. That alone makes it a great value.

The card offers a wealth of benefits: 3x miles on Alaska purchases, 2x miles on restaurant purchases (through 7/31/2020), a free checked bag for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation, 20% back on all onboard purchases, and a 50% discount on day passes to Alaska Lounges. The welcome bonus is currently 40,000 miles and a $100 statement credit, if you spend $2,000 on the card during your first three months.

Final Thoughts

If you’re good with your current Alaska Mileage Plan status, there is nothing else you need to do. You don’t need to grab a flight this year, nor do you need to spend anything on your Alaska Airlines Visa. Alaska is already extending whatever status you had on January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021.

But if you want to elevate your status before the year is out, Alaska has put together a couple of very good offers to help you get there. Before the airline extended its 50% EQM bonus, I was going to fall just shy of earning MVP Gold. My wife has not flown quite as much as I have this year. She’ll need to combine both these offers to elevate her status.

It’s worth noting that while no one will lose status this year, many will gain or elevate their status through a combination of these two offers. Thus, Alaska Airlines will have more elites on its rolls in 2021 — more MVP, more MVP Gold, more MVP Gold 75k. That could, in turn, devalue the value of your status. If that many more people are in line for a First Class upgrade, you may still not get one. I just don’t think it will be a problem in 2021.

I’m a big fan of Alaska Airlines, and while these bonus offers won’t please everyone, I believe they give Alaska’s Mileage Plan members a much easier path to elevated status and its benefits in 2021.

It’s a great time to elevate your status with Alaska, because the airline will join the oneworld alliance sometime during 2021 — conferring elite privileges on American Airlines and every other oneworld partner airline.