Alaska Mileage Plan Status Easier To Earn (AMAZING Award Flight Perk)

You believed the Gary hype too. DL made OA award flights earn MQDs at the beginning of 2024 at the same rate of 1 MQD per 100 miles redeemed. I assume you'll give them credit for actually being first to do this. I'll wait.

Wow huge changes by AS! One correction though - DL added partner award travel to status earn when their new program launched at the beginning of the year. So now it’s DL plus all of their partners.

Nice job by Alaska.

Earning AS miles and status has for me been the only thing that makes flying American tolerable.

Being based in Europe, I don't share all the enthusiasm. Right now, flying British Airways is the main option to earn Alaska miles. These flights are not bookable through Alaska. We also don't have any credit card, Bilt or similar option to earn miles.

So if they're now axing the earnings for partner flights booked through BA, Condor and other partners, earning status on award miles won't make up for these losses.

I just had another look at this and looks like the earning table is already only. BA Business I class will drop from earning 250% miles to just 125%, even worse for Condor.

Condor C drops from 300% to only 125%.
No, that is not a good move, Alaska.

I am a loyal MVP Gold 100k based in Frankfurt, Germany and these changes are a big devaluation of the program for me.

AS tells me to "spend more time enjoying my flights and less time doing the math". Thats a farce!

Not great to see Alaska lower earned points on partner flights if booked outside of AS , but overall the overhaul of the Mileage Plan program seems positive. I am based in US, and soon relocating to Seattle, so I can see myself flying more on AS and using the credit card more to earn EQM on spending.

So I have booked AA bus flight on Nov 2024 using AS miles, will I get EQM for this in Jan 2025 ? Or is this applicable only flights booked after 2025?

Also one disadvantage I see is credit card perks from partner airlines.

I booked AA domestic economy thru AS miles and I add my AA number to get the free baggage benefit for having AA credit card.

Now to get the AS miles for this mileage redemption, do I have to AS number on the reservation or just booking thru AS website using AS miles alone is enough?

Can u clarify on the above points ?

Where did you find the new earnings tables?

Good go back to Lufthansa

Guys… they gonna nerf the award charts hard … redeem those miles for next year asap.

Earning status easily is great and all... but in today's age of no available upgrades and "everyone can spend their way to elite status" does it really matter? The only perk I could see being useful is OneWorld Sapphire/Emerald for the lounge access.

This starts in 2025 so no you won't get EQM for a flight in November.

My guess (though not clear) is you're going to have to choose between a free bag or EQM. Of course once you're MVP you'll get a free bag with AA anyway.

Hopefully EQMs will be earned just for booking thru AS miles.

I don't want to pay for the baggage as I fly mostly thru AA, just few trips per year.

It's the same for all airlines now. Can be found here: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-miles/earn-on-alaska#2025

Bummer, looks like I’ll get a big hit for booking BA flights through my work travel agency and crediting to AS. After such a long run this 100k may be forced to move on

Corporate customers -- historically some of the best customers, spending other people's money -- typically must book through corporate travel management tools. Can't book on Alaska's site. Weird to sharply penalize these customers.

Regarding rollover eqm at 85K, if I choose the 10K eqm rollover or double it to 20k (2x choice) does that mean if year end I only earned 105K eqm, I would be a MVP75K and not MVP100K for 2026?

All I see is that if status is easier for everyone to earn, then there’ll be a LOT more competition for upgrades. Everyone and their sister will have status. So, 100K for me next year is the only option.

Question: While this starts (presumably) January 1st of 2025, does this apply to award flights *booked* in 2024 but *taken* in 2025? (Specifically, I have already booked award tickets using Alaska miles for a flight on JAL in April 2025.). Or does this only apply to tickets PURCHASED after 1/1/2025?

I am a longtime MVP Gold Alaska loyalist. I have three comments regarding the changes to AS' Mileage Plan. First and most obvious, earning EQMs on award flights is awesome; I don't think anyone can argue with that. On PAID tickets, however, there are obviously some downsides here.

Secondly, no one likes the reduction in bonus miles. What the one hand giveth, the other taketh away.

And third, I fly out of SFO and whenever possible, fly AS. There are times/flights that can be booked via the AS website but actually taken on AA metal, for example. But while these will continue to earn 100% of the miles flown, many flights out of SFO require a change of planes in SEA, LAX, or SAN prior to flying east, adding several hours to the travel time (and frequently that would mean an overnight stay). I'm sorry, but that's simply nuts! So there are times when I am "forced" to book through AA (or other one world partner airline, such as BA), and the amount of miles credited to my MP account may be as little as 25%.

Real World Example: Do I take a 3-1/2 hour flight from SFO-DFW on AA and receive 25% credit of the miles flown (366 of the 1,464 mile flight), OR fly 7 hours (including a stop in SEA) and earn 100% of the miles on an even longer flight (2,338) AND pay less for the ticket? 366 vs. 2,338...hmmmm.

The change to the amount of earned miles on partner flights depending on how booked is a huge devaluation for many. I check booking through AS direct whenever flying a partner, but the fares are often extremely higher. Example: looking to book a BKK-SEA flight in June 2024, if I book Star Luxe directly I can get business fare in the $2600-$2800 range, but on Alaska website it's $8k+.

So... we're going back to receiving credit for redeemed flights just like it was 30 years ago. Not the coolest thing ever: just a return to where we started. That used to be the standard. It's about time DL and AS started taking things back in that direction.

If a person's goal was One World Emerald, hold both the Barclays Aviator Silver and Citi AA Executive. Put that $90k in spending mentioned in the article on the Barclays. You get 90k Loyalty Points from the spending itself plus the 15k Loyalty Points bonus as a benefit. You're at 105k LPs. The Citi AA Executive then kicks in its 20k LP bonus and you have 125k LPs, Platinum Pro, and One World Emerald and you're done.

The article states "In this post, I wanted to cover how Alaska Mileage Plan is making elite status easier to earn in 2025, including a perk we’ve never seen before from any airline with a decent frequent flyer program — all award flights, even on partner airlines, will count toward elite status (I’m honestly sitting here clapping like a walrus, because this is possibly my favorite frequent flyer program perk ever).

Is this actually true? I cannot find any reference to earning EQM's while travelling on an award flight on Alaska site.