Guide To Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold Status

While Alaska Airlines isn’t one of the “big three” US airlines, the Seattle-based carrier has quite a robust loyalty program, which many people are loyal to. In particular, Alaska Mileage Plan is the only major US frequent flyer program that still awards miles based on how far you fly rather than how much you spend.

I figured I’d write a series about Alaska’s elite status tiers, and in this post I wanted to take a look at Alaska MVP Gold status, which is the second lowest of Alaska’s four published elite tiers. How do you earn MVP Gold status, what are the perks, and is it worth it? In separate posts I’ll cover MVP Gold 100K, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP status.

How to earn Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status

Alaska Mileage Plan elite status can be earned based on either accruing a certain number of elite qualifying miles or a certain number of elite qualifying segments. On top of that, you need to fly a certain number of segments on Alaska.

Here are the requirements for the four Mileage Plan elite tiers, from the lowest to the highest tier:

• Mileage Plan MVP status requires 20,000 elite qualifying miles OR 30 elite qualifying segments; on top of that, at least two eligible flights must be marketed and operated by Alaska
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold status requires 40,000 elite qualifying miles OR 60 elite qualifying segments; on top of that, at least six eligible flights must be marketed and operated by Alaska
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold 75K status requires 75,000 elite qualifying miles OR 90 elite qualifying segments; on top of that, at least 12 eligible flights must be marketed and operated by Alaska
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold 100K status requires 100,000 elite qualifying miles OR 140 elite qualifying segments; on top of that, at least 24 eligible flights must be marketed and operated by Alaska

One of the things that makes Mileage Plan great is that you can not only rack up elite miles on Alaska and its oneworld partners, but also on other partner airlines, ranging from Air Tahiti Nui, to Condor, to Icelandair, to Singapore Airlines, opening up lots of opportunities to earn status by flying with other airlines.

Note that there are a couple of other ways to earn MVP Gold status:

• With the Alaska Mileage Plan million miler program, you receive MVP Gold status for life if you rack up one million lifetime miles
• With the Alaska Mileage Plan status match challenge program, you can receive MVP Gold status for a period of 90 days, and maintain it by flying 10,000 miles during that trial period

Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status benefits

Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status comes with several perks, ranging from complimentary upgrades, to oneworld elite status, to extra legroom seating. Let’s go over the details of each of these perks, roughly in the order that I value them.

Complimentary first class upgrades

MVP Gold members receive unlimited complimentary space available upgrades on all Alaska Airlines flights, except on Saver fares. These upgrades are even valid for one companion on the same reservation.

Complimentary elite upgrades can start clearing up to 72 hours before departure. Upgrades are prioritized first by elite tier, meaning that MVP Gold 100K and MVP Gold 75K members clear ahead of MVP Gold members. Within each elite tier, the tie-breaker to scoring an upgrade is what fare class you’ve booked, with the higher fare classes getting priority for upgrades.

How often should you expect upgrades to clear as an MVP Gold member? It really depends on the routes you fly, the days of the week you fly, what kind of fares you book, etc. Nowadays a lot more people are paying for first class than several years ago, so don’t expect that upgrades will always clear. As an MVP Gold member I’d expect upgrades to clear less than half of the time, but it really depends.

oneworld Sapphire status (including lounge access)

One of my favorite perks of MVP Gold status is oneworld Sapphire status, which is a pretty valuable alliance-wide status. This offers various benefits when traveling on any of the over dozen oneworld airlines, including priority check-in, priority boarding, and more.

As a oneworld Sapphire member you’ll also get access to most oneworld business class lounges when traveling on long haul international flights. This includes everything from the Greenwich Lounge JFK, to the oneworld Lounge LAX. It’s a real treat to be able to visit many of these lounges when traveling internationally.

As a point of comparison, MVP Gold 100K and MVP Gold 75K members receive oneworld Emerald status, which offers access to some international first class lounges.

Complimentary Premium Class seating

Mileage Plan MVP Gold members receive complimentary Premium Class seating for them and up to one companion on the same reservation at the time of booking, subject to availability. This assumes that they book an eligible fare, including tickets in fare classes Y, B, H, K, M, L, V, S and N. On other fare types, upgrades to Premium Class are available up to 72 hours before departure.

Premium Class is Alaska’s extra legroom economy seating, typically in the front of the economy cabin and at exit rows, and it generally offers several extra inches of legroom. Furthermore, Premium Class offers complimentary alcoholic drinks, including beer, wine, and cocktails.

As a point of comparison, MVP Gold 100K and MVP Gold 75K members have fewer fare class restrictions when it comes to selecting Premium Class seats at the time of booking.

100% status mileage bonus

Mileage Plan MVP Gold members receive a 100% mileage bonus on flights, so miles really add up. In other words, if a flight covers a distance of 1,000 miles and you booked a fare that earns 100% elite miles, you’d end up earning 2,000 miles for the flight.

As a point of comparison, MVP Gold 100K members receive a 150% mileage bonus, while MVP Gold 75K members receive a 125% mileage bonus.

Alaska first class guest upgrades

While MVP Gold members receive unlimited complimentary upgrades on Alaska, they also receive four guest upgrades per year. These can be used to confirm an upgrade on an eligible fare for any Alaska flight at the time of booking, subject to upgrade space being available. This can be used either for the MVP Gold member, or for a friend or family member, as these can be transfered to others.

Alaska isn’t great about making confirmable upgrade seats available in advance, but when you can find a use for these, it’s great. Since complimentary MVP Gold upgrades won’t always clear, this is great for securing the upgrades that matter most to you.

Priority check-in, security, and boarding

Mileage Plan MVP Gold members receive a variety of priority services at the airport, including:

• Priority check-in, with first class
• Priority security screening
• Priority boarding, with Group A (with MVP Gold 75K members, and right behind first class and MVP Gold 100K members)

Generally I think priority boarding is the most valuable of those benefits. Most people check-in online, and nowadays TSA PreCheck and CLEAR will typically save you the most time at security, rather than a priority security line.

Same day flight changes & priority standby

Mileage Plan MVP Gold members can make complimentary same day flight changes to another flight in the same market. There are capacity controls to this, so don’t expect that it will always be possible, even if there are seats available.

Beyond that, MVP Gold members receive priority standby, as the standby list is prioritized based on elite status. As an MVP Gold member, you’d just be behind MVP Gold 100K and MVP Gold 75K members.

Two complimentary checked bags

Mileage Plan MVP Gold members can check two bags free of charge on all itineraries. This applies to the member and any companion traveling on the same reservation.

Checking bags with Alaska Airlines is pretty painless, thanks to the carrier’s 20-minute baggage guarantee. With this, you’re promised that your bag will arrive within 20 minutes of your arrival, or you can claim 2,500 bonus Alaska miles or a $25 Alaska discount voucher.

As a point of comparison, MVP Gold 100K and MVP Gold 75K members receive three free checked bags.

Complimentary drink or chocolate in economy

To make the travel experience a bit more pleasant when upgrades don’t clear, MVP Gold members receive a complimentary premium beverage or chocolate on most flights of over 350 miles. Keep in mind that if you’re in Premium Class, you already receive free premium drinks, so then you’re probably best off selecting the chocolate.

Reciprocal elite perks on American

Alaska and American offer reciprocal elite perks, including space available upgrades. You can potentially be eligible for first class upgrades on American, as well as Main Cabin Extra seating. The value of this obviously depends based on how much you fly with American.

Is Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status worth it?

I’d say that Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status is extremely rewarding. The first thing to keep in mind is that you “only” need 40,000 elite miles to earn the status, while most other airlines require 50,000 elite miles for a comparable tier.

I’d say the status offers very competitive perks, from extra legroom seating, to space available first class upgrades, to oneworld Sapphire status, to a 100% mileage bonus, to four confirmed upgrades per year.

How does this status compare to MVP Gold 75K status? There are quite some incremental perks to that status, including 50,000 bonus miles just for qualifying for the status, oneworld Emerald status, a 125% mileage bonus, an American international upgrade certificate annually, and higher priority for just about everything. I’d say the higher tiers of the Mileage Plan program are definitely a sweet spot, if you can achieve it.

The major catch with going for status with Mileage Plan is that Alaska is a much smaller airline than the “big three” US carriers, so being loyal to Alaska takes effort. Fortunately Alaska has lots of partner airlines, making miles easy to rack up. However, you’ll generally find that you get stronger perks when you’re actually flying with the airline you have status with.

Bottom line

Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status offers many benefits, especially given the fairly reasonable requirements to earn the status. From oneworld Sapphire status, to space available upgrades and upgrade certificates, to a 100% mileage bonus, to reciprocal perks on American, there’s definitely value to having the status.

If you can swing it, I think there’s merit to going for MVP Gold 75K or MVP Gold 100K status. But still, the incremental perks of MVP Gold over MVP status are impressive.

If you’re an Alaska MVP Gold member, what has your experience been?