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If you’re looking to fly on Alaska Airlines, especially one of their longer flights, you may be considering upgrading to Alaska Airlines Premium Class. We just flew it from Los Angeles to New York JFK and figured it could be helpful to explain to you how it works, is it worth it, and what it’s like to fly it.
Here’s a look at the row we flew in from Los Angeles to New York in Alaska’s Premium Class
What do you actually get by upgrading to Alaska’s Premium Class?
Alaska Premium Class is akin to other airlines Economy Plus, Main Cabin Extra, etc. You basically get a few inches of extra room and the following perks.
- Usually one sweet, or one savory snack
- Beer, wine, spirits
- 3 inches of extra space to work
- Board Early
How do you get Premium Class?
You can pay for it when selecting seats, after purchase, or at the kiosk.
Personally, I maintain Elite status with Alaska ( Gold currently ), so I can select these seats when I book ( as long as it’s an eligible fare bucket – more on that below ), but if you don’t have status, you’ll pay for them while selecting your seat.
Additionally, and this is of particular interest to Amex cardholders with incidental fee credits, you can purchase it after your flight. This has been known to trigger the fee credit.
You can also purchase it when you check in for your flight at the kiosk
If you’re Elite then you have free access to them at the time of check in f you’re flying in an eligible fare class
MVP:
- Y,S,B, or Z
- Other fare bucket…upgrade 48 hours ahead of flight
MVP Gold
- Y, S, B, M, H, Q, L, V, N, K, or Z*
- Other fare buckets…upgrade 72 hours ahead of flight
MVP G75
- All fares except Saver
- 120 hours ahead you’ll be upgraded
Is it worth it?
Everyone has a different value when it comes to “worth,” but if I were on this 5 hour flight, I’d appreciate having the extra few inches to stretch out and get some work done. At 6′ tall and roughly 165 lbs I’m not a giant, but I do have back issues, and the 3 inches inches feel longer with each hour. Premium Class start start as low as just $15, if you’re seeing that on a flight of a few hours…go for it. The snacks and adult beverages recoup that, but above the $35-40…
I’m not sure I’d pay $89, but then again, it’s a long flight and could potentially mean the difference in me effectively getting work done or not. Those extra 3 inches do provide some clearance for elbows especially when the person sitting ahead of you reclines back. It made the difference in my laptop being able to be fully open vs not. Again…is that worth $89? Not if I plan on just streaming movies and sitting on the aisle, but if I want to work, then I’d probably fork it over.
One thing to note…I believe that if you buy the upgrade after you ticket the flight, it’ll trigger the Amex incidental airline fee credit.
Have you flown Alaska’s Premium Class? Do you think it’s worth the extra money?
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.