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Alaska Airlines…we’re fans of your loyalty program. Currently, Miles and I are enjoying another year of top tier Alaska MVP Gold 75k status. Other than having to take a deep breath before uttering my status, it’s got very few drawbacks. Not only do I get a 125% bonus on all miles flown, free ticket cancellations, award changes free of charge, 50k bonus miles upon requalificiation, the list goes on and on, but you get all sorts of upgrade options. Not only can you get them complimentary 2-5 days prior to takeoff, you can actually buy them at the point of purchase for a discount. Yep, it’s true, and it’s not just for top tiers. All Alaska elites get the opportunity for discounted upgrades at the time of booking. Check it out.
Who doesn’t want to fly like this?
Here’s what Alaska has to say about Elite benefits:
See that first line…First Class upgrades at the time of booking. That’s where we are going to focus – so keep it in mind.
You need to see the BLUE “F” next to your booking. It’ll look like this:
This means you can secure an upgrade at the time of booking.
I need to fly to NYC in October. I’m looking at one ways…here’s the normal search
Most of these flights are utilizing Alaska’s recently acquired Virgin planes. These are great , 8 seat cabins that are the best in Alaska’s fleet. But, my goodness, look at difference between main cabin and first class – too rich for my blood. Unless…
Never fear. If you notice on the left hand side there is a category: Upgrade Fare Type. Watch what happens. 4/5 flights suddenly have confirmed upgrade space for some extra $$$.
Not too bad, right? But still a little pricey.
Look at the MVP Gold discount! We can go ever lower though.
Look at the top tier MVPG75 discount. $365.
That means in some cases, an extra $90 could fly you from LAX to JFK in First Class, confirmed, right now, just by clicking a button. What’s even crazier…I’ve seen situations where they are the same price!
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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.
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