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Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 100k
Earlier in the month, Alaska Airlines announced that in early 2022, they will incorporate a new top tier status called MVP Gold 100k. For years, Alaska has maintained MVP Gold 75k as their apex status that required only 75k Elite Qualifying Miles and offered a unique bonus of 50k miles after qualification. That’s the sauce right there.
However, earlier this year, Alaska was admitted into the One World Alliance and is competing with its fellow member, American Airlines, which maintains an elite status that requires 100k Elite Miles ( or segment threshold ). American Airlines also requires a spend requirement which, thus far, Alaska has veered away from, thankfully.
In order to level the playing field, Alaska has rolled out a new status level that requires 100k Elite Miles as well. Let’s take a look at Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 100k, and where it’s differentiated from their already stellar MVP Gold 75k.
What do you need to do to qualify for Alaska Airlines elite status
Here is the big kicker coming for 2022. You’ll need to put your butt on Alaska Airlines a lot more than in the past. I’m someone who definitely flew quite a bit of Alaska Airlines flights, but the bulk of my EQMs came from British Airways. While I may still be able to hit MVPG75k this way, it would be increasingly difficult to hit their new top tier with this method.
Look at the difference between MVPG75k and MVPG100k and its staggering. You’ll need to fly 24 segments on Alaska Airlines marketed and operated flights vs just 6 ( 12 in 2022 ) for MVPG75k. That alone is enough to keep me from going for it. I don’t live in a city that has many Alaska flights, and while I could certainly get 2, 4, or 6….maaaaybe 12 in a calendar year….24 is 2x a month! Not going to happen for this guy.
**Note that MVP Gold will pop up to 6 segments and MVPG75k will require 12 starting in 2022.
Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 100k Elite Benefits
As you can see in the red box, you will earn 150% bonus as an MVPG100k which is 20% more than you’d earn as an MVPG75k. This could end up being valuable if you were to fly a ton each year. When they say 150% bonus, it means the redeemable miles you’d earn on any given flight. Is it more valuable than using those 25k miles to elite status in another airline? Debatable.
If you were to fly 10k miles on Alaska Airlines
- MVP – 15k miles
- MVPG – 20k miles
- MVPG75k – 22,500 miles
- MVGP100k – 25k miles
Service Benefits
There isn’t any distinguishable difference between MVPG75k and 100k when it comes to service benefits. Each status carries One World Emerald status, priority phone lines, and comped same day changes.
Airport Benefits
Again, no distinguishable benefits between 75k and 100k
Flight Benefits
Here is where it get a bit better and could be an incentive to push those extra miles to Alaska vs going for the lowest tier of another airline.
Alaska MVPG 100k get the following additional benefits
- Highest priority of upgrade
- An additional System Wide Upgrade on American Airlines
- We still don’t know how this will be prioritized to AA’s own elites, but having an additional SWU is quite valuable especially when you consider the additional milage earn rate
- You’ll get a snack in addition to a premium beverage – this applies when you you’re not upgraded and still in economy.
Overall
Alaska says they are going to have more benefits rolling out for MVPG100k as we get into 2022, but I would say this primarily benefits those with a lot of flights out of Seattle. Sure there is a Delta, BA, AA quasi battle happening, but that’s Alaska’s turf and it’s super easy to only fly Alaska. For everyone else…the 24 segment requirement, I could stomach 12, is a massive hurdle to overcome to pick up a snack, an extra SWU, and 20% more miles.
It’ll be interesting to see what AS comes up with as additional benefits, and AS is easily the most customer friendly full service carrier in America so I’m hopeful, but I would be super happy to hit MVPG75 and skip 100k.
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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