Alaska Airlines is making top tier elite status extremely easy in 2021 with effects that will carry over to 2022 with two amazing promotions. Stacking the early announced promotion of roll over miles with the latest extension of the 50% elite bonus on every flight makes elite status easier than ever. This may result in a lot more OneWorld Emeralds and Top tier 75Ks, but then again with fewer people flying, it may just help those who typically earn status anyhow. Yet, with the combined promotions, top tier status is by far the easiest on Alaska Airlines in 2021.
The first promotion allows for miles earned in 2020 to rollover towards status in 2021. The promo includes all EQMs earned from Jan 1, 2020 – April 30, 2020. All elite qualifying miles earned during this period will roll over to 2021 status miles. On December 22, 2020 Alaska sent an email with a subject of “So long, 2020. Bring on 30% off. ✈️”. Towards the bottom of this email was the total number of unique rollover miles each member would start 2021 off with.
These miles have yet to post to my account, but then again, it’s still January 1st. Alaska’s IT has never been amazing, so I expect this manual process to take a least a week. Once this happens, I’ll start the year nearly 3,000 miles shy of re-qualifying for MVP Gold status. Or 38,000 short of 75K!
The second promotion is a repeat of what we’ve seen at Alaska since the start of the Pandemic. The 50% bonus on elite qualify miles is extended through June 30, 2021! One could potentially fly just 37.5K miles between now and June and earn 75K status. Even less if flying on premium class fares, which earn an additional fare class bonus. Full details are available here, no registration required. And remember, if you earn status in 2021, your status is good through all of 2022!
All of this is important as Alaska Airlines will be joining the Oneworld Alliance this spring. Once this happens new benefits will be rolled out to elites flyers when traveling on American Airlines and other OneWorld airlines. Such as First Class lounge access, global upgrades, and more. Each elite status at Alaska will have a Oneworld status too. All with unique benefits.
It’s never been easier to earn status, thanks to Alaska Airlines two promotions. If you’re flying, be safe. Wear a mask and take all precautions. Stay healthy!
