Alaska Airlines Updates Mileage Plan: Winners And Losers
There’s a lot to like about the changes Alaska Airlines announced today for its Mileage Plan loyalty program, but also some bad news, especially for regular Alaska flyers. Overall, though, Mileage Plan remains a unique and valuable program with some attractive new incentives, particularly for those who earn and burn miles.
Alaska Airlines Announces Changes To Mileage Plan In 2025
Changes to the Mileage Plan program include:
Earn Elite Miles On Award Travel Redemptions
When members fly on an award trip with Alaska or on partners, they’ll earn elite-qualifying miles based on the distance flown
All award trips flown on or after Jan. 1, 2025, will earn EQMs
Alaska will begin posting those EQMs to members’ accounts starting this spring
Earn EQMs On The Alaska Airlines Visa Card
In 2025, cardholders will earn one elite-qualifying mile for every $3 spent on qualified purchases (up to 30,000 EQMs)
Earn EQMs On Non-Airline Partners
Members can earn 1,000 EQMs for every 3,000 miles earned with eligible non-airline partners
Earn More EQMs On Partner Carriers Booked Directly With Alaska
150% mileage bonus of the distance flown in Premium Economy, 250% in Business Class and up to 350% in International First Class
Earn Fewer EQMs On Partner Carriers Not Booked Directly With Alaska (new chart here)
Revamped Milestone Rewards, Including Rollover EQMs
Expanded Milestones, up to 250,000 elite-qualifying miles (full list here)
When hitting the 85,000 elite-qualifying miles milestone, a new perk is the ability to roll over 10,000 EQMs to the following year
Multi-carrier redemptions
First rolling out between US and Europe and later worldwide
Global Getaways Discounts
Seasonal discounts on award redemptions will expand
Brett Catlin, the Vice President of Loyalty, Alliances, and Sales at Alaska Airlines pledged to make Alaska the “most generous loyalty program” in the industry:
“We’re on a multi-year journey to make the industry’s most generous loyalty program even more rewarding. In 2025, Mileage Plan members will have access to all-new, more frequent perks along with expanded ways to earn elite status, including on award travel. As we invest in a single loyalty platform with Hawaiian Airlines, there is even more to come later in the year.”
The Winners
The big winner in today’s news is the traveler who racks up and redeems a lot of miles via Alaksa Mileage Plan.
Those who redeem miles come out ahead here…earning elite miles on partner award redemptions (matching Delta Air Lines) is a big deal and will alone build up a base of loyalty.
Being able to mix and match carriers on award redemptions is also a big deal and something Alaska has promised for years. This is a big deal.
The Losers
Laoytly Alaska flyers, especially at the MVP Gold 75K level, may not like the new Milestone program, which is not quite as generous as the old one in terms of awarding guest upgrades (GGUs) for making MVP Gold.
Those who purchase tickets on some carriers with the intent to credit to Alaska will see earnings drop. For example, booking a British Airways First Class ticket directly with British Airways will net many fewer miles starting in 2025 (to Alaska’s credit, all tickets booked prior to October 16, 2024 for travel in 2025 will not be subject to the reduced earning, though you will manually have to request the adjustment after the flight).
A likely problem will be the inability to book certain discount premium cabin tickets on partners via Alaska versus directly with the carrier. That is certainly the case on British Airways, for example, right now.
CONCLUSION
In an age of devaluation, I would not call today’s news at Alaska Airlines one. There are winners and losers, but the losses are modest and many will see today’s news as a net gain (I do too). I am impressed that Alaska Airlines continues to offer a compelling loyalty program and hope that it will be a blueprint for other carriers rather than an outlier.
What do you think about the changes announced today for Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan in 2025?