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Alaska Airlines recently announced a new status match opportunity. For a limited time, elite members with three competing airlines can snag Mileage Plan status through 2021.
Even if you've never flown or plan to fly Alaska Airlines, you'll want to consider this opportunity anyway. That's because Alaska elite status will soon also include Oneworld elite status—providing meaningful benefits when flying dozens of partner airlines!
Alaska Mileage Plan Status Match-Challenge
Through April 15, 2021, Mileage Plan members who currently hold elite status with Delta, Southwest, or United can apply for a temporary status match with Alaska Mileage Plan. If approved, you'll also receive 50% more elite qualifying miles on all Alaska flights flown this year. That makes it easier to requalify and extend the benefits of your new status.
- To apply for this special status match, you must either first signup for Alaska Mileage Plan or already be a member.
- Applicants need to submit their forms by April 15, 2021.
- Mileage Plan will confirm within 2–4 weeks via email whether your application has been accepted or not.
- Status granted through this match program is valid through December 31, 2021.
- This offer is only available to legal residents of the U.S.A. and Canada.
- Applicants need to submit a screenshot displaying their current elite status. This screenshot needs to include the applicant's full name, current elite status, and mileage flown to earn the status.
- Promotional, previously-matched, or temporary elite status does not qualify for this match program.
- If you currently hold status with a different airline, you can still participate in Alaska's regular status match program.
While Alaska doesn't specifically list what it considers equivalent status between the eligible airlines, it leaves several clues:
The application splits up all Delta, Southwest, and United statuses into three options each—regardless of how many statuses each program offers. Mileage Plan itself offers three tiers of elite status: MVP, MVP Gold, and MVP Gold 75K. Therefore, I'll bet that this is what Alaska considers equivalent elite status:
| Existing Status | Equivalent Alaska Mileage Plan Status |
|---|---|
| Delta Silver Medallion | MVP |
| Delta Gold Medallion | MVP Gold |
| Delta Platinum or Diamond Medallion | MVP Gold 75K |
| Southwest A List | MVP |
| Southwest A-List Preferred | MVP Gold |
| Southwest A-List Preferred AND Southwest Companion Pass | MVP Gold 75K |
| United Premier Silver | MVP |
| United Premier Gold | MVP Gold |
| United Premier Platinum, Premier 1K, and Global Services | MVP Gold 75K |
Shortcut to Oneworld Elite Status
There's still a lot that we don't know about how the Mileage Plan program will evolve over the coming year. However, one thing we do know is that Mileage Plan elites will soon find themselves also Oneworld elites:
- MVP — Oneworld Ruby
- MVP Gold — Oneworld Sapphire
- MVP Gold 75K — Oneworld Emerald
This is obviously an exciting development for existing Mileage Plan elite members. However, when you combine this with the current match program, things get even better.
If you have status with Delta, Southwest, or United, you could utilize this match program to shortcut your way to Oneworld elite status. For example, if you currently have Delta Diamond, you could match to Alaska MVP Gold 75K. As of March 31, this would grant you Oneworld Emerald status. And you'll get benefits like extra baggage allowance and first-class lounge access while flying any Oneworld airline—including American!
Bottom Line
Alaska Mileage Plan announced a special, limited-time status match program. Through April 15, 2021, members can match eligible Delta, Southwest, or United elite status to reciprocal Alaska status through 2021. Plus, you'll earn 50% more elite-qualifying miles for Alaska flights in 2021 to keep that elite status into 2022.
I think this is an incredible opportunity for elite frequent fliers to broaden their status pool. Personally, I don't regularly fly Alaska, and I don't particularly have any interest in doing so.
However, I do fly AA and other Oneworld airlines often (or at least I did pre-COVID) and previously held elite status with AA. Since I currently have Southwest A-List status, I'm hoping this special match will provide me with Alaska MVP status. This will, in turn, offer many of the same benefits I previously enjoyed as an AA elite member.
Do you plan to match your Delta, Southwest, or United status to Alaska Mileage Plan?
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