Earn Alaska Airlines MVP Elite Status Miles via Credit Cards

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jun 5, 2020 | 2 comments

If you haven’t been flying much in the past few months, you’re not alone. Airline loads are down, revenues are down, and the coveted elite fliers have not been filling the seats like they used to. Airlines have worked hard over years to maintain that level of loyalty and don’t want the covid-19 pandemic to deter people from considering flying with them in the future.

Historically, the only way to earn elite status via credit cards (with the exception of Delta Skymiles cards) had been through putting your butt in a seat and flying. Times, they are a changin’.

Announced just a couple of days ago, Alaska Airlines will now allow you to earn some elite miles via credit card spending.

Not just Credit Card Spend

The Alaska Airlines press release didn’t just announce credit card spending bonuses, it also mentioned that Alaska Airlines will also be extending their bonus mile promotion. Previously, Alaska Airlines was offering a 50% bonus on all elite miles flown through the end of May. Now, that promotion has been extended until the end of the year.

Starting today, Alaska Airlines customers and members of the award-winning Mileage Plan have three new promotions to enjoy. In addition to guaranteeing 2020 elite status through 2021, the airline is extending a 50% bonus of elite qualifying miles for flights taken through the end of the year. Plus, for the first time ever, Alaska Airlines Visa^® cardholders can use their card to earn elite qualifying miles, and consumer cardholders can earn double miles for qualifying restaurant purchases.

First – whatever Elite status you hold on December 31st, 2020 will be the elite status that you have for all of 2021. This means that if you haven’t flown a single mile this year, Alaska will just give it a pass into next year.

Next – if you do find yourself on an airplane, you’re going to get a nice 50% bump on your elite qualifying miles. That means that for every 10,000 miles flown you’ll earn aa 5,000 bonus. Hitting the top tier 75k status just got a lot easier.

Finally – if you hold an Alaska Airlines Bank of America Credit Card (or a couple like we do), you didn’t have much of a reason to spend anything before. There were no bonus categories, and you would only earn 1 mile per dollar spend and 3 miles on Alaska Airlines flights.

Alaska’s new Bulkhead, from Alaska Airlines

• Alaska Airlines Visa Cardholders – First Time Limited Time Offers
  • Earn toward status while you spend. Cardholders can earn 2,500 elite qualifying miles for every $5,000 spent on purchases with an Alaska Airlines consumer or business Visa card from June 1 through Sept. 30, 2020, up to a maximum of 10,000 elite qualifying miles per cardholder.
  • Want to support your favorite local restaurants? Alaska Visa consumer cardholders can earn two miles for every dollar spent, up to $1,500, at restaurants and take-out, including delivery services from June 1 through July 31, 2020.

For the next two months, you’ll also earn 2x miles on restaurants and take out, up to $1,500. I don’t know about you, but who is spending $1,500 on restaurants right now? Seems like they should have extended that promotional period a little bit longer than two months, or added grocery stores like many other credit cards.

Bottom Line

If you’ve got the Alaska Airlines credit card from Bank of America, its a fantastic time to spend some money there and beef up your status over the next couple of months. The current promotion only runs through September 30th, and its possible they’ll extend it just like they did in the past.

Compared to the other airlines’ credit card offers, Alaska’s offer is fairly conservative, but considering this is the first time in their history that they’ve offered any bonus categories, here’s to hoping they stick.