Alaska Airlines overhauls Mileage Plan with milestone perks, new elite-earning options and upgrade updates

16.10.2024 - 12:11 / thepointsguy.com / Brett Catlin

Alaska Airlines is planning a major overhaul to its Mileage Plan program for 2025.

Next year, Alaska will follow in the footsteps of many other U.S. carriers, allowing its members more ways to earn elite status even when they're not flying. It's also tweaking its upgrade policies and adding milestone perks that members will be able to select before, and between, reaching elite status tiers.

In an ode to hotel loyalty programs, the carrier is adding ways for Mileage Plan members to make progress toward status even during award travel. And, it will soon make it possible for customers to book itineraries featuring multiple partner carriers.

The just-announced charges will show up well before Alaska merges its loyalty program with that of Hawaiian Airlines, which the Seattle-based carrier officially acquired last month.

Altogether, there are plenty of changes Mileage Plan members will likely be happy about. What's more, there's no major devaluation to report here: Alaska is sticking with its award chart, something most U.S. airlines have long since ditched in favor of dynamic award pricing.

At the same time, customers should also expect plenty more changes to Alaska's loyalty program over the next year.

Alaska executives see this wave of loyalty program tweaks as the first in a series of changes expected over the coming months.

Alaska is ultimately planning one combined loyalty program that'll serve both it and Hawaiian Airlines, even as the two carriers remain separate customer-facing brands following last month's merger — albeit with a single parent company operating behind the scenes.

Expect additional announcements about what that Alaska-Hawaiian frequent flyer program will look like over the next six to nine months, said Brett Catlin, Alaska vice president of loyalty, alliances and sales.

"There will be new, more innovative features," Catlin explained in an interview with TPG this week. "We're excited to share what that is in a few months."

Read more: You can now transfer Hawaiian miles (and by extension, Amex points) to Alaska Airlines

In the meantime, though, Alaska decided to set in motion changes to its existing Mileage Plan program — changes that have been in the works, Catlin noted, for around two years.

"We haven't changed the program up much in 10 years," Catlin said, explaining Alaska's thinking. "We've offered great rewards, but they've also been pretty static in terms of what we offered."

Here's what to know about the changes you'll see to Mileage Plan in just a matter of months.

For starters, Alaska is making some adjustments to how members can earn elite status.

These aren't seismic changes: the carrier will still use Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) as its tracking tool, and those miles