Alaska Airlines announces new Choice Benefits for 100K elites

Alaska Airlines added a new tier of elite status when they joined Oneworld. This new status is applicable to all elites who earn 100,000 elite-qualifying miles.

Alaska said that there would be more improvements by the end of the year to make it stand out from the rest.

A selection of Choice Benefits will be available for those who earn 100K status this year, according to an e-mail from Alaska.

Alaska’s New MVP Gold 100K Choice Benefits

Alaska is one of the few airlines that awards elite status and redeem miles for actual flights. The following are the elite tiers.

In addition to the benefits that apply to lower levels of elite status, Alaska has put in place some benefits for 100k members.

• Complimentary upgrades up to 120 hours before departure with a higher priority than MVP Gold 75Ks
• 150% bonus on earning award miles (MVP Gold 75Ks get 125%)
• Two one-way international upgrade certificates on American Airlines (MVP Gold 75Ks get one)
• Complimentary premium beverage plus snack when flying in Main Cabin (MVP Gold 75Ks only get a beverage)

The difference between these and other domestic airlines' top-tier elites was fairly mild. The people were waiting to see if the enhancements would add any bling.

The Choice of one of the benefits will be given to 100K's when they reach 100,000 EQM's.

• 50,000 Bonus Miles (in addition to the 50,000 miles received when attaining 75K)
• Alaska Lounge Membership
• Gifting MVP Gold Status to one person
• Complimentary Wifi on all Alaska flights.

Which Benefit is Best?

Different people will find each option appealing. I would value them in a number of different ways.

• 50,000 Bonus Miles – Our reasonable redemption values peg Alaska Miles at 1.3 cents per point, making this worth approximately $650. This also means that an Alaska 100K selecting this would end up with 100,000 miles in addition to the 50,000 received at 75K. That’s a big chunk, but there’s fear that Alaska’s continued movement towards dynamic pricing on awards will sour the sweetest spots on the chart.
• Alaska Lounge+ Membership – Elites can purchase for $500.
• Gifting MVP Gold Status to one person – Hard to put a numerical value, as Golds get 100% bonus on all mileage-earning and also get access to complimentary upgrades, bags, same-day confirmed changes, etc. Gifting status would most likely apply to someone that wouldn’t reach 40,000 flight miles, so that value would depend drastically on how much that person would use it. For someone checking bags and taking 10-20 flights/year, it could easily top $1000. For someone who uses it 3 or 4 times it would be far less.
• Complimentary Wifi on all Alaska flights – Alaska has been standardizing inflight wifi cost to $8 on most flights (there are still some flights that cost more). But, a monthly Alaska WiFi pass is $49.95, so that’s the most someone could theoretically pay, making the maximum value of this benefit ~$600.

The miles and the internet are the most important for me. Alaska Lounge+ membership gives access to the club, but I don't really need it. Most of the people who would benefit from a gift of gold already have it. Having free inflight wi-fi is a nice perk, but I would probably go with the miles because I am pretty sure I can get more value from the miles themselves.

Final Thoughts

The 100K Choice Benefits are the same as American and not a good as Delta, but they are nice to finally see. Delta is Alaska's biggest competitor on the west coast.

Lounge Membership, 25,000 miles, Gold Status, and a $200 travel voucher are just some of the perks Delta Diamond Medallions have. A Diamond member can get a lounge membership, 4 global upgrade certificates, and gift gold status, but Delta Gold isn't as meaningful as Alaska Gold. Alaska allows you to pick one.

When hitting 100K, I would like to see Alaska give the member a choice between the other three. It would feel similar to what Delta has to offer. It will be easier for many people in markets served by both Delta and Alaska to qualify for Alaska status because of the lack of a spend requirement. Most people will end up with moreredeemable miles.

For those of us who do 100,000 miles a year on Alaska, it's nice to have some additional recognition that differentiates from lower tiers, but it also would be nice to see a little more contrast as well.