Alaska Airlines has introduced a new top elite tier beginning ‘end of January’ 2022 as expected: MVP Gold 100K.
This new level requires flying 100,000 qualifying miles or 140 segments in a year, and in either case including a minimum of 24 Alaska Airlines flights.
It’s been a dozen years since we first saw a 100,000 mile airline credit card offer. That became the gold standard for Oh My Goodness.
We’ve seen bank cards with bigger offers in their own rewards programs, but I believe this is the first time I’ve ever seen an airline co-brand card offering 150,000 miles. I’ve been watching this for over 20 years. Indeed, April 2002 was the first time I’d ever seen a 20,000 mile offer. That was for a United credit card. And so is this.
This link for the offer will end by 6 p.m. on September 22, 2021. So this is last call for a huge miles offer.
At the start of the global pandemic many card issuers were quiet. It was tough to know who would be a good credit risk as companies pledged no layoffs in 2020 (would everyone suddenly lose their jobs on January 1)? People weren’t thinking about immediate travel, either, so big card bonuses seemed like the wrong tool for the moment.
Now that banks have gotten aggressive again we’re seeing amazing offers, and that’s great for consumers – as long as you understand the role that a given card is going to play in your arsenal. There are (3) basic reasons to get a card.
Newark airport is no longer slot controlled. The only U.S. airports where an airline is required to have takeoff and landing slots to operate are New York JFK, New York LaGuardia, and Washington’s National airport. Airlines still need to secure gates and ticket counter space, of course.
Yet the U.S. is prepared to hand out slots that used to be used by Southwest Airlines to a low cost carrier. Here’s why airlines still want them.
I’ve had the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® both recently and in the distant past, and it’s spending on this card that largely accounting for my first lifetime elite status with American Airlines way back in 2006. American’s miles are the currency I’ve spent the most over the years, and there’s no longer a great way to earn miles through another credit card besides an American branded one and then transfer those miles to AAdvantage.
And AAdvantage miles remain my go-to right now too, whether it’s booking Qatar Airways QSuites for next year or Cathay Pacific awards to go back to Southeast Asia. Any awards booked this year can be cancelled, with miles redeposited, at no cost – so these miles are the perfect way to start planning travel again.
American Airlines now outsources curbside check-in at the limited number of airports where it’s still available, and it’s no longer offered free (plus tips) where provided. Instead it’ll cost $3 per bag to use the service.
Even hubs like Phoenix, New York JFK, Los Angeles, and Charlotte don’t have American Airlines curbside check-in at this point.
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There’s debate over whether changes to the American Airlines Contract of Carriage (the adhesion contract you’re agreeing to when you buy a ticket) matter or not. The airline says they’re not obligated to put you on another airline when they cancel your flight, and won’t reimburse your hotel if you submit a receipt unless they’re legally required to do so.
It’s this system of providing hotel stays I want to touch on for a moment. The airline has been saying that the only way they will cover your hotel is if they provide you with a voucher.
American Airlines offers a generous 5 day ‘hold’ for award itineraries. You don’t have to put down a credit card or spend your miles to lock in an award option.
However back in April I identified that awards for travel on Cathay Pacific placed on hold were being cancelled out.
Flight attendants at Piedmont Airlines, a regional carrier owned entirely by American Airlines, are going to vote on whether or not to authorize a strike between September 23 and October 21, 2021.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
