When it announced its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines promised that special members of each program would be able to match the status.
That status matchup is now live, as first flagged by Gary Leff on View from the Wing.
Airlines will eventually have a single loyalty program, but for now, the elite affiliate status is great.
It’s straight forward. You just need to go to this special status matching landing page, sign in to your Alaska Mileage Plan account, and then sign in to your HawaiianMiles account.
If you have status with Alaska Mileage Plan or HawaiianMiles, you can match that with special status on another carrier.
| If you have | You will be matched with |
|---|---|
| Alaska Mileage Plan MVP status | HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status |
| Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K or MVP Gold 100K status | HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status | Alaska Mileage Plan MVP status |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status | Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status |
Even if you don’t have status with either airline, there is also an opportunity here to combine your salary from both programs into one status level. For example, if you earned 20,000 miles on Alaska and 20,000 miles on Hawaiian, you would have 40,000 miles in the combined account. That’s enough to earn you Alaska Airlines MVP Gold status.
Remember that members will keep their current miles and can now transfer their miles between accounts at a 1:1 ratio.
Alaska says members will soon be able to earn HawaiianMiles miles on Alaska flights and Mileage Plan miles on Hawaiian Airlines flights. Eventually there will be more redemption options and the ability to enjoy select benefits on both flights.
This will come in handy as airlines start to coordinate flights. For example, I noticed that my upcoming Alaska Airlines flight to Hawaii in April had a schedule change. When I called Alaska to find out what was going on with the flight, the agent told me that the Bay Area flights operated by Alaska will soon be operated by Hawaiian Airlines.
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I currently do not hold a senior position in any airline. But if I did, I would be happy to get Hawaiian Airlines status so I could choose better seats on those flights that will now be used by Hawaiians.
Because of my American Airlines status, I was able to select extra legroom seats on Alaska flights. Alaska’s partnership with American Airlines means that when I fly on Alaska Airlines, the carrier recognizes my American Airlines AAdvantage premium status. That won’t work with Hawaiian.
Related: Last-minute strategies for getting special Alaska Mileage Plan status
You can also compare status from other airlines to Alaska
Another thing to note: Alaska still offers a status challenge if you have senior status with another airline. You will earn instant status for 90 days by matching your current airline status; there’s a chance to extend that status until the end of 2025 if you fly just under 5,000 miles on Alaska-operated flights (20,000 miles on MVP Gold 75K). Since I have a high level Delta Air Lines Diamond Medallion, I would consider it.
More reasons the Alaska Mileage Plan looks interesting now
In fact, I am considering going to Alaska state next year. There are many attractive developments from the Alaska Mileage Plan and alliances.
Alaska is now the only major US airline that allows you to earn advanced status on flights based on actual miles flown. This makes getting top-tier Mileage Plan status easy if you don’t buy a lot of expensive airline tickets. Alaska has also made many positive changes to statehood. Alaska Mileage Plan members will now earn miles through award redemptions, and there will be new ways to earn status.
As of Jan. 1, 2025, current cardholders Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card you’ll earn 1 qualifying elite mile for every $3 spent, up to a total of 30,000 EQMs each year on qualifying purchases. That could get you a good chunk of the way to top-tier 100K status, which requires 100,000 EQMs.
Related: Why I applied for 2 Hawaiian Airlines cards on the same day
Also note that Alaska is offering waitlist access for a new premium card that it says will help holders speed their path to status.
One more thing to keep in mind for now: Hawaiian Airlines remains a transfer partner for American Express Membership Rewards. I’m thinking of transferring some points to Hawaiian that can be turned into miles in Alaska.
Now, if you have a situation in any system, it probably makes sense for you to match the situation.
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