Last year I status matched to Alaska MVP Gold 75K. I think it’s a great program to have miles in, and also a great program because [at least for now] there are some reciprocal benefits on both American Airlines and Delta.
At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure that I was going to try to requalify, but considering some recent developments it may end up making sense… let’s look at some math.
Here are my Alaska MVP Gold 75K Requalification Plans
Note: Since I do most of my flying on partners, I will need to fly 90,000 miles to requalify.
This is what I have booked (and possibly flown) so far…
February
LGA – DTW [AA, economy] = 501 miles
Total: 501/90,000 miles = 0.6%
April
DCA – ORD – PEK – ORD [AA, business] = 13,770
Since this fare is in business class, I earn a 25% bonus on elite qualifying miles (=3,443).
Total: (501+13,770+3,443)/90,000 = 17,713/90,000 = 19.7%
ORD – JFK – SVO – JFK – ORD [Delta, economy] = 10,803
Because of the fare class this is booked into, I only earn 50% of the miles toward elite qualifying miles (=5,402).
Total: (17,713+5402)/90,000 = 23,115/90,000 = 25.7%
May
ORD – JFK – DUB – ORD [AA, economy]: 7,593
Total: (23,115+7593)/90,000 = 30,708/90,000 = 35.1%
August
DTW – SEA – ANC – SEA – DTW [Alaska, economy] = 6,751
Total: (30,708+6,751)/90,000 = 37,459/90,000 = 41.6%
The total cost of these tickets has been about $1,700, which means that my cpm is about 4.54. This is pulled lower by the bonus on the business class fare with a 25%, but pulled higher by the Delta fare that only earns 50%. I predict that I will be able to maintain this cpm if I choose to requalify. This puts my requalification cost around $4,000, which is about 25% higher than I would like to see it. I am earning 125% bonus on my redeemable miles because of the status, so my redeemable mile cpm is around 2.27. I would love to book a few more really cheap fares so I can pull my qualification cpm down even further. At a cost of $4,000 I am not sure that it will make sense for me to requalify, unless there are some other really spectacular fares to places that I have really been wanting to travel to anyway.
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Are these flights you would normally fly anyway or are they mileage runs? Paying $4000 for MVP Gold 75k probably isn’t worth it, but if a lot of those flights are regular travel then it lowers the cost of MVP Gold 75k dramatically.
Also, if you consider that Alaska Airlines miles are worth 2 cents per mile, then you are earning $1,800 worth of miles through your flights this year (assuming you qualify). And if you are already MVP Gold 75k then you also get your Elite Bonus Miles (that although don’t count towards elite status, they are still valuable and add up).
Just my 2 cents 😉
All except the Beijing fare are trips I actually would have taken. I wouldn’t have done the Beijing fare unless I could have stayed longer if it weren’t for the miles I was earning.
I actually forgot about the Elite Bonus Miles, so thanks for reminding me! I’ll have to consider that in my calculations as I get closer to deciding whether or not to mileage run for the status.
I’m also doing the Beijing run :). I also got the deal to Istanbul in Premium Economy a few weeks back. I’m going for Gold 75k. I’ll need one more international flight or a couple domestic before end of year to get it. Shouldn’t be a problem. Also trying for my Hyatt Diamond, that one is proving more tricky 🙂
I wish I had gotten in on the IST Prem. Economy fare too! I didn’t see it until the next morning and it was already gone by then 🙁 I’m also planning to requalify for Hyatt Diamond, so far I’m at 4/25 stays, but there are a lot of category 1s near me so I’m not too worried about my Hyatt status.
I’m excited, I’ve never been to Turkey. I’m relatively new to the points/miles game so this will be my first qualification for Hyatt Diamond. I am in the midst of the Elite challenge; I need 12 nights and have a good chunk already reserved for various trips but still having to do a mattress run or two. Too bad there are no category 1 Hyatts in Washington or Oregon!
Enjoy it! Hyatt Diamond is great. You can always come to Michigan to get some category 1 stays in! Big miles and points community in the Ann Arbor area.