I’ve been earning MVP every year for over 20 years. Living in the Bay Area now, I mostly earn elite qualifying points by flying to Hawaii or one or two east coast flights a year, but probably most of my elite qualifying miles come from partners American or British Airways when I go international (sometimes other partners too). I also earn A+ on Southwest, which is where I fly a lot of my short haul flights in the west because of schedule availability and convenience. Maybe 50% of the time when I fly Alaska I get upgraded to first class, so the biggest perks I get are usually getting a seat in the prem economy cabin, early boarding, and this usually is the only perk I get flying international too.

So every so often I try to analyze if staying with Alaska’s MVP is a smart move. Or if I should just focus on finding the cheapest, most direct flight and paying for any upgrades on a case by case basis, such as better seating or early boarding and not be airline loyal. Or if I should try another loyalty program?

This year, I earned MVP already and have several big trips coming up, but probably not enough to get me to MVP Gold. So I feel this may be the time to try. I have a LATAM flight I took this summer that I have not credited to Alaska yet. Is it time to try Delta because everyone raves? And I can credit my LATAM to them And book the rest of my years flights on Delta to try and get status on them? Quite honestly, the way the other carriers qualify miles for elite status is confusing and I don’t even know if even with all the trips I have to take, I’d even qualify for a first tier status based on the way miles are earned. I did earn United Gold one year a couple of years ago, but I wasn’t a fan of United, but I am based in the Bay Area.

I have one, maybe maybe two, international flights yet to schedule, and one east coast flight.

Or do I just continue to bank miles with Alaska even though I may not earn enough to make Gold? I like flying Alaska, but the benefits have been watered down over the years. Curious if anyone has jumped to another loyalty program recently and how it worked out?

Thanks for sharing any thoughts.