He could do a "challenge' on AA and get midtier status pretty quick. You can put your Alaska flights into your AA account. Challenges are covered in the wiki on the AA forum. AA has a small lounge at DCA and now offers free wi-fi to members. The agents there are among the best in the system.

You might look at the status match master thread and see if Alaska will comp in a U.S. flyer. You can put AA miles, among others, into an Alaska account. They also have a wide selection of partners that could make their program worth a look.