Do Alaska Visa Miles or Purchased Miles Count Towards Elite Qualification? (No)
 

1. Can the 30K-40K bonus miles reward from the Alaska card help you achieve status (specifically MVP Gold)?
2. What about purchased miles (and any bonus miles offered from buying miles outright)?

Like many airlines, Alaska makes a distinction between miles that go towards status, and miles that can be redeemed for awards. In Alaska parlance, these are Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) and redeemable miles (RDMs), respectively. Card bonuses give you RDMs. You only earn EQMs through flying (and occasional promotions, like corporate status match programs). As for miles purchases, I'm pretty sure those too are RDMs, but I'm not 100% sure.

No to both. It's got to be flown, unless elite status matched from another airline program.

Got it, makes sense. Is there a way to look up or distinguish EQMs from RDMs on the Alaska site/app? I'm just seeing a total figure.

See the image below. EQMs and RDMs are broken down.

If you go fly SEA-LAX on AS, for example, 954 miles will be added to both the EQM section and the RDM section (unless there are bonuses).
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d8f3edebc6.png

Thank you! The visual is really helpful.

I realize that I have a typo in the title of this thread; I have MVP Gold but seeking MVP Gold 75k. I believe I'm able to keep the Gold status I earned late last year through the 2019 calendar year. I haven't flown Alaska YTD so my dashboard is showing 0 EQMs; I don't see a view to get at eligible miles from last year (if that exists?). Can I build on top of the total EQMs I've gathered since becoming MVP Gold to step me up to 75K? Or am I somehow reset to hit at least 20K EQMs to re-earn MVP for 2020?

You are reset January 1st like everyone else and have to start from 0 to gain qualification for 2020.

Neil

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