Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are offering reciprocal status matching

When Alaska Airlines announced its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, it promised that elite members of each program would be able to receive status matching.
This state contest is now live and was first tagged by Gary Leff of View from the Wing.
The airline will eventually launch a loyalty program, but in the meantime, reciprocal elite status is pretty cool.
It’s quite simple. All you have to do is go to this special status match login page, log in to your Alaska Miles Program account, and then log in to your HawaiianMiles account.
If you have Alaska Mileage Plan or HawaiianMiles status, you can match it with elite status on other airlines.
if you have | You will be matched |
---|---|
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 Level |
Even if you don’t have membership with any airline, there’s an opportunity to combine your earnings from both programs into one level of membership. For example, if you earn 20,000 miles on Alaska Airlines and 20,000 miles on Hawaiian Airlines, you will have 40,000 miles in your combined account. That’s enough to earn you the Alaska Airlines MVP gold medal.
Remember, members will retain their current miles and can now transfer miles between accounts at a 1:1 ratio.
Alaska said members will soon be able to earn HawaiianMiles by flying with Alaska and earn program miles by flying with Hawaiian Airlines. Additional redemption options will eventually be available and the ability to enjoy select elite benefits from both airlines.
This will be helpful when airlines start operating flights with each other. For example, I noticed that my upcoming Alaska Airlines flight to Hawaii in April was affected by a schedule change. When I called Alaska to inquire about flight status, an agent told me that Bay Area flights currently operated by Alaska would soon be operated by Hawaiian Airlines.
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I currently have no elite status on either airline. But if I did, I would be happy to get Hawaiian status so I can choose better seats on flights now operated by Hawaiian.
Since I am an American Airlines member, I was able to choose a seat with more legroom on the Alaska flight. Alaska’s partnership with American Airlines means that when I fly with Alaska, the airline recognizes my top American Airlines AAdvantage status. This does not apply to Hawaiian.
RELATED: Last-Minute Strategies for Earning Elite Status in the Alaska Mileage Program
You can also fly to Alaska from other airlines with status matching
Another thing to note: If you have elite status with another airline, Alaska still offers a status challenge. By combining your current airline elite status, you will receive instant status for 90 days, with the opportunity to extend status through 2025 if you fly 5,000 miles or less on Alaska-operated flights (20,000 miles for MVP Gold 75K) End of the year. Since I have top-tier Delta Diamond Medallion membership, I might consider it.
More reasons why the Alaska Mileage Plan looks interesting right now
In fact, I’m considering applying for Alaska status next year. The Alaska Mileage Program and consolidation have resulted in many attractive developments.
Alaska is now the only major U.S. airline that allows you to earn elite status through flights based on actual miles flown. This will make it easier for you to achieve top mileage program status if you don’t buy a lot of expensive tickets. Alaska has also made some positive changes in gaining status. Alaska Miles Program members can now earn miles through award redemptions and will have new ways to spend toward status.
Effective January 1, 2025, existing cardholders Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card Earn 1 Elite Qualification Mile for every $3 spent, up to 30,000 EQM on qualifying purchases each year. This can help you move towards top 100K status, which requires 100,000 EQM.
Related: Why I applied for two Hawaiian Airlines cards on the same day
Also note that Alaska is offering waitlist status for a new premium card, which it says will help holders speed up their path to status.
Another thing to keep in mind right now: Hawaiian Airlines remains a transfer partner for American Express Membership Rewards. I’m considering transferring some points to Hawaiian Airlines which will convert to Alaska miles.
Also, if you have status in either program, it might make sense for you to do a status match.
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