Alaska Airlines’ new elite status offer promises MVP status through 2026 after just one round-trip flight to Sydney or Auckland. It sounds like a great deal—but you had better read the fine print. The offer may be a nonstarter for Hawaii, as it excludes flights originating from the islands. Here’s why this matters and what it might say about Alaska’s loyalty strategy post-merger.
The shortcut to MVP.
The promotion is simple: Fly round-trip between the continental U.S. and Australia or New Zealand on Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines by December 31, 2025, and you’ll earn MVP status through the end of 2026. All flights connect through Honolulu. You must register and book directly with Alaska. Full details are on their official offer page.
However, MVP is Alaska’s lowest elite tier, offering limited perks like two free checked bags, early boarding, and a 50% mileage bonus. There’s no lounge access or international upgrade priority. Seat upgrades are space-available and apply only to select fare classes. In our experience, they are rarely available.
Considering that the SEA–SYD round-trip distance is around 15,000 miles, and MVP qualification otherwise is 20,000 miles—the promotion fast-tracks you to the MVP tier at a 5,000 mile discount.
Hawaii travelers are left out.
The headline exclusion here is Hawaii. The offer only applies to flights departing from the continental U.S. Travelers based in Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, or Lihue can’t participate unless they reposition to the mainland first. That means a sizable portion of Alaska and Hawaiian’s combined customer base is sidelined from this promotion.
This exclusion is more than an inconvenience; it will be interesting to see if it becomes part of a pattern. Loyalty promotions tied to Alaska’s Mileage Plan frequently center around mainland routes and benefits, despite the growing significance of Hawaii and Alaska’s new Honolulu hub in the merged airline’s network.
As we covered in Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines just rewrote the rules of airline benefits, travelers in the islands have good reason to question how much of these changes will benefit them.
Can you route through Hawaii anyway?
Yes—with a workaround. Alaska confirmed to us today that travelers can manually book two separate tickets—one from the mainland to Hawaii, and another from Hawaii to Sydney or Auckland—and still qualify for the promotion. In this case, the flight technically begins in the continental U.S., and the traveler just happens to stop in Hawaii between segments.
But there’s a catch.
This won’t be a single itinerary, so travelers assume risk if delays occur. You’ll also pay more than a traditional round-trip fare. The reason is that Hawaii isn’t included as a valid stopover point under normal paid ticket rules.
That said, for travelers who want to get creative and stretch the journey, this is the only path that includes Hawaii—and even then, it’s unofficial.
Loyalty upgrades are not aimed at Hawaii.
Alaska’s Mileage Plan continues to evolve in 2025 and will soon be merged with Hawaiian’s legacy loyalty program, HawaiianMiles. New features include earning elite qualifying miles (EQMs) on award tickets, new milestone rewards at various thresholds, and credit card spending counting toward elite tiers. These upgrades will be designed to compete with other major U.S. carriers and drive deeper engagement with Alaska/Hawaiian.
But whether they will regularly speak directly to the Hawaii market remains to be seen. Benefits may favor frequent mainland flyers or international travelers passing through hub cities like Seattle. Hawaii travelers, especially residents flying interisland or to the West Coast, will wait to see how they are included or largely left out.
As we reported, HawaiianMiles just got upended by Alaska, changes to Hawaiian’s loyalty program and credit card partnerships have already raised questions about how merged benefits would be distributed. This latest offer continues that trend, rewarding long-distance travelers while leaving others behind.
A growing gap in value.
For most travelers flying to Hawaii, elite status isn’t easy to achieve and offers little in return unless they’re based on the mainland. That’s especially true now that many airlines—including Alaska—are trimming seat comfort, cutting benefits, and charging more than ever.
This promotion reinforces a growing divide. If you’re in Seattle and flying long-haul internationally, you’re rewarded. If you’re in Hawaii, contributing to the merged airline’s core routes and identity, you’re not, at least this time. As more of these offers roll out, it will become clear where the airline sees value—and where it doesn’t.
What’s next for Hawaii travelers?
This promotion may excite mainland travelers looking to achieve their elite status with a single trip, but it does little for Hawaii-based flyers. Unless Alaska introduces targeted offers for island routes or elevates interisland value under Mileage Plan, which remains entirely possible, this deal is just another reminder that Hawaii is still on the outside looking in.
As the final integration push progresses, we’ll watch closely to see if the combined airline treats Hawaii as a core market, or just a side trip. The message is clear for now: To qualify, you’ll need to start your journey elsewhere.
Do you plan to take advantage of this promotion? We welcome your comments.
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I normally view BoH as being vdry fair in its coverage but feel that you have seriously missed the mark here. Hawaii hasn’t been discriminated against with this promotion. As someone else pointed out, this actually promotes connecting at HNL rather than SFO or LAX. Previous BoH articles have bemoaned HNL’s loss of connecting traffic because of the HA buyout. Now that AS is actually promoting HNL connections, you still find a way to criticize the move.
As you pointed out, even for mainland travelers, the relaxed status requirement only provides a discount of about 5,000 flight miles. To let it apply to HI-based travelers would require a discount of about 10,000 miles, twice as much. It looks like you are asking for special treatment, not equal treatment.
Alaska is missing out here, but not for the small Hawaii – Oz market, but because they should offer a free stopover in HNL.
Connecting on those flights sounds dreadful. But with 2 days in Hawaii it’s a fun adventure.
Thank you for another informative article. I share the sentiment that Hawaiian Miles members, even at the so-called “elite” level, are and probably will be getting the short end. Hawaiian Miles Pualani Platinum level at 40,000 miles maps out to Alaska’s mileage plan MVP Gold level. On a Hawaiian Airlines operated flight last week that was booked through Alaska Airlines and flying as a MVP gold member, I received a 50% elite bonus on my mileage credit. Had I booked this directly on Hawaiian and elected mileage credit as a Hawaiian Airlines Platinum member, I would have received a 100% elite bonus. I know, first world country club whining. Alaska is quick to point out the improvements in their Mileage Plan. But, they don’t mention where the Alaska mileage plan falls short of the current Hawaiian Miles plan.
A correction to the story. Travel is on Hawaiian and Alaska not Hawaiian or Alaska. This means they are trying to support HA routes to Oceanic by driving traffic from the PNW, SEA is mentioned in the press release, through HNL as opposed to LAX for Australia, on Qantas, a oneworld partner or, SFO for New Zealand, on NZ air a competitive from Star alliance. This may very well be an attempt to see if those locations can support daily trips as opposed to the current sub daily/seasonal service.
It’s the beginning of the end. Past airline buyouts indicate the Hawaiian brand and tail logo will be next. They’ve probably already ordered the paint.