Opinion: Why going for Atmos Gold is worth it for Alaska Airlines travelers
An Alaska Airlines-branded Boeing 787 is depicted in this undated image. Photo courtesy of Alaska Airlines.
If you are a frequent flier with some sort of loyalty to a particular airline, you likely know the feeling of trying to make it to a certain mileage tier by the end of the year. That fresh start on the calendar also typically means a restart for working toward loyalty program statuses, including Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards program, formerly known as Mileage Plan.
For those who fly with Alaska Airlines on a regular basis, the first milestone related to “elite qualifying miles” – those miles that go toward status – is Atmos Silver, the equivalent of the now-defunct MVP status, which is reached at 20,000 EQM. The next level, at 40,000 EQM, is the old MVP Gold, now referred to as Atmos Gold.
Many of Alaska Airlines’ frequent fliers aim only for Atmos Silver, the former MVP status, throughout the year. However, it’s Atmos Gold that will really begin to prove its worth through benefits and one-time perks.
With Atmos Silver, you’ll still qualify for complimentary upgrades to first- and premium-class seats on Alaska Airlines flights, when available. In 2026, Atmos Silver members and any travel companions on the same reservation will get one free checked bag; that’s a drop from the two checked bags allowed through 2025. Many of the benefits remain the same as they’ve been in recent years, however, such as boarding with group B and being able to access priority check-in lines.
Here’s where Atmos Gold becomes a game-changer. First, on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and American Airlines, you still have two free checked bags along with any carry-ons for you and all companions on your reservation. When flying with oneworld partners, your lounge access is limited but exists, unlike with Atmos Silver. Perhaps most beneficial of all, however, is the free same-day flight changes accessible once you hit Atmos Gold. What does this mean? With Atmos Gold, and as soon as your check-in window opens up, you can request a same-day flight change without paying a change fee or a difference in fare, so long as you didn’t book a Saver ticket. Keep in mind, your new flights must depart on the same day as the original flight. So, if you have a multi-city or multi-day flight, each of those flights must match the original departure date. Generally, your flight path must also match the original itinerary.
Example 1: You booked a flight that will take you from Fairbanks to Anchorage on Thursday morning. Your next flight, from Anchorage to Seattle, leaves Thursday afternoon. With the free same-day flight change, you could move either or both of these bookings to flights with equivalent availability, departing on the same date, at no cost.
Example 2: Your flight leaves Anchorage Tuesday night and lands in Seattle on Wednesday morning. Your connection to Boise leaves later in the morning on Wednesday. Barring only very specific exceptions, your same-day flight change will allow you to move your first flight to anytime on Tuesday, depending on availability; your second flight can only be moved to another time on Wednesday without a fee.
Example 3: You chose the cheapest nonstop flight out of Chicago for Friday morning that you could possibly find. You’d much rather leave later in the day, and you see flights that are available, but the other tickets cost multiple times as much as the main cabin seat you booked for a departure at the crack of dawn. With Atmos Gold, once the check-in window opens, you can request your preferred flight for the same date and execute a same-day flight change for free, if seats are available.
A few other notes:
Regardless of status, the same-day confirmed change fee is waived for certain tickets, such as first class bookings, and for holders of the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Card
For all bookings on nonstop Alaska Airlines flights between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Seattle and Portland, and Seattle and Spokane, excluding Saver fares, you can request free same-day standby
Same-day flight changes can be helpful for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps you simply want to leave somewhere later, get somewhere else earlier, or maybe you’re running so late that you’d rather rebook for another time in the day. Either way, this benefit offers so much flexibility without the headache of fees or changes in fare. For frequent fliers on Alaska Airlines, it’s a tangible, useful benefit that’s actually worth reaching for when considering its value against what it will take to get to Atmos Gold status. You can see an expanded list of Atmos Rewards status benefits, organized by tier, by heading over to the Alaska Airlines website.
By the way, if you have a higher status on another airline, you can apply for an Atmos Rewards status match through Alaska Airlines. As of publishing time, you may only apply for a match once; you must earn a certain number of base points, depending on your loyalty tier; and your match will stay intact for a certain amount of time beyond the first 90 days, depending on when you start your status match. You can click here for the details directly from Alaska Airlines.