Easy Airline Elite Status in 2025
Tl;dr: You can get basic airline elite status just by holding and/or using a credit card or two.
Although just about any co-branded hotel credit card will grant you some level of elite status with that chain, airline elite status is a little bit harder to earn—but not that hard, depending on the airline. If you want to get the VIP treatment on your next flight, there are a few easy ways to do it.
Several credit cards will give you some of the benefits of status even if you don’t become a full elite member. But you could become a Delta elite by holding a pair of credit cards, an American elite by spending $20-40k (or less) on purchases each year, or an Alaska elite status simply by taking award flights.
Elite status benefits
The lowest levels of elite status with Delta (Silver Medallion), American (AAdvantage Gold), and Alaska (MVP), come with the following benefits:
A free checked bag (2 with Alaska)
Priority check-in
Priority boarding
Upgrade eligibility (reciprocal between AA and Alaska)
Free preferred seats when booking
Dedicated customer service
Extra frequent flyer miles on paid flights
Priority check in and additional baggage allowance when flying with an alliance partner airline.
Credit cards with elite-like perks
A few credit cards offer some of the above benefits just for holding the card.
Elite-lite: Amex Delta Platinum and Reserve
Delta’s premium co-branded Amex cards, the $350-fee Platinum and the $650-fee Reserve, each offer some of the key benefits of elite status: access to the upgrade list, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and (like Silver Medallions) elite status with Hertz. I love the Platinum for these benefits, given that it comes with several hundred dollars worth of statement credits and other perks to make it nearly free to hold for the right person. With Delta selling most of its first-class seats and so many people getting access to upgrades via credit cards, the upgrade benefit probably won’t land you in first class, but I’ve gotten tons of Comfort Plus upgrades as a lowly Silver Medallion.
(Pricey) VIP treatment: AA and United ultra-premium cards
The $595-fee AA Executive and the $525-fee United Club Infinite card each offer free checked bags, lounge access, and expedited access from check-in to security to boarding. However, neither come with access to the upgrade list.
Free bags and priority boarding: Most airline cards
Almost every airline has a credit card with an annual fee around $100 that will get you a free checked bag and priority boarding when you fly with that carrier. It’s nothing fancy, but if you’re relatively loyal to a given airline and prone to spending money on checked bags, an airline card can be a worthwhile investment.
Instant Delta status with Amex cards
Delta Silver Medallion status is unlocked after earning 5,000 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). You earn 1 MQD for every: $1 spent on base fares with Delta (excluding basic economy tickets), 100 Skymiles redeemed for flights via Delta (e.g. a 10,000 mile award ticket earns 100 MQDs), $1 spent via Delta Vacations, $10 spent on Delta’s Reserve Amex card, and $20 spent on Delta’s Platinum Amex card.
In addition to the perks mentioned above, the Delta Platinum and Reserve cards both come with an MQD “headstart” of 2,500 MQD’s each year, just for holding the card. Because you can have one of each card or two of either, you can get elite status with Delta just by holding two of these cards.
Of course, with the ability to earn MQDs by flying, redeeming miles for award travel, and Delta’s semi-regular promotions through its travel site, one headstart may be enough for certain travelers.
Become an Alaska MVP by flying for free
Alaska’s path to elite status
You can earn milestone rewards and MVP status just by booking award travel.
To unlock Alaska’s basic elite status, MVP, you need to earn 20,000 “Elite Qualifying Miles” (EQMs). These can be earned in a few ways: you can typically earn at least 1 EQM per flight mile travelled on non-saver fares booked via Alaska (although it’s a bit complicated), award flights (even on partner airlines) earn 1 EQM per mile travelled, the Alaska credit card earns 1 EQM for each $3 spent, and you earn 1,000 EQMs for each $3,000 spent with Alaska’s non-airline partners.
If you can earn enough miles (e.g. via the Alaska card and/or Bilt), you could simply book a couple long-distance award flights. For example, a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo is about 5,000 miles, so a round-trip, non-stop award flight would net 10,000+ EQMs, halfway to MVP status. Trips from the East Coast to Asia are closer to 13,000 EQMs, while trips from the West Coast to Europe are similar at around 10-12,000 miles.
If you paid your rent with the Alaska card through Bilt, for each $1,000 in rent you would: pay $360 in transaction fees, earn 36,000 Alaska miles (worth about $500), and earn 4,000 EQMs. If you spent $2,000 per month in rent with an Alaska card, you’d earn 72,000 Alaska miles and 8,000 EQMs. Use those Alaska miles to book a trip to Asia and you’d have a free flight and be 95-100% of the way to Elite status for only the cost of those transaction fees.
Unlike with Delta status, first class upgrades are attainable on Alaska; I got three transcontinental first class upgrades (out of four total flights) on both Alaska and American during my six months of MVP status.
Spend your way to AA status
AAdvantage Gold status
AA status is conferred based on Loyalty Points. Entry level Gold status is unlocked after earning 40,000 Loyalty Points in a qualification year (with AA, the qualification year begins on March 1).
There are a lot of ways to earn Loyalty Points. Flyers without status earn 5 Loyalty Points per $1 spent on AA flights. Loyalty Points can also be earned in a variety of other ways:
1 per $1 when spending on most AA co-branded cards
2 per $1 spent on restaurants, gas, and AA purchases with the Citi AA Platinum Select
When flying on partner airlines with your AAdvantage number (exact number depends on fare class and distance flown)
When eating out with AAdvantage Dining
When shopping via AAdvantage eShopping
When earning with SimplyMiles
When filling up at Shell
When buying tickets through AAdvantage Events
When booking hotels with AAdvantage Hotels or Rocketmiles or IHG/Marriott/Hyatt if you select AA miles in lieu of hotel points
When booking rental cars with partner companies and choosing AA rewards
When booking cruises or vacations through AA
If you use an AA co-branded card like the Aviator or a Citi card, you are guaranteed AA status if you put $40k in spending on the card in a calendar year. You can spend quite a bit less than that, though, if you fly AA, take advantage of the alternative channels to earn loyalty points above, or earn bonus points on your credit card spending (e.g. 2x at restaurants with the Citi AA Platinum Select).
$3350 per month rent in would be enough to earn AA Gold status just by using a co-branded card to pay rent via Bilt or a mortgage via Plastiq, though that move would cost you over $1,000 in fees.
Conclusion
If you fly enough to want to upgrade the experience, but don’t spend enough to earn elite status the old-fashioned way, these hacks can help you get to your next destination in style without breaking the bank. Personally, I’ll be hanging on to my Delta card and redeeming some of my Bilt points to fly to Japan which, combined with my usual two flights to the East Coast, should get me Alaska MVP status.