I was a Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Gold member for the last four years, and I just returned from Las Vegas. With the transition to Alaska Airlines’ new Atmos program, I was converted to silver membership and found that I did not qualify for priority baggage handling.
To receive the same free priority seating and preferred boarding benefits that I enjoyed as a Pualani Gold member, I now need to earn 40,000 status points instead of 20,000 qualifying miles. While all the advertisements about the transition assured that I would not lose any HawaiianMiles — which is true — I did not see any mention of losing privileges.
I’m not sure if other travelers are aware of these changes or if they will strive to reach gold status under the new program. Moving forward, I plan to travel when I desire with Hawaiian Airlines or other airlines without worrying about status.
I wish Alaska Airlines the best with its “Almost” program.
— Clyde Masaki, Pearl City
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