Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

Alaska is really tough to qualify for. For MVP gold, you need 40k real miles. They don’t have multipliers for things like first class.
Delta on the other hand for its golf program is 50k but they have a 50% multiplier for international business. Net net since delta codeshare so much it is easier to get delta miles.
Also delta miles don’t expire and they let you roll over whatever miles you have to the next year that are over the limit
Moreover this wonderful site Statusmatch.com gives all the rules. You can request a status match and then have 90 days to complete. So for instance getting to gold takes 16,00 MQMs, that’s about probably a trip to Asia (8,000 x 1.5 = 12K MQMs) and a transcontinental trip and you are there 🙂
And if you qualify late in the year the status match rolls over through the next calendar year.
Another option is that you can get a Delta American Express Platinum card with 20K MQMs on promotions.