I spent 5 hours in Alaska Airlines’ first class. There were no lie-flat seats or other frills, but it was pretty great.

• I recently spent about five hours in Alaska Airlines’ first class.
• The seats didn’t lie flat but they were comfy and my in-flight snacks and meals were tasty.
• My upgrade was free since I have status with Alaska, but I think it would’ve been worth the price.

I fly often, which means I sometimes get upgraded to first class. Recently, I moved up on my nonstop Alaska Airlines flight from Chicago to Portland.

Since I have MVP Gold status with the airline, I was able to get a complimentary upgrade to first class for my almost-five-hour flight.

Here’s how the flight went.