FOUL FOUL FOUL I loose my miles due to inactivity/disability and now they want $75 to get them back but yet i was unable to get redemption information. what a scam, needless to say i am an unhappy camper and have to go with another airline now bummer.
Programs: AS MVP Gold (83K), AS BR [3 year renewal], Maika`i Card, CO
Posts: 11,103
Welcome to Flyertalk-
Depends on how many miles it is ~ would make it worthwhile or not...
Most other airlines have similar policies in place as well, much with a shorter expiration policy then AS... others have them in place, but have not enforced them...yet!
Programs: CO OnePass (Platinum) DL PM (Matched) AS MP (former Gold) HHonors (Diamond) SPG (Gold)
Posts: 2,145
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikexner
If it's truly due to disability call customer care. I'm a true AS fan for their customer service and this screams at me as so
Erving they would fix...
With all of the other options for earning miles I really don' think one cam pull the "disability" card anymore. Safeway, Mileage Plan Shopping, Mileage Plan Wireless, e-Rewards, SkyMall, Mileage Plan Dining, B of A credit/debit card...
Can't really claim the inability to fly/travel as a barrier to keeping an account active. Just buy something once every two years. I just renewed my AT&T wireless plan which I initially set up through MP Wireless. Got the 5K bonus 2 years ago and looking forward to another 5K in a few weeks.
Programs: AS MVP (withering away due to insane fares), UA, AA, AGR, NPS passport, Costco Exec
Posts: 5,226
Quote:
Originally Posted by alanvrod
FOUL FOUL FOUL I loose my miles due to inactivity/disability and now they want $75 to get them back but yet i was unable to get redemption information. what a scam, needless to say i am an unhappy camper and have to go with another airline now bummer.
Just wanted to point out the reason why they do this. It's NOT a scam: unused miles represent a paper liability on the airlines' books, and in order to keep the balance sheet, well, balanced and the investors happy, pretty much every loyalty program in the world has instituted some sort of policy where inactivity after a certain period of time will cause the account to expire.
Previously, with most airline programs, accounts had to sit unused for 36 months before they would be closed. With the growing trillions of unredeemed miles sitting, many in the accounts of people who have forgotten their accounts even exist, airlines began tightening the expiration periods. Many cut that time limit in half, requiring members to have some sort of activity every 18 months or risk losing their miles, and Southwest Airlines actually makes you use your credits within two years of earning them, regardless of other account activity (that is, if you take 25 months to earn enough credits for a free flight...too bad). Alaska wasn't as harsh, cutting it to two years (24 months) and also allowing people to reinstate their accounts for a $75 fee.
As COpltASgldPHX and others have mentioned, there are myriad ways to keep your account active and prevent your miles from expiring that do not involve flying. Even a $1 purchase through the Mileage Plan Shopping mall or at a Mileage Plan Dining partner restaurant is enough to reset the activity clock. AS's announcement of this change also wasn't in the least bit sneaky, and they do have the answer to this question in their FAQ.
I know it's painful to lose things like this. I've missed out on things because I ignored them or wasn't fully aware of policies, too. But you can't hold it against AS. The best you can do is pick up the pieces and move on, and I certainly wouldn't quit flying AS over this. (Remember, if this were on most any other airline, you would have lost your miles 6 months earlier and you wouldn't be able to get them back for any fee.) If you had much more than 2,700 miles in your account, it might make sense to pay the fee (if you had fewer than that, then you'd be better served to open a new account and, if you so desire, to buy that balance back at the Instant Miles cost of 2.75 cents per mile). And make sure you're checking your balance at least a few times a year and doing something to keep the balance alive if it matters to you.
Programs: AS MVPG, SPG Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 717
at the risk of looking like a jerk, I would like to point out something that I've noticed A LOT of people doing on FlyerTalk and elsewhere. It is the misuse of the words loose (as in my tooth is loose) and lose (you are going to lose your miles if you don't use them). This is not a spelling issue, it is an issue of using the wrong word. I don't believe "loosing" is a word.
Programs: AS MVP (withering away due to insane fares), UA, AA, AGR, NPS passport, Costco Exec
Posts: 5,226
Quote:
Originally Posted by Duckouttahere
at the risk of looking like a jerk, I would like to point out something that I've noticed A LOT of people doing on FlyerTalk and elsewhere. It is the misuse of the words loose (as in my tooth is loose) and lose (you are going to lose your miles if you don't use them). This is not a spelling issue, it is an issue of using the wrong word. I don't believe "loosing" is a word.
Not back to our regularly scheduled program....
Well, if Mileage Plan is loosing miles, they are then releasing them out into thin air, which is kinda accurate.
It is a pet peeve of mine, too, however, but I really try (and sometimes I really have to try) to keep my proverbial mouth shut about common errors like this or its/it's or the like.
Programs: AS MVPG, UA 1K, NW Gld, AA Gld, PC Plt/RA, SPG Gld
Posts: 2,766
I have no sympathy for the OP, and to sign up for FT just to come whining here about his own failure to keep his miles from expiring disqualifies him from any "welcome to FT" from me. If the post was "Oh silly me, darn it - why do they do it" then I'd have some sympathy. To show up here throwing around words like "sacm" is unacceptable - go to epinions or whatever if you want to vent.
AS sends out emails warning people that their miles are about to expire. Also, AS is very good in offering the $75 option - unlike many other programs. Nobody can have any beef with AS about miles expiring - the fault is entirely their own, and plenty of good options are available to keep miles alive.
__________________
Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety
but yet i was unable to get redemption information. what a scam, needless to say i am an unhappy camper and have to go with another airline now bummer.
I don't understand this at all. Redemption information is available online on alaskaair.com. Did you look there? If you're that unhappy with AS, go ahead and go to another airline and good luck, you'll find that they may be even tougher about expired miles. (Clearly you don't fly much any more if you have had 2 years of no activity in your account.)
I have no sympathy for the OP, and to sign up for FT just to come whining here about his own failure to keep his miles from expiring disqualifies him from any "welcome to FT" from me. If the post was "Oh silly me, darn it - why do they do it" then I'd have some sympathy. To show up here throwing around words like "sacm" is unacceptable - go to epinions or whatever if you want to vent.
AS sends out emails warning people that their miles are about to expire. Also, AS is very good in offering the $75 option - unlike many other programs. Nobody can have any beef with AS about miles expiring - the fault is entirely their own, and plenty of good options are available to keep miles alive.
LOL! My first draft when responding to this was somewhat the same. I decided to be semi nice and rewrote it. The welcome to FT with the big grin was a somewhat sarcastic gesture although I am not sure how it came across. Actually seems to be a drive by poster anyhow. But yeah your response was pretty much my initial reaction too
Programs: AS MVP Gold (83K), AS BR [3 year renewal], Maika`i Card, CO
Posts: 11,103
Quote:
Originally Posted by ANC
LOL! My first draft when responding to this was somewhat the same. I decided to be semi nice and rewrote it. The welcome to FT with the big grin was a somewhat sarcastic gesture although I am not sure how it came across. Actually seems to be a drive by poster anyhow. But yeah your response was pretty much my initial reaction too
Programs: AS MVP (withering away due to insane fares), UA, AA, AGR, NPS passport, Costco Exec
Posts: 5,226
Quote:
Originally Posted by ANC
LOL! My first draft when responding to this was somewhat the same. I decided to be semi nice and rewrote it. The welcome to FT with the big grin was a somewhat sarcastic gesture although I am not sure how it came across. Actually seems to be a drive by poster anyhow. But yeah your response was pretty much my initial reaction too
Hey now, let's be nice and welcoming on FlyerTalk and help convert a dissatisfied person into a satisfied customer.
The OP could be a one-hit wonder--post a rant and never bother to see if anyone replied with helpful tips--or a troll, but I choose to believe the best about people.
Yes that does suck 
