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2017 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!

Old Jan 4, 2017, 7:30 pm
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Last edit by: Calchas
Welcome to the Alaska Airlines Flame-Free Q&A Thread for 2017!

Anyone is welcome to ask anything, even the most basic questions, in this thread without having to fear a snarky response. In this thread, there's no such thing as a dumb question--we were all new to Alaska Airlines, FlyerTalk, and even the whole idea of mileage programs once and needed some help navigating the ropes. We're here to help you do just that!

That said, if you want to do a little reading to see if your question has been previously discussed, links to some of the most common and extensive topics in this forum are listed in our FAQ thread -- click here to check it out.

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You are welcome to send a private message to any of these individuals for assistance, but you'll generally get a faster response and broader palette of answers if you simply post your inquiry here in this thread.

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Welcome, and we look forward to providing any assistance we can!

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2017 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!

Old Jul 20, 2017, 9:50 am
  #1021  
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Originally Posted by JIMCHI
If I have a non-refundable ticket and if a few days before I am unable to do the trip, can I cancel it and use the funds in the future? I see there is a $125 fee for cancelling so I gather the funds are usable for future travel. On a roundtrip ticket for 2 people, am I going to be charged $125, $250, or $500?
$125 per ticket so $250, each person is assigned their own ticket number.
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Old Jul 20, 2017, 10:47 am
  #1022  
 
Join Date: Jul 1999
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Originally Posted by CDKing
$125 per ticket so $250, each person is assigned their own ticket number.
Thanks. So do I just cancel the reservations and then I can call back months later and use the remaining funds or do I have to rebook when I cancel?
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Old Jul 20, 2017, 11:01 am
  #1023  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
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Originally Posted by JIMCHI
Thanks. So do I just cancel the reservations and then I can call back months later and use the remaining funds or do I have to rebook when I cancel?
You cancel the tickets and rebook later. Keep in mind the change fee must be paid with new money and isn't deducted from the value of the ticket. You can either pay the cancellation fees when you cancel or wait until you're ready to rebook.
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Old Jul 20, 2017, 3:56 pm
  #1024  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Yellow Springs
Programs: AS 75k
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Originally Posted by JIMCHI
Thanks. So do I just cancel the reservations and then I can call back months later and use the remaining funds or do I have to rebook when I cancel?
Originally Posted by rustykettel
You cancel the tickets and rebook later. Keep in mind the change fee must be paid with new money and isn't deducted from the value of the ticket. You can either pay the cancellation fees when you cancel or wait until you're ready to rebook.
Remember that you have 12 months from when the original ticket was issued to use the remaining funds. Tickets bought with the remaining funds can be booked for dates after that 12 month expiration.
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Old Jul 20, 2017, 9:51 pm
  #1025  
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
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I think I just made a rookie mistake.

Had a lingering credit on a FlexPerks card that redeems on Alaska as a cash ticket. I booked a random ticket today to drain the account, figuring as an MVP Gold I could just deposit it into My Wallet and use it as a credit toward new bookings in the future.

Apparently if you cancel within 24 hours you can't deposit to My Wallet? So now I have the full value of the ticket stuck on the ticket itself. The problem is that I would like to rebook as TWO seats on a different flight (me + companion) and use GGUs.

I can't figure out a way to do that. If I try to simply "change" the ticket with residual value, it won't let me add a second person, and seems to be suggesting if I book a cheaper flight, instead of sending back a travel credit, it will post a refund back to credit card...

Help? I tried calling in but the agent couldn't figure a way to send it to the wallet and didn't really have any other suggestions.
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Old Jul 20, 2017, 11:26 pm
  #1026  
 
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Could you wait 24 hours for the initial refund period to expire and then cancel?
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Old Jul 21, 2017, 12:16 am
  #1027  
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
 
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Originally Posted by rustykettel
Could you wait 24 hours for the initial refund period to expire and then cancel?
Will it let me, even though I've already cancelled without taking the refund?
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Old Jul 21, 2017, 12:31 am
  #1028  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Originally Posted by MDtR-Chicago
Will it let me, even though I've already cancelled without taking the refund?
What if you use the ticket to book something for yourself, wait more than 24 hours, and then cancel that ticket? Can an agent tell you if those funds would go to your wallet instead of a ticket?
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Old Jul 21, 2017, 11:32 pm
  #1029  
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
 
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Originally Posted by rustykettel
Could you wait 24 hours for the initial refund period to expire and then cancel?
Your intuition was reliable. After waiting 24 hours, the option to deposit into My Wallet appeared, even tho I had already canceled the ticket and kept the value on the ticket.

Ended up booking exactly what I wanted and had to eat the $40 increase in fare since yesterday.
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Old Jul 21, 2017, 11:44 pm
  #1030  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, HH Gold, Hertz PC, Marriott Titanium LTG, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 42,942
Originally Posted by MDtR-Chicago
Your intuition was reliable. After waiting 24 hours, the option to deposit into My Wallet appeared, even tho I had already canceled the ticket and kept the value on the ticket.

Ended up booking exactly what I wanted and had to eat the $40 increase in fare since yesterday.
Glad it worked out.

Keep track of this with #GARR
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Old Jul 23, 2017, 12:35 pm
  #1031  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 84
I've just booked my first flight on Alaska Airlines so apologies if this is a newbie question.

I purchased a ticket on Alaska 779 on Friday 11th August from STL to SEA. The booking process offered a seat map which showed everything unavailable except for a few premium class seats, for an upgrade fee. I presumed this was because I was buying the cheapest, non-refundable fare that I couldn't select an economy seat. Now I'm wondering if it's because the flight is oversold. Should I be concerned?
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Old Jul 23, 2017, 1:04 pm
  #1032  
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Originally Posted by 91foxbody
I'm also interested in putting one together, but have no idea where to start. I'm reasonably close to MVP Gold and would like to go for it.
What I've found for decent mileage runs are things like YVR-CDG-HKG in PE for 1340:

AF: YVR/YYZ/YUL-CDG-HKG - $1340 in PE rt

or YYZ-CDG-CPT in PE:

AF: YYZ/YUL/YOW to CPT in PE, from $1190 (JNB $1347 on LH and AF)

reasonably comfy, long flights and credits 100% to AS. And a steal for that price. It's not traditional mileage run territory, but e.g. YVR-CDG-HKG is 22k miles for 1340USD, all in PE. That's 6cpm, in PE. That's quite good.

Since AA is eliminating mileage earning domestically, that eliminates e.g. YVR/LAX-PTY F runs that used to be amazing for earning miles.

One thing that's probably also very effective are Condor "J" flights, that price very cheaply and give tons of miles. But I don't have any good examples at hand.
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Old Jul 23, 2017, 1:11 pm
  #1033  
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Originally Posted by TownCar
Now I'm wondering if it's because the flight is oversold. Should I be concerned?
There's 52 open seats per Expert Flyer, though it looks like all the basic economy seats are all gone. I don't think you need to worry about the flight being oversold. I'd keep checking if something might open up, otherwise you'll be assigned something at the airport.
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Old Jul 23, 2017, 2:10 pm
  #1034  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
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Originally Posted by tom911
There's 52 open seats per Expert Flyer, though it looks like all the basic economy seats are all gone. I don't think you need to worry about the flight being oversold. I'd keep checking if something might open up, otherwise you'll be assigned something at the airport.
Rows 11-15 & 24 are Preferred seats and are available for selection now for elites and full Y. Those will open up for everyone at T-24/OLCI. You don't have to wait until the airport for those. Plenty of seats there.

16-17 are also marked as preferred but those are exit rows and at least in the past had a seat charge like Premium Class but I'm not sure if they still do.
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Old Jul 23, 2017, 3:17 pm
  #1035  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Ok, thanks for the info! Wasn't sure what the seat reservation/blocking policy was, but I'm sure I'll be doing OLCI promptly at T-24.
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