Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - New MVP - but doesn't show in AS reservations system??

Hi -

First time poster here!

I hit MVP on a flight in early October (10/05 I believe) and as expected it didn't register with Alaska till 10/12. I booked my next flight on 10/20 (BUR -> SEA on 11/02) but wasn't given an option to waitlist for an F upgrade either at the time

This afternoon I called reservations to ask how to waitlist. The very helpful CSR was stumped. She could see that I had MVP in their system yet the reservation system was not recognizing it. She was very apologetic and put me on hold while she spoke with someone in the rewards plan group.

After about 5 min she came back and apologized but said that for some unknown reason, they have me listed as MVP in the rewards system but its not showing in the reservation system and as a result aren't able to waitlist me for an upgrade.

She suggested that I check again in 48 hrs to see if the next update would reflect the new status. She said she even tried creating a new reservation using my name and MP number but the system wouldn't recognize my MP number as an MVP so the upgrade option wasn't available.

I'm begining to think that AS's mileage program's system hates me! :(

Has anyone run into this before?

Welcome to FlyerTalk, snicko.

Sorry for your frustration but it is one we all had to go through at one time or another as new AS MVPs. The MP system updates in a weekly sweep done late Saturday night/early Sunday morning so if the miles which put you over an elite threshold are posted sometime during the week your new status will be reflected in the MP system and online that Sunday. After that sweep AS then sends an update to Sabre which shows your status on future reservations and enables you to be placed on the upgrade waitlist. That is what is causing your issue now. I don't think there is any particular day of the week Sabre runs this update but it usualy reflects just a few days after the weekend MP sweep.

Sorry I didn't have better news but hope this info helps.

Welcome to FT snicko, and congrats on making MVP!

Sorry the AS site isn't reflecting your status yet, it's a bummer to know you should be getting something and then not see it. I'm sure it will soon.

I would definitely keep trying/checking on the website to see if your status gets reflected after the reservation system update. Be vigilant, different systems post on different days/intervals. At the very worst, call again at T-48 hours if you haven't been upgraded and ask if they can do it manually. Every call I've had with AS customer service has been pleasant and helpful, which means a lot in this industry.

This afternoon I called reservations to ask how to waitlist. The very helpful CSR was stumped. She could see that I had MVP in their system yet the reservation system was not recognizing it. not sure why she was stumped this is normal


She suggested that I check again in 48 hrs to see if the next update would reflect the new status. She said she even tried creating a new reservation using my name and MP number but the system wouldn't recognize my MP number as an MVP so the upgrade option wasn't availableit takes a week or two to update in the reservation system after it updates in mileage plan. Furthermore it wont update a reservation made prior to the system recognizing your status if MP number was already entered

Although everything should have worked as intended (based on your timeline--you booked your ticket after the system recognized you as MVP, you may need to have the agent specifically delete your Mileage Plan number from the PNR and re-add it. That may clear up the issue and get the reservation system to recognize you as MVP. (Apparently, not all agents know of that trick, so she may not have tried that if you didn't specifically request it.)

Are you travelling with another MVP on the same reservation? I've experienced several problems in that scenario. Sometimes it recognizes only one MVP, sometimes it drops the waitlist entirely, etc.

Welcome to FlyerTalk, snicko.

Sorry for your frustration but it is one we all had to go through at one time or another as new AS MVPs. The MP system updates in a weekly sweep done late Saturday night/early Sunday morning so if the miles which put you over an elite threshold are posted sometime during the week your new status will be reflected in the MP system and online that Sunday. After that sweep AS then sends an update to Sabre which shows your status on future reservations and enables you to be placed on the upgrade waitlist. That is what is causing your issue now. I don't think there is any particular day of the week Sabre runs this update but it usualy reflects just a few days after the weekend MP sweep.

Sorry I didn't have better news but hope this info helps.

Ha, this is the downside to opening gobs of tabs and then posting replies. These replies didn't exist for me until after I posted! ;)

The OP's timeline should have worked. Here's what I guess:

10/5: qualifying flight
10/8ish: miles post
10/11: status updates in Mileage Plan system (Sunday morning weekly sweep)
10/12sh: SABRE recognizes MVP status
10/20: OP books ticket
11/5: flight in question

If that timeline is accurate, then it should be working.

If the miles posted after the 10/11 status sweep, I still think it should have made it:

10/5: qualifying flight
10/12: miles post
10/18: status updates in Mileage Plan system (Sunday morning weekly sweep)
10/19ish: SABRE recognizes MVP status
10/20: OP books ticket
11/5: flight in question

IF the miles took a full week to post (unlikely, but not impossible--though AS seems to have gotten MUCH better at posting miles more quickly in recent times), and IF it takes more than 48 hours for Mileage Plan to update SABRE, THEN the OP may have booked the ticket before SABRE recognized his status.

In any case, SABRE should, by now, have a record of it. But the actual PNR won't be updated to take advantage of the status until a CSR deletes the Mileage Plan number associated with the PNR and re-adds it, like I suggested above. OP, try calling in and having them do it, and I bet you'll see success. :)

and IF it takes more than 48 hours for Mileage Plan to update SABRE, THEN the OP may have booked the ticket before SABRE recognized his status.

i remember when I made gold it took SABRE close to 2 weeks to recognize it after Mileage plan did

i remember when I made gold it took SABRE close to 2 weeks to recognize it after Mileage plan did

Agreed. Jackal's timeline is a bit off when it comes to the interval between the MP sweep and Sabre recognition. I remember for me it took at least a week.

Agreed. Jackal's timeline is a bit off when it comes to the interval between the MP sweep and Sabre recognition. I remember for me it took at least a week.

Not sure if an agent 'forced' it, but I had a friend in June fly ANC-SFO, achieved MVP, and during the sweep had MVP recognized... and upgraded on the Sun Night N/S back to ANC from SFO :cool: [Was on the phone with the MVPG desk working on it]

Not sure if an agent 'forced' it, but I had a friend in June fly ANC-SFO, achieved MVP, and during the sweep had MVP recognized... and upgraded on the Sun Night N/S back to ANC from SFO :cool: [Was on the phone with the MVPG desk working on it]

Perhaps the moon just happened to be in the 7th house and Jupiter aligned with mars? :D

Agreed. Jackal's timeline is a bit off when it comes to the interval between the MP sweep and Sabre recognition. I remember for me it took at least a week.

OK, well, still, there's a 95% chance that the first timeline is the one that actually happened. So, the MP status sweep was still 10/11. Are you saying that even by 10/20--9 days later--SABRE still wasn't up-to-date?

Regardless, everything should be in sync now. The OP needs to call the MVP desk, have them remove and re-add the Mileage Plan number, and all should be well.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions everyone!

I was going to give the MVP desk a call and see if they could remove / add the MP number again to see if that helped. Before calling though, I checked again this afternoon, about 48 hrs later, and this time around I had the upgrade option available to me.

SeatCounter shows F7 U7 so we'll see if I get a comp UG!

:)

-- Nick
(Yah, its the first time I"ve made any tier of an MP so its all very exciting for me still!)

(Yah, its the first time I"ve made any tier of an MP so its all very exciting for me still!)

Your first time is always the best!