Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Alaska Visa 25K Bonus "Enough Miles for Anywhere Alaska flies in the US or Canada"

Okay, I think we all know that Alaska has made the "Choice" level for Alaska award redemption the "new normal" and that at 40K a domestic ticket is now twice as expensive in miles compared to the 20K formerly abundant domestic Super Saver tickets of just a few years ago... but on some routes 25k Super Saver tickets are not even being offered with regularity leading me to question the honesty of the claims being made by our esteemed FAs. "Sign up for the Alaska Airlines Bank of America Visa Signature credit card receive 25,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, enough miles for for a free round trip ticket anywhere Alaska flies in the continental US, Alaska or Canada." I think Alaska can keep walking that very thin line between truth and lie as long as they keep salting the award calendar with a few Super Saver options on most routes a couple days a year, but it seems disingenuous. Even more so when they highlight the Choice redemption level as "Lowest Available Award" on the Low Fare Calendar...

I signed up for the Alaska card in march under the premise of being able to book with the 25k sign up bonus. However in all my searches to date the realistic redemption levels appear to range from 32.5k to 40k (unless you decide to depart and arrive on the slowest days of the week, and even still that becomes a stretch)

Add this to the soon to be defunct 1k booking bonus and the removal of the companion pass for first class flights and this card and 25k bonus becomes extremely devalued.

The simple fact of the entire industry is that getting the lowest saver award type is extremely difficult. In spite of this, AS has comparatively good statistics v. many others; nevertheless, that doesn't make it good.

Ironically, if you are an AK resident, you are likely to get great value,and more availability, out of a saver award on a money saved-type basis.

Okay, I think we all know that Alaska has made the "Choice" level for Alaska award redemption the "new normal" and that at 40K a domestic ticket is now twice as expensive in miles compared to the 20K formerly abundant domestic Super Saver tickets of just a few years ago... but on some routes 25k Super Saver tickets are not even being offered with regularity leading me to question the honesty of the claims being made by our esteemed FAs. "Sign up for the Alaska Airlines Bank of America Visa Signature credit card receive 25,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, enough miles for for a free round trip ticket anywhere Alaska flies in the continental US, Alaska or Canada." I think Alaska can keep walking that very thin line between truth and lie as long as they keep salting the award calendar with a few Super Saver options on most routes a couple days a year, but it seems disingenuous. Even more so when they highlight the Choice redemption level as "Lowest Available Award" on the Low Fare Calendar...

Now that is the truth--the flight attendants who are giving the pitch probably have no idea the thin line of truth they are professing!!!

Now that is the truth--the flight attendants who are giving the pitch probably have no idea the thin line of truth they are professing!!!

The FA making the pitch last night on AS 3 (DCA-SEA) stated the miles don't expire...

:rolleyes:

The FA making the pitch last night on AS 3 (DCA-SEA) stated the miles don't expire...

:rolleyes:
AS claims that on their website, too: http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/benefits/about-mileage-plan.aspx

Contrary to Popular Belief, Your Miles Never Expire

As long as you keep your account active* — that is, as long as you earn or spend at least one mile every 24 months you'll keep all the miles that you earn.

* If no mileage is credited to your account during the first 24 months after opening, or if your account is inactive for longer than 2 years, the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan™ reserves the right to delete your account and reassign the number. If mileage has been deleted from your account, you can reinstate it for up to one year by paying a $75 fee.

Technically, they are correct, even if they are violating the spirit of the usual interpretation of that statement.

Technically, they are correct, even if they are violating the spirit of the usual interpretation of that statement.

"At Alaska Airlines, Your Miles Never Expire! Instead we "delete" them and/or the account they're in."

AS claims that on their website, too: http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/benefits/about-mileage-plan.aspx



Technically, they are correct, even if they are violating the spirit of the usual interpretation of that statement.

Well, actually, there are some airlines that expire miles even if there is activity. LH is one.

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/cmn/generalinfo?nodeid=2522607&l=en#25

2.5. Mileage expiry

Any mileage not redeemed within 36 months of the date of accrual (date of flight, start of hotel stay, time of car rental) will expire at the end of that quarter (e.g. miles expiring in August of any given year would expire at the end of September of that same year), failing other arrangements published in the Miles & More communication media. Attention will be drawn in good time to the date and extent of the lapsed mileage in the Miles & More account information or in the personal Internet mileage account.