Hi
Sciarella, and welcome to Flyertalk!
I never look into this thread, and first time I click on it... someone I can help
I am in Eagle River (ANC for all practicality) and fly AS enough each year to maintain MVPG (That is 40K on AS metal, 50K including partners)
If you were staying in Alaska, then I would strongly encourage you to switch to AS (Alaska Airlines), as they are 'the airline' up here, if you want to move around, or leave the State. And most other airlines partner with us for inter or intra state travel. So earning miles is not an issue.
As for when you move... it depends on where you move to... AS' route system is strong on the West Coast, with flights to BOS, EWR, DEN, DFW, MIA, MCO, MSP (soon), ORD and 10 destinations in Mexico, plus Hawaii. If this works, great~ not sure on the details, but you can fax in your 'status' to AS and they usually will extend to you MVP/G status for the next year.
As for 'abandoning' CO, to 'reearn' AS status... you may need to abandon them... but if you switch now, then you can think about it on the next few flights... maybe UG'd
ANC-SEA is very competitive... but if traveling on non-peak times/days its still possible for UG's...
And AS partners are very good... CO however does not count for earning the all mighty EQM's...
but DL, NW, AA, AF, KL all count!
So... I say
YES, but then again I am biased
