I'm glad I'm not the only one hearing this, I just find it odd that there are exceptions to the "Alaska will provide transportation to the partner gateway rule" -- is this the only one or are there others?
The only other one I'm aware of is the "no eastbound flights for westbound journies." That is, if you live on the west coast and desire to take a trans-pacific flight, AS will not fly you eastward to start your award.
For example, if you live in Seattle, AS will not fly you SEA-ORD to begin a CX journey ORD-HKG. You can start in ORD, but AS will not fly you there. AS considers this a form of "backtracking" or effectively "wasted travel" and will refuse to ticket such an itinerary, citing contractual obligations. From SEA, the CX departure points that AS will connect you to are only YVR, SFO, and LAX. You can make your own way to ORD, JFK, or YYZ, but AS will not provide complimentary transportation to or from those cities as part of a west-bound award.