Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
You don't consider 50k RDM a year and mile flown=mile earned (plus pretty juicy RDM bonuses) meaningful (a 75K accruing partner miles will get over ~200k RDM a year from flying pretty easily)? I suppose if more free plane travel is like being served more food you don't want to eat because you've had quite enough already, sure. I could imagine someone who flies well past DL Diamond + AS MVPG might not want to see a plane on vacation.
FWIW, I have never had an issue with getting exit row all the time. As an MVP or Gold (I have multiple trips for 2018 planned out, all are in AS F or an exit row, same was true in 2017). But my travel patterns are apparently not yours. And I cheerfully fly WN.
My routes on AS are usually SEA/YVR/SFO/LAX west coast hops, and SEA-RDU/BOS/IAD/DCA transcons. I agree, I have had reasonable luck getting at least an exit row on the transcons by booking far enough in advance, but I prefer row 6, and since Premium was introduced I haven't gotten to sit there once. Still, I do agree Row 17 is pretty solid as far as coach seating goes on domestic carriers.
Close in I've had much worse luck, and I've spent more time in a middle seat on AS in the last year than I have in the last three on Delta. They're just too popular and there just aren't enough good seats to go around.
As you surmise correctly, I don't value the AS redeemable mile bonus much on its own, particularly since I'd have to plan to fly an extra 40k EQM to get those redeemable miles (or shift some of my Delta business, losing out on the associated Diamond perks). I like using miles to faraway places for special occasions, and I've actually found AS to be either hard or expensive to redeem ever since the massive Emirates redemption devaluation. The current sweet spots are probably JAL, Cathay Pacific and Qantas; I do aspire to using some of my mileage for F on one of those carriers! But availability is tight enough that I'm not going to grind out the different to 75K on mileage alone.
I value onboard and in-airport perks much more than mileage redemptions; I tend to not make decisions based on mileage earning, and then I'm pleasantly surprised when my balance grows and I can get some free stuff. (Partly, that's conditioning from Delta courtesy the awful earnings story on SkyMiles these days, and partly it's because I never fly on OPM, so my vacation dollars and time are always needed for the status grind.) If Alaska offered something like guest upgrades usable on all fare classes at 75K, though, or more partner lounge access when flying international itineraries, that might be a different story altogether.