Originally Posted by
nomiiiii
In Seattle/Portland/Anchorage, Alaska's competition isn't Southwest, it is Delta (and jetblue on transcon). A look on google flights on any route more than 2 months out and alaska hasn't released cheaper fare buckets compared to delta/jetblue. So why should an advance purchaser buy alaska tickets absent the free changes.
Assuming the low fare guarantee survived this and doesn’t impose a change fee for claiming a partial refund (which is, I think, how UA killed my Yapta usage several years ago), I would still consider buying far in advance for a somewhat higher fare than the competition if I was fairly certain I wouldn’t want to otherwise change the ticket. But no more speculative booking if I am not Gold or traveling with my MVP wife.