I’m not seeing any benefit to SDC for leisure travel though... usually I book earliest flight out from PSC to SEA and then latest coming back home. I rarely want to end my day early in Seattle, but if I did, I could hang out in the centurion lounge a little (pending its not packed).

Operationally, is there any benefit to the ability to SDC vs IRROPS? Like if a flight is canceled or delayed without a firm estimate, would I be able to SDC to a later (possibly on time) flight before I would be able to get AS to rebook because of the delay/cancel?

Also, here’s a curious question about the seats for saver fares on the Q400... are they assigned at check in (~24 hr before flight time) or at time of booking? I’ve never had status with AS but I’ve OFTEN been able to get row 1-4 on this Q400 route because it’s not elite heavy & while those front rows were blacked out at booking (for someone without status) they open up as soon as check in happens. Usually the rear half of the aircraft fills up first and then I just always changed to a front row once they became available to everyone.

So, is there a chance the rear half could fill with “main cabin” fares (if people want to sit together) and then my saver fare selects a seat a check in and it happens only those front rows are available?

Also, do I have to book with my AS card to have the checked bag fee waived? I would like to book with my platinum card and see if these $48.20 one way fares trigger the airline credit reimbursement :P