Hi all -

I've been reading this forum for a while and have seen people talk about SDCs (which I assume are Same Day flight Changes), and I'm hoping to start a discussion on rules and strategies for using them. I cannot find much information on Alaska's website and have never used them myself, so I only have questions, and no answers. FWIW, I'm MVP75K.

If this is more appropriate for the "general questions" thread, I apologize. I just was guessing that there are others in the same boat as me who may have follow-up questions.

Rules Questions:
1) If you do a SDC, does it need to have the same routing? For example, if I'm flying LAX-DCA, could I do a SDC that goes LAX-SEA-DCA (or vice versa - can I do a SDC that turns a 1-stop flight into a direct?)
2) Can specific airports (but not markets) changes. For example, if I'm flying SEA-LAX, could I SDC to SEA-BUR?
3) If the answer to (2) is 'yes', what airports constitutes a market? SEA/PAE? LAX/BUR/ONT? DCA/IAD? JFK/EWR? Others?

Strategy Questions:
A) Why would you do an SDC? I can think of a few reason (personal schedule changed, an indirect flight was a lot cheaper but now you can switch for free to a direct flight), but I'm sure there are others.
B) Is it possible to do an SDC explicitly to get upgraded? I'm not sure how this would work, but it strikes me as plausible.
C) Would you get miles for the new routing? For example, if I SDC from DCA-LAX to DCA-SEA-LAX, would I the extra miles that the longer routing accrues?

Really, I welcome all thoughts/experiences/stories. I fly a fair amount and have never used this "benefit" of status, so I feel like it's something I should intelligently put into my bag of tricks.

Thanks all!
-HD