Thus far, the signing up process (aside from not taking Amex which they really need to resolve) has been easy and my initial flight bookings have been seamless. It appears on my Alaska account where I manually select a premium seat with an auto-upgrade request to F. Everything appears as it should except for the ticket code "M," which I've never seen before.

Here's the potential savings: Booked LAS to SFO in March for a Monday (have a $15 F9 on the initial leg from SFO - LAS) where the return fares are generally higher. The cheapest fare on that day was around $60'ish on F9, and even if I had 200K Elite status with F9, I'd never pay more than $30 for any of their flights. For the RT, I just picked the most expensive day in March where I'm headed there again. So, even before paying my March sub fee, just with the back of the envelope calculation here, I've saved about $30 - $40 in cash (on that Monday where I'd have to pay regardless), rack up 2 segs and fly with my elite status which, all things being equal, is infinitely a better experience than either WN or F9, even on their best days.

And, I ain't the most experienced flyer or the sharpest tool in the shed, but the way it worked above seemed pretty clear the moment I read (yes, I actually did read it this time) FAQ and T&Cs of the deal. No idea about the next 5 of my 6, but if this keeps up, I'm upping it to 12.

PS - Also, it appears AS has finally gotten rid of most of those twinkie jets on the SFO - LAS route. Good, stick them on a route I don't fly.