Originally Posted by
SEA737
A few folks mentioning moving to AA, or that they still have better value. That’s true only somewhat? A number of long haul routes are the same or not too far off in J and F.
But AA hasn’t devalued in ages. I’m actually OWE in both right now and have to decide what to keep. Can I trust that somehow AA’s leaders will maintain the value for years to come when they’re the only one? And when the inevitable devaluation comes there, AS’s prices are already in the same ballpark as AA’s current ones. Hard to bet that AA retains better value long term, especially with them minting miles like it’s paper money with their credit cards.
The fact that AA is minting miles like mad is why their program is currently more valuable - easier to earn and to burn. It’s useless to speculate what the AA award chart will look like in the future. When that day comes the calculus will obviously change but all we can do is discuss the current state.
Even if AS prices are comparable to AA - its miles will be worth less than AA come March. With combinability problems that may be remedied later (won’t hold breath) it would be similar to Hyatt moving their points rates to in line with Marriotts. The smaller companies have always had to find an angle to compete, and because they can’t on footprint they’ve been doing it through delivering value through their loyalty program and driving engagement through that value proposition to fill their beds/seats. While this program will still work for some, it will lose many. I don’t think they’ll turn off as many people as Delta almost did, but delta has a lot more going for it than Alaska if you ignore the loyalty program.