Date: January 30, 2025
Route: SFO-PDX
Flight number: 138
Status: 100K
Fare class: G
Companion: one Gold
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
Upgrade cleared: T-120
Date of ticket purchase: 06/21/2024
Distance: 550 miles

That was an easy one.

Date: January 30, 2025
Route: PDX-SEA
Flight number: 2082
Status: 100K
Fare class: G
Companion: one Gold
Aircraft: Embraer ERJ 175
Upgrade cleared: #1,2
Date of ticket purchase: 06/21/2024
Distance: 129 miles

SDC’ed and got row 20! The entire row 21 was taken by Alaska staff, and along with the two flight attendants in the back it was a lively crowd. A request for volunteers earlier on evaporated at departure time.

Date: January 31, 2025
Route: SEA-CLE-PIT
Flight number: 216
Status: 100K
Fare class: G
Companion: one Gold
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Upgrade cleared: T-3
Date of ticket purchase: 06/21/2024
Distance: 2021+106=2127 miles

Milk run seating can be a lot of fun when considering upgrades. You may not get the same seat on the second flight that you had on the first flight, and sometimes this may cause you not to get an upgrade at all.

On top of this the app or the web wouldn’t let me pre-order my complimentary 100K meal or any food a day or even a week ahead of departure. Reservations on the phone started spinning a story about continuing onto PIT from CLE disallowed it. It was a rule, she said. Is that a rule in the system you see on your screen? I asked. She then moved onto that facts don’t matter. At that point I backed out. No problem getting a meal in First while seated though.