jinglish

How about we wait until AS actually posts the earning charts and full benefits on their site next week before we start demanding VX status matches? Given that VX is now coming under AAG ownership, I see absolutely no reason why we AS elites wouldn't get baggage benefits as well.

And having existing AS elites open new Elevate accounts makes absolutely no sense if they're planning to eventually fold Elevate into Mileage Plan.

Baze

Can you explain why AS specifically announced VX Elevate would get status matched yet they said nothing about their own elites flying VX other than priority boarding and check in? Seems to me this would have been thought out in both directions before an announcement was made. As an SFO based flier this is very important.

PDXPremier

Great idea....I just sent my feedback

PDXPremier

The announcement yesterday was advertising everything positive they could think of...not to mention all the free snacks....I don't think Alaska "accidentally" left off the details regarding benefits for Alaska elites flying Virgin America....when the dust settles, it's painfully obvious this is a one-sided operation when it comes to elite benefits.

eponymous_coward

One explanation: Elevate is going to get shut down fairly quickly, and AS MP is going to be the surviving program. They see no need to match people into a program that's going to be dead in a few months.

... until the programs merge. It's pretty obvious that "we're going to invite Elevate members to create an MP account" means "we're killing Elevate".

PDXPremier

And I understand that, but Elevate could still be around for a year or more....this whole process has been so slow that it almost makes one (like me) forget that there was even a merger in the first place so to encourage AS elites to fly VX now because we can board a few minutes earlier, but still sit in a middle seat in the back and pay for our bags doesn't make sense. I think this merger feels even slower than a "normal" one since there is no push to bring both brands into one entity like DL/NW, AA/US, and UA/CO.

eponymous_coward

Technically, it's an acquisition: AS bought VX, lock stock and barrel.

And despite the publicity yesterday, AS execs were quite careful at saying "we haven't decided what to do with VX branding and product yet".

Finally, it probably isn't TOO hard to add AS elites to "give 'em a free bag and access to Main Cabin Express". Send in those cards and letters to alaskalistens.com...

notquiteaff

That's my thinking as well. In that case, though, it would be nice (for VX account holders) to know what the mileage transfer ratio is going to be. I think the two accounts I manage have a combined 7,000 points, so it's not going to be a life changing event no matter what.

lax.sea.jnu

Exactly, I don't see why Alaska's comments have been so controversial? Alaska MP members don't need to have active Elevate accounts and be granted status in those accounts, they can be simply granted benefits (which I imagine will likely be similar to Alaska but not include unlimited FC upgrades) through their existing Alaska Mileage Plan accounts, in which they will accrue mileage flown on VX. Elevate members are being asked to create MP accounts, as those with Elevate status won't automatically receive benefits while flying AS/QX. My .02.

dayone

There is no doubt that Elevate is going away. That said, I doubt it will be in a few months.

I can't think of any merger that sunsetted the "other" FFP in less than 8 months.

Also, the VX brand is going to be around for at least another year.

ashill

They merged 24 hours ago; how has it been slow on ASVX's part? The DOT took a long time, but I don't think that has any bearing on how quickly ASVX will move.

Reciprocal elite status matches -- even in one direction -- less than a month after the merger closing is much faster than it happened with AA/US, for example.

Baze

Well, as the ones defending AS on this are not SFO based, I see SEA and PDX, I can see where you are coming from. Just wish you could see where us SFO based fliers are coming from. And it could be weeks or months or many months until Elevate goes away. That makes a difference.

PDXPremier

Yeah, I think you're probably right. With completely separate reservation systems, I think it will be much easier to fold the VX elites into MP and give them almost immediate elite benefits on AS flights, but since AS elites aren't being folded into the Elevate program, simply giving your AS # when flying VX is very likely going to get you nothing and although it's been announced that we'll be able to earn miles for VX flights, that's going to involve saving VX boarding passes/receipts, babysitting your MP account balance, and emails to Mileage Plan but I guess it's better than not getting the miles at all. It will be interesting to see the miles earning breakdown percentage for VX fares....my guess is the cheapest fares will earn 50% mileage like AA or DL although with AA, at least you get a free bag

ashill

Yeah. Simply from a technical point of view in terms of making the VX brand and reservations system go away, I think AS would be nuts if they did it any way other than the drain-down that Sabre strongly recommends and ASUS used essentially without a hitch. But that's a 60-day process once they start it, so it absolutely can't go any faster than that. And there's a lot involved before they can even start that process to move towards merging reservations systems. Since it's really confusing to make the brand go away when the tickets still say VX, the VX brand will be around for many months at the least.

sfozrhfco

They had months of delay and then even after approval waited some more before closing the deal. Marriott/Starwood was also delayed but they made their customers the priority. Status matches and the rate of exchange were in place the same day the transaction closed. AS just hasn't put that much effort in making this a seamless process for the customers.