mrapollinax

AS can't just "say" what the earning rates are. DL is the one that will dictate those terms. If DL decides that C+ will not accrue any credit for all non-SkyTeam partners then there really isn't anything that can be done at that point.

If we use Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia as indicators then we can hope for some earning. But until I know what that earning will be I am avoiding C+ fares.

3Cforme

I don't believe that is true. AS unilaterally decides what earning in MP will be. It could have people mail in boarding passes for their Southwest flights and issue MP miles, for example.

What may be true is that DL will pay AS MP more (for more miles) in a higher fare class.

DL's own SkyMiles redeemable miles earning is simplified: Comfort+ and all 13 paid coach fare buckets earn at the same rate. For elite qualifying miles, Y and B earn 150%; all Comfort+ and the other 11 paid coach fare buckets earn 100%

mrapollinax

Good point. AS does control the earning rates but I would argue that they would base those earning rates on what the reciprocation will be from the partner. So in that case the partner still dictates what the eventual earning rate will be based on what makes the most business sense.

It's also why I pointed VS and VA as showing potential earnings for C+ as non-skyteam partners. They earn 150% and 125% respectively on "W" or "Comfort+" fares. The question is when MP will come out with explicit earning rates. Again, until I know for sure I'm avoiding the whole mess or crediting C+ to Skymiles.

Agremeister

Not specific to Alaska, but I earn miles with FlyingBlue who have had W listed on the fare chart since long before delta added W as a comfort+ class, and when I credited miles from a flight in comfort+ they credited as W class and not as the underlying "subclass" that the W fare is made of. Because of this, I would think Alaska might be the same and would probably avoid comfort+ until you were sure of how they credit.

CDKing

Comfort plus fare is nothing more than a bundled airfare package. the normal coach fare + whatever they would have normally charged to get the extra legroom seat. Its nowhere near the pricing of a typical premium economy. Those are priced much higher than most other regular economy fare. I'm shocked that any partner would want to award more miles (outside of when its an add on to the partners overwater true Y+ fare). I definitely don't expect AS to allow more miles. You can get a C+ seat on a L, U T fare for less than a regular economy seat on a H, Q, K fare. It shouldn't be treated the same way as true premium economy

That's because on non-DL flights W is a true premium economy fare and they want you to get credit even though you would be in coach, Since DL historically didn't sell C+ as a separate cabin. Sooner or later they may catch on and drop the earnings. Or it may just be left that way as they don't know how to make it work when W could mean 2 different things. I remember all the complaints where people thought they bought premium economy all the way and ended up in Y- and charged separately for a better seat.

em_attack

Sorry if it's already been reported here but I hadn't seen it - alaskaair.com now lists W on the earning chart. It says "Earning is based on original booking class". Hopefully this means it will be automatic from here on out!

https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mi...-airlines.aspx

LIH Prem

Thank you for checking and reporting back!

That is just too funny after all these people assumed something else.

-David

CDKing

It didn't help that some of the AS reps didn't know what they were talking about. Its so sad when you know more about how the airline operates than its own employees.

em_attack

To be fair I'm pretty sure it appeared yesterday - I seem to recall looking at the chart in the morning and not seeing it. So I wouldn't be surprised if things are still in flux with regard to it automatically crediting or agents knowing about it.

ryandc99

Thanks for confirming! I am glad the AS Social Media team came thru as they promised!

apodo77

9 business days in and still no response from the mileage plan e-mail address above.

mrapollinax

I can confirm. I was looking at it for an upcoming trip comparing DL and AA fares for earning. Comfort+ was not on the list yesterday around 11am central last I checked.

PDXPremier

Glad to see the website updated with the correct information. It's important to remember, however, that it IS possible to book a W fare directly on DL and if that IS your originally purchased fare, you will NOT be receiving any AS miles. Here is the full quote from an AS social media rep:

"When Delta created W class, they opted not to include it for Alaska mileage plan member accrual. If you book in W class, the miles will not be eligible. However, if you book in a different class and then later upgrade to W class, we can credit the original class that you booked in. I hope this helps."

alphaeagle

I don't think it is possible to book directly into W? It would be like booking directly into U class on Alaska, it's not possible without having a base fare class.

xliioper

Actually, I have seen DL Comfort+ W fares where the underlying fare code is W. Example, check DTW-MSP for tomorrow and specify Y as lowest class. The matching Comfort+ W fare for this has a fare code of W0.

DL will also sell tickets with Premium Economy seating on AF/VS and DL flight numbers. The underlying fare codes on these all start with W.