Jan 4, 2017, 7:30 pm
Last edit by: Calchas
Welcome to the Alaska Airlines Flame-Free Q&A Thread for 2017!
Anyone is welcome to ask anything, even the most basic questions, in this thread without having to fear a snarky response. In this thread, there's no such thing as a dumb question--we were all new to Alaska Airlines, FlyerTalk, and even the whole idea of mileage programs once and needed some help navigating the ropes. We're here to help you do just that!
That said, if you want to do a little reading to see if your question has been previously discussed, links to some of the most common and extensive topics in this forum are listed in our FAQ thread -- click here to check it out.
Special care will be given in this thread to trying to provide answers in a clear manner with minimal use of acronyms and jargon.
If you need to contact someone for help, here's a current list of our forum's team:
Ambassadors (Our Greeters--members who have specifically volunteered to welcome and mentor newbies and monitor this thread):
ANC RED-EYE
baliktad
beckoa
golfingboy
Moderators (Our Janitors--members who have volunteered to do housekeeping/keep the forum in order)
ryandc99
jackal
You are welcome to send a private message to any of these individuals for assistance, but you'll generally get a faster response and broader palette of answers if you simply post your inquiry here in this thread.
Note to FlyerTalk members who enjoy the ability to take advantage of loopholes--if someone posts something that exposes information you'd rather not be public, please remember this is a Flame-Free thread, and harsh or snarky posts are not permitted. Although FlyerTalk itself does not censor posts that share information, members are free to edit their own posts to remove information. If you wish to request any poster to remove information they have shared publicly, please do so politely and respectfully.
Welcome, and we look forward to providing any assistance we can!
~the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan forum team~
For the 2016 version of this thread, please click here
Anyone is welcome to ask anything, even the most basic questions, in this thread without having to fear a snarky response. In this thread, there's no such thing as a dumb question--we were all new to Alaska Airlines, FlyerTalk, and even the whole idea of mileage programs once and needed some help navigating the ropes. We're here to help you do just that!
That said, if you want to do a little reading to see if your question has been previously discussed, links to some of the most common and extensive topics in this forum are listed in our FAQ thread -- click here to check it out.
Special care will be given in this thread to trying to provide answers in a clear manner with minimal use of acronyms and jargon.
If you need to contact someone for help, here's a current list of our forum's team:
Ambassadors (Our Greeters--members who have specifically volunteered to welcome and mentor newbies and monitor this thread):
ANC RED-EYE
baliktad
beckoa
golfingboy
Moderators (Our Janitors--members who have volunteered to do housekeeping/keep the forum in order)
ryandc99
jackal
You are welcome to send a private message to any of these individuals for assistance, but you'll generally get a faster response and broader palette of answers if you simply post your inquiry here in this thread.
Note to FlyerTalk members who enjoy the ability to take advantage of loopholes--if someone posts something that exposes information you'd rather not be public, please remember this is a Flame-Free thread, and harsh or snarky posts are not permitted. Although FlyerTalk itself does not censor posts that share information, members are free to edit their own posts to remove information. If you wish to request any poster to remove information they have shared publicly, please do so politely and respectfully.
Welcome, and we look forward to providing any assistance we can!
~the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan forum team~
For the 2016 version of this thread, please click here
2017 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!
Jun 11, 2017, 9:52 am
#871
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 259
I'm coming up on what I'd like to be an AS/BA multi-segment reward ticket, and depending on how availability for the AS part of it goes, I might be 2K short of the needed miles. It usually prices lower (have been watching for a while, so I'm not eager to just buy the miles this far in advance, but I'd like to know my options around buying miles.
From the AS site it looks like they've outsourced their miles purchases to points.com. Does anyone know how fast the miles show up in your account? And how reliably? I'd hate to see availability come up, decide the buy the miles, and then wait around and watch the seats disappear while points.com dithers for a week.
I imagine I'll get some responses that instead I should do such-and-such a way to get 2K miles, I'm interested in those for sure, especially if they work fairly quickly, but I also hope someone knows the answer to this. Many thanks,
FTF
From the AS site it looks like they've outsourced their miles purchases to points.com. Does anyone know how fast the miles show up in your account? And how reliably? I'd hate to see availability come up, decide the buy the miles, and then wait around and watch the seats disappear while points.com dithers for a week.
I imagine I'll get some responses that instead I should do such-and-such a way to get 2K miles, I'm interested in those for sure, especially if they work fairly quickly, but I also hope someone knows the answer to this. Many thanks,
FTF
Jun 11, 2017, 10:02 pm
#872
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Edison, NJ
Programs: Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 110
I'm looking to capitalize on that 5k bonus Alaska just launched. Anyway to hack this for a guy who lives on the east coast (jersey) and doesn't have many options to make it worthwhile. I see on the Alaska website I can buy AA flights to STL from LGA would something like that count toward that bonus or it has to be an actual AS plane?
Jun 11, 2017, 10:15 pm
#873
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
I'm looking to capitalize on that 5k bonus Alaska just launched. Anyway to hack this for a guy who lives on the east coast (jersey) and doesn't have many options to make it worthwhile. I see on the Alaska website I can buy AA flights to STL from LGA would something like that count toward that bonus or it has to be an actual AS plane?
Jun 12, 2017, 6:27 am
#874
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Diego
Programs: UA LTP, AA LTG, DL Plat, Marriott LTT, HH Diamond
Posts: 865
FTF
Last edited by FullTimeFlyer; Jun 12, 2017 at 6:28 am Reason: typo
Jun 12, 2017, 8:19 am
#875
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,868
Hi MAXII. That sounds like generally good news. Can you help me understand the waiting period, though? Does that refer to a new AS MP membership (I'm not a new member) or do you mean a first-time miles purchase, which would apply to me? If the latter, what's the waiting period? Many thanks,
FTF
FTF
Jun 12, 2017, 9:21 am
#876
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: YYF/YLW
Programs: AA, DL, AS, VA, WS Silver
Posts: 5,951
Hi MAXII. That sounds like generally good news. Can you help me understand the waiting period, though? Does that refer to a new AS MP membership (I'm not a new member) or do you mean a first-time miles purchase, which would apply to me? If the latter, what's the waiting period? Many thanks,
FTF
FTF
Jun 13, 2017, 5:21 am
#877
Join Date: May 2017
Location: SEA
Posts: 355
Jun 13, 2017, 9:27 am
#879
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,598
I'm a recent AA refugee. This is my first year with AS, status matched to MVPG and already re-qualified for next year. By the end of the year I expect to make 75K and hope to have a cache of approximately 450K miles saved up to plan a big trip. I'm considering either South America (Argentina and Chile) or South Pacific (Bora Bora and NZ). India is on my list as well, but maybe for another time. I will have 130K with AA, 200K with AS, and 120K from Marriott with a destination FF plan TBD. Let's assume those miles from Marriott will go into one of the two programs.
I don't need help searching for availability. That's a well traveled path I've frequented in the past and know how to do the dirty work of finding ideal flights and value for my miles. My questions are more about the timing and execution of making reservations. My past experience has been almost exclusively with AA, so bear with me. Does the AS availability window open up around 330 days out? Do I need to spoon feed the agent flights and dates? Do 75K have access to additional inventory others don't (i.e., like AA EXP)? Beside BA, are there other partners who tack on the extortion fee...err...I mean fuel surcharge? Is it better to book one-way tickets vs. round trip? Even if it's multi-point? I think most of my other questions, the answers can be found online.
Thanks for your help.
I don't need help searching for availability. That's a well traveled path I've frequented in the past and know how to do the dirty work of finding ideal flights and value for my miles. My questions are more about the timing and execution of making reservations. My past experience has been almost exclusively with AA, so bear with me. Does the AS availability window open up around 330 days out? Do I need to spoon feed the agent flights and dates? Do 75K have access to additional inventory others don't (i.e., like AA EXP)? Beside BA, are there other partners who tack on the extortion fee...err...I mean fuel surcharge? Is it better to book one-way tickets vs. round trip? Even if it's multi-point? I think most of my other questions, the answers can be found online.
Thanks for your help.
Jun 13, 2017, 9:57 am
#880
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,645
I would like to use my companion fare to purchase a trip to HNL and upgrade it. However, I only have 3 GGUs available right now.
Can I book a companion fare that's GGU eligible, upgrade the outbound with GGUs, then call in and upfare the return segments to a mileage or MVPG instant upgrade fare to clear the return?
Is there a specific order of operations I should follow?
Can I book a companion fare that's GGU eligible, upgrade the outbound with GGUs, then call in and upfare the return segments to a mileage or MVPG instant upgrade fare to clear the return?
Is there a specific order of operations I should follow?
Jun 13, 2017, 11:52 am
#881
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, HH Gold, Hertz PC, Marriott Titanium LTG, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 42,953
Just have a minute so I'll touch on a couple:
No expanded inventory for AS elites at this time.
FI also has fuel surcharges, as does HU iirc.
OW vs RT doesn't matter much with elite status as there is no change fee.
Award space is 330/331. Sometimes "spoon feeding" is required for some flights, depends on the agent so YMMV. This is afaik only applicable to the two carriers not searchable on alaskaair.com.
No expanded inventory for AS elites at this time.
FI also has fuel surcharges, as does HU iirc.
OW vs RT doesn't matter much with elite status as there is no change fee.
Award space is 330/331. Sometimes "spoon feeding" is required for some flights, depends on the agent so YMMV. This is afaik only applicable to the two carriers not searchable on alaskaair.com.
Jun 13, 2017, 1:20 pm
#882
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,598
Just have a minute so I'll touch on a couple:
No expanded inventory for AS elites at this time.
FI also has fuel surcharges, as does HU iirc.
OW vs RT doesn't matter much with elite status as there is no change fee.
Award space is 330/331. Sometimes "spoon feeding" is required for some flights, depends on the agent so YMMV. This is afaik only applicable to the two carriers not searchable on alaskaair.com.
No expanded inventory for AS elites at this time.
FI also has fuel surcharges, as does HU iirc.
OW vs RT doesn't matter much with elite status as there is no change fee.
Award space is 330/331. Sometimes "spoon feeding" is required for some flights, depends on the agent so YMMV. This is afaik only applicable to the two carriers not searchable on alaskaair.com.
Jun 13, 2017, 2:56 pm
#883
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Queens!
Programs: Alaska Mileage Plan, Marriott Bonvoy, NEXUS
Posts: 334
Jun 13, 2017, 3:31 pm
#884
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: London
Programs: SK Gold, ITA Executive, Sixt Diamond, Hertz PC, Avis PC, IHG Platinum
Posts: 5,163
Is there any limit how early I can drop off checked bag in SEA?
Any difference if I am connecting from the BA flight, where I'll check the bag through [so it'll be the case of just dropping them off?].
Any difference if I am connecting from the BA flight, where I'll check the bag through [so it'll be the case of just dropping them off?].
Jun 14, 2017, 12:41 am
#885
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, HH Gold, Hertz PC, Marriott Titanium LTG, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 42,953
