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!
Apr 23, 2017, 8:16 am
#661
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Earnings would be 7000 EQM as you note and 12000 RDM (4000 base + 3000 class of service bonus + 5000 75K bonus)
Apr 23, 2017, 12:01 pm
#663
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Correct. Elite member status benefits follow the traveler on award. Only thing retained is redeemers MVPG change benefit.
Apr 24, 2017, 9:10 am
#664
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat
Posts: 11,500
Can AS not handle mixed cabin rewards on DL? I swear I have done a longhaul segment in C and a domestic connection in Y but AS's website for some reason will not price it out.
Apr 24, 2017, 11:05 am
#665
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: ATL
Posts: 127
How do I go about getting partner benefits with Delta? I am MVPG and one of the benefits, as I understood, was the ability to get complimentary Preferred seating. But when I go to select seating on a Delta flight, it's still charging me $15. Do I need to do anything different aside from adding my AS number in the passenger info page on the Delta site? Thanks!
Apr 24, 2017, 12:51 pm
#666
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Sunny Seattle
Programs: AS MVPG 75K, HH Diamond
Posts: 539
How do I go about getting partner benefits with Delta? I am MVPG and one of the benefits, as I understood, was the ability to get complimentary Preferred seating. But when I go to select seating on a Delta flight, it's still charging me $15. Do I need to do anything different aside from adding my AS number in the passenger info page on the Delta site? Thanks!
Apr 24, 2017, 2:39 pm
#668
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AAdvantage + Alaska
Posts: 9
Hey all!
Long time lurker, short time poster. I have been searching for a while trying to figure out the best strategy to get in on rewards, and unfortunately I would always get absolutely overwhelmed with the complex, opaque hierarchies I encountered.
I've thought about it and have begun to narrow my focus to the most obvious choices: Delta or Alaska, since I'm based in Seattle.
I'm hoping with that narrowed focus, I'm at a point where I feel comfortable enough asking a question that is specific enough to be actionable.
I'm a pretty simple portfolio - I don't travel very often/at all for business, and would be primarily focus on accruing points via everyday purchases for the purpose of booking international travel (primarily to Europe, and ideally Asia and Oceania as well). At the moment, I've purchased a single flight via points on American, and have accrued a handful of points that are scattered across American, Virgin, Alaska, United, and regional European airlines, so none of them stand out as an obvious choice over the others, and I'm still somewhat new to the whole concept, though I have a basic grasp of how it operates.
Given this information, my question is this:
What the heck kind of card should I get, anyways?!
There's so many potential avenues, it seems (airline affiliated bank cards, hotel cards like Starwood, local credit unions like BECU) and I'm just overwhelmed with information and am not sure which one would be the best usage of my spending habits to accrue points for the purpose of purchasing basic economy international fares. Currently, my practice has been to purchase cheap fares that I come across regardless of the airline, though I think I would benefit from sticking to one airline (as I did with American and got a free flight out of it, which I was quite pleased with!).
I hope I'm asking in the right place! I'm posting here because I'm leaning towards Alaska and am wondering if that's the right choice - Seattleites tend to hold Alaska in high regard, and the merger is also enticing.
Thank you everyone!
Long time lurker, short time poster. I have been searching for a while trying to figure out the best strategy to get in on rewards, and unfortunately I would always get absolutely overwhelmed with the complex, opaque hierarchies I encountered.
I've thought about it and have begun to narrow my focus to the most obvious choices: Delta or Alaska, since I'm based in Seattle.
I'm hoping with that narrowed focus, I'm at a point where I feel comfortable enough asking a question that is specific enough to be actionable.
I'm a pretty simple portfolio - I don't travel very often/at all for business, and would be primarily focus on accruing points via everyday purchases for the purpose of booking international travel (primarily to Europe, and ideally Asia and Oceania as well). At the moment, I've purchased a single flight via points on American, and have accrued a handful of points that are scattered across American, Virgin, Alaska, United, and regional European airlines, so none of them stand out as an obvious choice over the others, and I'm still somewhat new to the whole concept, though I have a basic grasp of how it operates.
Given this information, my question is this:
What the heck kind of card should I get, anyways?!
There's so many potential avenues, it seems (airline affiliated bank cards, hotel cards like Starwood, local credit unions like BECU) and I'm just overwhelmed with information and am not sure which one would be the best usage of my spending habits to accrue points for the purpose of purchasing basic economy international fares. Currently, my practice has been to purchase cheap fares that I come across regardless of the airline, though I think I would benefit from sticking to one airline (as I did with American and got a free flight out of it, which I was quite pleased with!).
I hope I'm asking in the right place! I'm posting here because I'm leaning towards Alaska and am wondering if that's the right choice - Seattleites tend to hold Alaska in high regard, and the merger is also enticing.
Thank you everyone!
Help and direction much appreciated!
Apr 24, 2017, 3:16 pm
#669
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: Free agent!
Posts: 1,426
How long does it take to get missing miles from an AA flight? I flew on 3/24 and submitted a missing mileage claim 14 days after my flight was completed. All I see at this point in my account (both online and in the app) is that the flight shows but with the total miles, base and bonus all as zeros. Of course, all three other AA flights as part of this trip posted normally.
My flight was AA 1638 DFW - PDX, which shows as an eligible flight and booked into G, which is a mileage earning fare class.
My flight was AA 1638 DFW - PDX, which shows as an eligible flight and booked into G, which is a mileage earning fare class.
Apr 24, 2017, 3:55 pm
#670
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
How long does it take to get missing miles from an AA flight? I flew on 3/24 and submitted a missing mileage claim 14 days after my flight was completed. All I see at this point in my account (both online and in the app) is that the flight shows but with the total miles, base and bonus all as zeros. Of course, all three other AA flights as part of this trip posted normally.
My flight was AA 1638 DFW - PDX, which shows as an eligible flight and booked into G, which is a mileage earning fare class.
My flight was AA 1638 DFW - PDX, which shows as an eligible flight and booked into G, which is a mileage earning fare class.
Apr 24, 2017, 5:23 pm
#672
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Yes, the only slight exceptions were Row 6 (bulkhead) and exit rows (16&17) which had an extra fee for non-elites. Not sure if they still have a fee on non-reconfigured aircraft. Premium Class on reconfigured aircraft will have a fee but you don't have to wait until T-24 to select and pay for those.
Apr 24, 2017, 6:55 pm
#673
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Sunny Seattle
Programs: AS MVPG 75K, HH Diamond
Posts: 539
Apr 25, 2017, 6:56 pm
#675
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ Diamond, Jiffypark Manhattan Gold
Posts: 4,485
Not sure if I should ask here or in the CX thread...
I'm looking at getting a business redemption on Mileageplan, but I had a rep on the phone today mention that having a business award ticket on CX wouldn't entitle me to lounge access. That's false right?
All these review sites always show lounges, I can't imagine them holding elite status on all 3 alliances.
FWIW it would be BKK-HKG-YVR on award business. I'm looking for lounge access at BKK and HKG. The Cathay site mentions lounge access for business class passengers, but it doesn't mention anything about award tickets, so I can't imagine they DON'T include it.
I'm looking at getting a business redemption on Mileageplan, but I had a rep on the phone today mention that having a business award ticket on CX wouldn't entitle me to lounge access. That's false right?
All these review sites always show lounges, I can't imagine them holding elite status on all 3 alliances.
FWIW it would be BKK-HKG-YVR on award business. I'm looking for lounge access at BKK and HKG. The Cathay site mentions lounge access for business class passengers, but it doesn't mention anything about award tickets, so I can't imagine they DON'T include it.