Jan 1, 2018, 3:17 pm
Last edit by: Baze
Welcome to the Alaska Airlines Flame-Free Q&A Thread for 2018!
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
For the 2017 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
For the 2017 version of this thread, please click here
2018 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!
Sep 25, 2018, 11:01 pm
#1246
Join Date: Sep 2016
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Alaska MVPG75
Posts: 89
Does anyone know how many MVPG and MVPG75 there are in the system this year?
Sep 26, 2018, 6:36 pm
#1247
Join Date: May 2017
Location: SEA
Posts: 355
I'm thinking it's fewer than past years.This year I've had two flights from LAX-SEA where I was the only 75k, which never used to happen. Both times one of the flight attendants came up to tell me, and both of them also mentioned how strange it was.
Sep 26, 2018, 6:40 pm
#1248
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Sep 27, 2018, 11:08 am
#1250
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MM, MVPGold100k, Hilton Diamond, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 1,475
BUR SEA upgraded
SEA BUR - exit row within top 5 on UG list
MKE SEA + SEA MKE upgraded both ways
OAK SEA upgraded
SEA OAK 8D within top 5 on UG list
LAS SEA upgraded
SEA LAS 7D within top 5 on UG list
MSP SEA + SEA MSP upgraded both ways
SJC SEA upgraded
SEA SJC exit row within top 5 on UG list
Sep 28, 2018, 4:10 pm
#1251
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
Does anyone know whether AS would pass the KTN information to CX with the award booking?'
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
Sep 28, 2018, 4:17 pm
#1252
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: AS MVPG, IHG Diamond Elite
Posts: 1,445
Does anyone know whether AS would pass the KTN information to CX with the award booking?'
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
Sep 28, 2018, 4:20 pm
#1253
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Does anyone know whether AS would pass the KTN information to CX with the award booking?'
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
You don't need the GE card to get the PASS ID in the reservation and you can request a card through the global entry site. i know i did when i lost my card.
Last edited by CDKing; Sep 28, 2018 at 4:40 pm
Sep 28, 2018, 4:23 pm
#1254
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: ANC
Programs: Alaska 100k
Posts: 1,012
Does anyone know whether AS would pass the KTN information to CX with the award booking?'
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
AA seems to pass along the KTN information automatically. Would be nice AS do the same. Else I am not sure we can get CX to add the KTN to the booking, especially we dont have the physical cards
CBD never mail us the cards when we got our GE several almost 4 years ago - never need the card unless returning to US via a cruise or from Canada - we just queued as others who dont have GE. We need to renew passports next Spring, plan to do the renewal of GEs once receiving the new passports and pay to get the "replacement" physical cards.
Why would CX need to see your GE card? Precheck eligibility is determined by when a valid KTN is entered into the PNR. Just use the CX pnr code to look up your reservation on the
EDIT: call cx. forgot they can't lookup OAL reservations on their website.
Sep 28, 2018, 5:14 pm
#1255
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
Sep 28, 2018, 6:18 pm
#1256
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
Every field in the Passenger Information is grayed out. But it has our HKSAR passport info and seemingly the DOB also there, though only with the correct month showing, else are starred. I honestly have no clue why our HKSAR info are there because AS profile has our US profile. Dont think CX system would / could remember info from previous trips.
The only way to "unlock" the update is using eTicket number which it does not take the 027 stock.
AS profiles have the KTNs but only the last 2 digits. I believe I have the GE approval letters saved in the travel folder in OneDrive site. Just need to find it and write them down.
In fact the interview officers at MIA told us that we should never need the physical cards as the reference number of the letter is the ID and all we need is our US passports. Well, he forgot that land crossing, returning from a cruise, entering from Canada - all require physical cards to be able to use the GE lane due to there are no machine to read the passport!
Last time when we flew AA own metal MXP-JFK-MIA, the BPs I got on the JFK-MIA segment had no TSA precheck. The agent claimed he needed to see the physical card in order to add it in. I honestly dont know why it would not be in the system as this was the first time on AA flight I had that no Precheck BP. Agent at MXP was a real jerk to begin with so it could very well be he removed it to inconvenient me.
EDIT
Found the full number in AAdvantage account. This further confirmed my suspicion that the agent at MXP deliberately deleted the KTN from passenger profile. He also issued duplicate BPs on the MXP-JFK to my husband but not the JFK-MIA segment. My husband did not pay enough attention until we were already at JFK, then he claimed I did not give him his BP. I told him to look at what he was holding - 2 BPs - both were the MXP-MIA... in his name. ...
The only way to "unlock" the update is using eTicket number which it does not take the 027 stock.
AS profiles have the KTNs but only the last 2 digits. I believe I have the GE approval letters saved in the travel folder in OneDrive site. Just need to find it and write them down.
In fact the interview officers at MIA told us that we should never need the physical cards as the reference number of the letter is the ID and all we need is our US passports. Well, he forgot that land crossing, returning from a cruise, entering from Canada - all require physical cards to be able to use the GE lane due to there are no machine to read the passport!
Last time when we flew AA own metal MXP-JFK-MIA, the BPs I got on the JFK-MIA segment had no TSA precheck. The agent claimed he needed to see the physical card in order to add it in. I honestly dont know why it would not be in the system as this was the first time on AA flight I had that no Precheck BP. Agent at MXP was a real jerk to begin with so it could very well be he removed it to inconvenient me.
EDIT
Found the full number in AAdvantage account. This further confirmed my suspicion that the agent at MXP deliberately deleted the KTN from passenger profile. He also issued duplicate BPs on the MXP-JFK to my husband but not the JFK-MIA segment. My husband did not pay enough attention until we were already at JFK, then he claimed I did not give him his BP. I told him to look at what he was holding - 2 BPs - both were the MXP-MIA... in his name. ...
Last edited by Happy; Sep 28, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Sep 29, 2018, 10:38 am
#1257
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
Sep 29, 2018, 11:05 am
#1258
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,834
Agreed. I have always been able to unlock the record on CX using the AS ticket number, including adding my KTN and selecting seats. One thing I have found though, is the first name can get distorted. For me, it combines my first and middle names so try it that way. If your name is John James Smith, try putting your first name as Johnjames. For this reason, I always pull it up by Mr. Fink’s ticket as he does not have a middle name. That was when I noticed how my name looked on the CX website.
Sep 29, 2018, 12:07 pm
#1259
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
Agreed. I have always been able to unlock the record on CX using the AS ticket number, including adding my KTN and selecting seats. One thing I have found though, is the first name can get distorted. For me, it combines my first and middle names so try it that way. If your name is John James Smith, try putting your first name as Johnjames. For this reason, I always pull it up by Mr. Fink’s ticket as he does not have a middle name. That was when I noticed how my name looked on the CX website.
AS reservation does not even have our middle names despite our AS profiles have them.
I have checked AS reservation confirmation, and how they show in CheckMyTrip (Amadeus), no middle name.
Using CX PNR the reservation shows up fine on CX site WITHOUT middle name.
Sep 29, 2018, 1:55 pm
#1260
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
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