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2018 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!

Old Jan 1, 2018, 3:17 pm
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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!

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2018 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!

Old Oct 3, 2018, 7:58 pm
  #1276  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Originally Posted by be_rettSEA
With only 6k, you'd be lucky to find many flight or hotel award options that are useful to you, but you could buy more miles to get to a level where you might find some value if you wanted to.
There's a cash + miles option on the hotel booking, so don't necessarily need to buy more miles.

Originally Posted by Zwiebelbauer
I was bumped from a flight, and the rebooked flight is in Y class. I was wondering if it's possible to use MVP status/GGU for an instant upgrade on the rebooked flight even if the original booking class was not in an eligible fare class? When trying to apply a code on the website, it says to call in for anything related to the reservation
Are you within T-48 of departure of the new flight? If so, just the GA add you to the upgrade list and you should clear immediately if U is open (which is needed for a GGU upgrade as well). I've never used a GGU on a rebooking, but they do seem to be coded slightly differently behind the scenes as they post as original fare earnings not full Y CoS bonus.
rustykettel is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 9:54 pm
  #1277  
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 2
I'm currently 5,471 miles short of MVP status for next year. I am planning a round trip SFO-JFK in November, but no other trips this year. My last roundtrip on this route earned me a total of 5,172 miles. So I'll be 245 miles short to hit MVP.

My question is: If I make a connection through LAX on the outbound flight, the total travel distance on the trip will be 2,398 miles (73 miles short). Would the SFO-LAX segment earn the minimum 500 miles, even though it's booked as a short layover? I'm assuming it would be more expensive to book the segments individually, but the cost difference of connecting through LAX vs direct to JFK is negligible. If that segment counts as minimum 500, I'll earn 5,561 miles on the roundtrip, and just clear MVP by 90 miles...

Thanks for any help! I've never earned airline status before, so I'm not sure of all the details.
bcherry is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 10:03 pm
  #1278  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Programs: UA 1k, AA EXPLT, NZ GE, VA PLT Hyatt Diam, Marr Plat, HH Diam
Posts: 3,436
I have a couple of ticket credits for $300 each. have some flights of $100 each coming up and would like to use, but of course don;t want to lose the residual value. Is there a way to deposit the ticket value into my wallet so that I can the precise amounts I need? Separate question: If I use the $300 towards a 2019 ticket of $400, but then need to cancel that new $400 ticket, can the $400 then go to my wallet?
SFO_FT is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 10:29 pm
  #1279  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
Originally Posted by bcherry
I'm currently 5,471 miles short of MVP status for next year. I am planning a round trip SFO-JFK in November, but no other trips this year. My last roundtrip on this route earned me a total of 5,172 miles. So I'll be 245 miles short to hit MVP.

My question is: If I make a connection through LAX on the outbound flight, the total travel distance on the trip will be 2,398 miles (73 miles short). Would the SFO-LAX segment earn the minimum 500 miles, even though it's booked as a short layover? I'm assuming it would be more expensive to book the segments individually, but the cost difference of connecting through LAX vs direct to JFK is negligible. If that segment counts as minimum 500, I'll earn 5,561 miles on the roundtrip, and just clear MVP by 90 miles...

Thanks for any help! I've never earned airline status before, so I'm not sure of all the details.
Each flight will credit on it's own merit so the short hop SFO-LAX will provide 500 minimum EQM. Alternatively, you could check on the cost of upfaring one of your SFO-JFK segments to a fare with a Class of service bonus (COS) which is also EQM. Buckets Y, S 50% & Buckets M, B 25%

If your reservation is already booked and outside the change/cancel window a reroute would trigger a change fee while I have been told by an AS Agent that an upfare will not. I am MVPG75K so haven't confirmed this.

James
Flying for Fun is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 10:31 pm
  #1280  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
Originally Posted by bcherry
Would the SFO-LAX segment earn the minimum 500 miles, even though it's booked as a short layover?
The only scenario in which it won't earn the 500 minimum is if it has the same flight number as your LAX-JFK segment, in which case you'd get the same miles as an SFO-JFK nonstop.
jinglish is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 10:37 pm
  #1281  
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by Flying for Fun
Each flight will credit on it's own merit so the short hop SFO-LAX will provide 500 minimum EQM. Alternatively, you could check on the cost of upfaring one of your SFO-JFK segments to a fare with a Class of service bonus (COS) which is also EQM. Buckets Y, S 50% & Buckets M, B 25%

If your reservation is already booked and outside the change/cancel window a reroute would trigger a change fee while I have been told by an AS Agent that an upfare will not. I am MVPG75K so haven't confirmed this.

James
Thanks! What does "class of service" mean? I haven't booked the flight yet (or even worked out exact dates), but I only see Main Cabin and First Class. A "Premium Economy" seat costs $119 extra in seat selection. What exactly do the Y,S,M,B designations mean?

Last edited by bcherry; Oct 3, 2018 at 10:42 pm
bcherry is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 10:49 pm
  #1282  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
Originally Posted by bcherry
Thanks! What does "class of service" mean? I haven't booked the flight yet (or even worked out exact dates), but I only see Main Cabin and First Class. A "Premium Economy" seat costs $119 extra in seat selection. What exactly do the Y,S,M,B designations mean?
The letters are fare buckets--those four in particular are the four highest for economy on Alaska, with Y being a fully refundable fare (as it is on virtually every carrier). They will earn bonus EQMs, as you can see on this chart. But upfaring to one of those is going to cost considerably more than adding the connection.
jinglish is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2018, 11:38 pm
  #1283  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Originally Posted by SFO_FT
I have a couple of ticket credits for $300 each. have some flights of $100 each coming up and would like to use, but of course don;t want to lose the residual value. Is there a way to deposit the ticket value into my wallet so that I can the precise amounts I need? Separate question: If I use the $300 towards a 2019 ticket of $400, but then need to cancel that new $400 ticket, can the $400 then go to my wallet?
Just to clarify, these aren't discount codes such as for service recovery? Because those don't have any residual value after applying. They also cannot be refunded. The way to save those is to change a ticket, instead of cancelling.

If it's a travel certificate, you can deposit those into my wallet online in your account with the number and PIN. Note that they can't be undeposited.

If it's a cancelled ticket, once the cancellation fee is paid (if not Gold/75K), you can either apply it to a ticket, turn it into travel certificate, or deposit into MyWallet. I've only done the applying the ticket directly with a travel agent (company paid ticket) who worked with an AS agent so never done it directly myself on the website, but the excess value went into a travel certificate.Travel certificates maintain the residual value until used up or expire.

A cancelled ticket/travel certificate of $300 towards a $400 ticket will get the entire amount recredited. I can't remember if it's just a single $400 with the date reset or split back to the payment amounts with original dates (to prevent "laundering" the expiration date as it were). Maybe someone else can chime in on that point.
rustykettel is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 3:07 am
  #1284  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
Originally Posted by jinglish
The only scenario in which it won't earn the 500 minimum is if it has the same flight number as your LAX-JFK segment, in which case you'd get the same miles as an SFO-JFK nonstop.
Thank you for pointing that out. I always forget about the direct flights. Not sure if any exist in that market but I have done a direct with a SFO stop on a North South route before. I believe it was SEA-PSP.

James
Flying for Fun is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 3:11 am
  #1285  
 
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 88
Originally Posted by rustykettel
Are you within T-48 of departure of the new flight? If so, just the GA add you to the upgrade list and you should clear immediately if U is open (which is needed for a GGU upgrade as well). I've never used a GGU on a rebooking, but they do seem to be coded slightly differently behind the scenes as they post as original fare earnings not full Y CoS bonus.
Nope, the flight's pretty far out. It was a bump due to a schedule change. If it's retaining the original CoS, I might be out of luck. I'll call and ask the agent though.
Zwiebelbauer is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 3:46 am
  #1286  
 
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 88
Update: Agent said it would be eligible, but there's no U space (not sure if the system would reject it and the agent would hit an issue actually trying to apply it though..). Must be coded weirdly since it does allow choosing of front row seats that aren't normally available for the CoC booked.
Zwiebelbauer is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 2:15 pm
  #1287  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Programs: UA 1k, AA EXPLT, NZ GE, VA PLT Hyatt Diam, Marr Plat, HH Diam
Posts: 3,436
Originally Posted by rustykettel
If it's a cancelled ticket, once the cancellation fee is paid (if not Gold/75K), you can either apply it to a ticket, turn it into travel certificate, or deposit into MyWallet. I've only done the applying the ticket directly with a travel agent (company paid ticket) who worked with an AS agent so never done it directly myself on the website, but the excess value went into a travel certificate.Travel certificates maintain the residual value until used up or expire.
The AS agent I spoke with said that once a ticket is cancelled (ie, not immediately deposited to My Wallet), it no longer can. (I'm Gold, fortunately, so the change fees aren't an issue.) I didn't realize that a cancelled ticket converts to a travel cert, rather than remain as the original ticket. On other carriers, original. non-ref tickets can only be applied as a lump sum amount, with no remaining value if the new ticket is less than the old. So, good to hear that AS is more flexible and customer-friendly than others.
SFO_FT is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 3:01 pm
  #1288  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 33
Gate agents lying to passengers that flight is full

Hi, not a frequent poster, wasn't sure where is the best place to ask this question / raise issue with AS:
I recently flew on a transcon flight from EWR-SFO. Shortly before boarding started, a gate agent got on the PA and said that the flight was completely full and requested that passengers pre-check their bags at no additional charge, yadda yadda yadda we've all heard this before.
The rub here is that the flight was NOT full - the screen behind the counter read that the flight was 20-30 seats under capacity, and that was roughly consistent with what I saw on the actual flight. The agent repeated the announcement at least one or two more times, clearly stating that the flight was going to be completely full (aka not an accident, he really meant it).
It bothers me that a gate agent would blatantly lie to us like this. I understand his wanting to get extra bags checked, but I feel like lying to customers to elicit the desired behavior is the wrong way to go about things. Have other folks seen this? Is there something I'm missing?
redtalun is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 4:09 pm
  #1289  
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,413
Originally Posted by redtalun
Hi, not a frequent poster, wasn't sure where is the best place to ask this question / raise issue with AS:
I recently flew on a transcon flight from EWR-SFO. Shortly before boarding started, a gate agent got on the PA and said that the flight was completely full and requested that passengers pre-check their bags at no additional charge, yadda yadda yadda we've all heard this before.
The rub here is that the flight was NOT full - the screen behind the counter read that the flight was 20-30 seats under capacity, and that was roughly consistent with what I saw on the actual flight. The agent repeated the announcement at least one or two more times, clearly stating that the flight was going to be completely full (aka not an accident, he really meant it).
It bothers me that a gate agent would blatantly lie to us like this. I understand his wanting to get extra bags checked, but I feel like lying to customers to elicit the desired behavior is the wrong way to go about things.
Have other folks seen this? Is there something I'm missing?
Perhaps bad choice of words, but I'm guessing this would be a pmVX Airbus, and "full" may have been full with possible pax, i.e. the plane would not be able to make it without a technical stop for fuel with full load. Just an educated guess though as I pretty much never fly Tcons.
EmailKid is offline  
Old Oct 4, 2018, 5:30 pm
  #1290  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Originally Posted by Zwiebelbauer
Update: Agent said it would be eligible, but there's no U space (not sure if the system would reject it and the agent would hit an issue actually trying to apply it though..). Must be coded weirdly since it does allow choosing of front row seats that aren't normally available for the CoC booked.
That's too bad! Would've been an interesting data point.
rustykettel is offline  

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