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!
Oct 27, 2018, 12:21 am
#1366
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
James
Oct 27, 2018, 6:16 am
#1367
Moderator Hilton Honors, Travel News, West, The Suggestion Box, Smoking Lounge & DiningBuzz
Join Date: Jun 2000
Programs: Honors Diamond, Hertz Presidents Circle, National Exec Elite
Posts: 36,027
Does the 70K "price" for transcontinental award tix in F ever drop?
Oct 27, 2018, 8:23 am
#1368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Oct 27, 2018, 9:54 am
#1369
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
Oct 27, 2018, 11:55 am
#1370
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SFO/SEA
Programs: Amex Biz Cent, Marriott LTP, Avis PC, Hilton Owners Diamond, AS MVP
Posts: 3,380
Oct 28, 2018, 2:03 pm
#1371
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 5,577
Looking for an award ticket NRT to PHX, but when I search NRT-PHX the AS website it only comes up with Biz selections where the overwater portion is always in Coach only, just domestic on F.
I did find a NRT-SAN option with JL. Can I call an agent and ask to just add on the flight SAN-PHX or will that not work? Sorry, I never booked a flight with AS.
I did find a NRT-SAN option with JL. Can I call an agent and ask to just add on the flight SAN-PHX or will that not work? Sorry, I never booked a flight with AS.
Oct 28, 2018, 4:30 pm
#1372
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
Looking for an award ticket NRT to PHX, but when I search NRT-PHX the AS website it only comes up with Biz selections where the overwater portion is always in Coach only, just domestic on F.
I did find a NRT-SAN option with JL. Can I call an agent and ask to just add on the flight SAN-PHX or will that not work? Sorry, I never booked a flight with AS.
I did find a NRT-SAN option with JL. Can I call an agent and ask to just add on the flight SAN-PHX or will that not work? Sorry, I never booked a flight with AS.
Oct 28, 2018, 4:52 pm
#1373
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,392
I had a BA F redemption AMS-LHR-USA with a 23 hour stopover, with an overnight on the East Coast connecting on AS (ex-VX, but by that point, crapshoot on the seat I would get).
Then I noticed another F seat AMS-LHR(two and a half days)-West Coast overnight-AS Y. I have friends jn London. “OK, I’ll pay extra”. Used alaskaair.com to redo the ticket and prepared to grumble about UK APD.
There was an award flight with Y-only availability. APD difference: $90ish. If I picked a J flight the APD was over $200.
So is an extra day and a half in London worth $90? And do you think anyone else might be able to use that?
Then I noticed another F seat AMS-LHR(two and a half days)-West Coast overnight-AS Y. I have friends jn London. “OK, I’ll pay extra”. Used alaskaair.com to redo the ticket and prepared to grumble about UK APD.
There was an award flight with Y-only availability. APD difference: $90ish. If I picked a J flight the APD was over $200.
So is an extra day and a half in London worth $90? And do you think anyone else might be able to use that?
Oct 29, 2018, 8:33 am
#1374
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 5,577
Thank you. I wasn't aware of that.Somehow I thought they were still in a relationship with AA who fly that segment.. But good to know, Hertz it is then. Appreciate your time.
Oct 29, 2018, 10:09 am
#1375
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
James
Oct 29, 2018, 11:03 am
#1376
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
The relationship isn't what it used to be, but you can still redeem awards on AA using Mileage Plan. The problem here is that you're already flying on one partner, JL, and AS won't allow you to tack another partner onto the same leg of the trip. JL connecting to AS is fine. JL one way and AA the other way on the same ticket is fine too. Just not this.
Oct 29, 2018, 2:29 pm
#1377
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SFO/SEA
Programs: Amex Biz Cent, Marriott LTP, Avis PC, Hilton Owners Diamond, AS MVP
Posts: 3,380
Never had quite this scenario before but how does same day confirmed work with a paid F fare (P class specifically, afaik not an instant upgrade into U)? Are you given the SDC option during checkin as long as there are any F seats available on earlier flights (meaning you would trump any upgrade waitlisters)? My understanding with regular upgrades is that you lose a confirmed upgrade if you SDC to another flight that doesn't have U space at time of SDC.
Wife and I booked a discounted F fare for mid-November but now all the discounted fares are gone and we need to change to an earlier flight. Would rather not pay the $300+ fare difference if SDC will be an option. Most important thing here would be to make sure we are confirmed into F seats at time of SDC and not have to deal with waitlist
Wife and I booked a discounted F fare for mid-November but now all the discounted fares are gone and we need to change to an earlier flight. Would rather not pay the $300+ fare difference if SDC will be an option. Most important thing here would be to make sure we are confirmed into F seats at time of SDC and not have to deal with waitlist
Oct 29, 2018, 2:30 pm
#1378
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 48
I’m sure this has been asked several times, but I’ve been unable to locate the answer.
75K
i book a lot of last minute travel on Alaska, seating availability is typically pretty good, except when flying to Anchorage.
Premium seating - if I’m placed in a middle seat because that’s all that’s available and I switch to an aisle or window in a regular seat, Will Alaska put me in a window or aisle premium seat if one becomes available or will I be taken off the upgrade list for premium seating?
75K
i book a lot of last minute travel on Alaska, seating availability is typically pretty good, except when flying to Anchorage.
Premium seating - if I’m placed in a middle seat because that’s all that’s available and I switch to an aisle or window in a regular seat, Will Alaska put me in a window or aisle premium seat if one becomes available or will I be taken off the upgrade list for premium seating?
Oct 29, 2018, 3:00 pm
#1379
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: AS MVPG, IHG Diamond Elite
Posts: 1,445
Never had quite this scenario before but how does same day confirmed work with a paid F fare (P class specifically, afaik not an instant upgrade into U)? Are you given the SDC option during checkin as long as there are any F seats available on earlier flights (meaning you would trump any upgrade waitlisters)? My understanding with regular upgrades is that you lose a confirmed upgrade if you SDC to another flight that doesn't have U space at time of SDC.
Wife and I booked a discounted F fare for mid-November but now all the discounted fares are gone and we need to change to an earlier flight. Would rather not pay the $300+ fare difference if SDC will be an option. Most important thing here would be to make sure we are confirmed into F seats at time of SDC and not have to deal with waitlist
Wife and I booked a discounted F fare for mid-November but now all the discounted fares are gone and we need to change to an earlier flight. Would rather not pay the $300+ fare difference if SDC will be an option. Most important thing here would be to make sure we are confirmed into F seats at time of SDC and not have to deal with waitlist
I've done this w/ a discounted award fare, then SDC into another flight with only 1 F seat available to confirm the flight I actually wanted.
Oct 30, 2018, 2:56 am
#1380
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 202
Hi All,
I had for the first time purchased Alaska Miles taking advantage of the 40% off, how long do they take to get posted to my account? My credit card has already been charged the amount.
Thank you
I had for the first time purchased Alaska Miles taking advantage of the 40% off, how long do they take to get posted to my account? My credit card has already been charged the amount.
Thank you