False. You can still earn AS elite and redeem miles on non-domestic (US) AA flights.

AS has many unique partners for a non-alliance member. You can qualify for MVP, MVP Gold, and 75K without flying a single AS operated flight, or any US domestic flights for that matter.

Just to be clear, this is per-segment, not end-to-end. So if you flew YOW-DFW-SFO on AA (I have no idea if AA operates YOW-DFW; it's just a hypothetical example) you can credit the YOW-DFW segment to AS, but not the DFW-SFO segment.

Also, the restriction only applies to earning. You can redeem AS miles for domestic AA flights. Although hopefully you can find a better use of 70k miles than SFO-JFK in flagship first on AA :)

Ahh I see it now. Although spending $4K USD to earn elite status seems a bit too much for me. For reference, I spent ~$2000 USD last year to earn Gold status on UA (several K fare TPACs plus a K fare TATL puddle hopper on AC). Also, the fare seems to be only valid for F travel with J fares costing only marginally less than the F ones. Generally speaking, if I'm travelling front of cabin internationally I aim to spend no more than $2K USD roundtrip as I'm a poor grad student :o

Just to clarify I'm referring to using AS elite status outside of AS flights. It's my understanding that top tier AS elite status won't confer you access to the BA lounges whilst travelling economy in LHR nor will it provide you with an extra checked bag when flying CX in Y. That being said, I'm aware that they do have a number of international redemption partners which makes things interesting if redeeming a J award (which would automatically confer similar benefits as elite).

At this point in my life, I can't afford to play free agent and chase as many status levels as possible. It's just getting too much to constantly be comparing fares, hotel rates and loyalty programs to identify the most ideal earning strategy, particularly when I'm not 100% where my flights will be in several months time.

-James

I meant to type redeemable (AS) miles ;)

Correct, only international segment of AA operated flights earn elite and redeem(able) AS miles.

And that's fine. The whole point of being a FA is NOT to chase status.

It seems a bit much to me too. The thing that keeps me thinking about it is the redeemable miles earned. It's enough for a J round trip to Asia (or, 108k of the way towards a 140k mile round trip in F). It's almost like two round trips for that price. Not worth it for the eqm, not worth it for the rdm, but for both... it's tempting.

I'm gonna try to resist this but in a moment of weakness I might buy it. I really do want to visit India too.

Alaska Saver Fare Scam
 

Alaska has introduced a "Saver Fair". If you are an MVP, you forfeit your benefits to choose seats, be on an upgrade wait list, or wade change fees. If you pay "Main Cabin" for $25-$30 or more you get to have your earned benefits back. This is the worst degrading go MVP status I have ever seen. It sucks!

You must be new around here. Thats been an established side effect of the new saver fare for months now. AS foesnt hide the fact. Does it suck? Yes. Can it be avoided? Yup..buy a higher fare.

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Please feel free to peruse the litany of threads that have accumulated over the last 6 months where we decry the "elite tax".

I've heard this before somewhere....

Yes. I agree it sucks.

Saver Unfair?

So...this is like every other major carrier in the country at this point.

The only bad note I'll drop on the carriers, collectively, is that it can be a real PITA to run an airfare search and direct a service to throw out these fares when looking.

Edit: Ok, WN doesn't do this, but they also don't do seat reservation.

1. It is not a scam. The features of the fare are clearly disclosed and the passenger makes a decision as to what he wants, needs, and can afford. It would be a "scam" if none of this is disclosed.
2. AS is late to this game. AA, DL, and UA all offer these fares (with slight variations) as to pretty much all carriers worldwide (again with some variations).

This is a good deal for someone who wants the cheapest ticket and does not care about all the non-essential features. You get a seat from A to B and that is it. If you want more, you pay more.

Or you could jump ship to some other carrier and get the same thing. Or fly WN and wait a long time for an upgrade.