Nov 27, 2018, 7:54 am
Last edit by: NoLaGent
How are Saver fares different?
Saver fares do include some restrictions on booking, refunds, changes, and seat selection.
These restrictions include:
Elite status benefits you do get when you buy a Saver Fare:
* Priority check-in
* Priority boarding group
* Baggage fee waiver
* Express security line at select airports (for MVPG+)
* Refreshments (alcoholic drink or chocolate for MVPG+)
* Complimentary inflight entertainment player - available on coast-to-coast and Hawaii flights (for MVPG75k, while they last)
* Bonus miles (by elite level)
Elite status benefits you don't get when you buy a Saver Fare:
* Access to preferred seating (certain seats behind Premium Class or in the exit rows)
* First Class upgrades, when available
* Premium Class upgrades, when available
* Waived change fees for MVPG+
* Complimentary same-day standby/flight changes for MVPG+
Full info here: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/tr...perience/saver
Saver fares do include some restrictions on booking, refunds, changes, and seat selection.
These restrictions include:
- Limited seating may be available at the time of purchase. Most seats will be assigned at check-in.
- We can’t guarantee that parties of two or more will be seated together.
- No refunds are allowed beyond the first 24 hours after ticketing.
- No changes, including same-day confirmed changes, are allowed for Saver fares.
- No standby is allowed for Saver fares, even for elite status guests.
- If a guest is a no-show for any flight during a trip, all other flights within that trip are automatically canceled, with no refund available.
- Saver fares cannot be combined with any other fare types on the same itinerary.
- Saver fares are non-transferable.
Elite status benefits you do get when you buy a Saver Fare:
* Priority check-in
* Priority boarding group
* Baggage fee waiver
* Express security line at select airports (for MVPG+)
* Refreshments (alcoholic drink or chocolate for MVPG+)
* Complimentary inflight entertainment player - available on coast-to-coast and Hawaii flights (for MVPG75k, while they last)
* Bonus miles (by elite level)
Elite status benefits you don't get when you buy a Saver Fare:
* Access to preferred seating (certain seats behind Premium Class or in the exit rows)
* First Class upgrades, when available
* Premium Class upgrades, when available
* Waived change fees for MVPG+
* Complimentary same-day standby/flight changes for MVPG+
Full info here: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/tr...perience/saver
Details/Discussion of Saver (Basic Economy) "X" Fares
Oct 26, 2018, 6:52 pm
#136
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
But unfortunately, where else are you going to go? Southwest is the last holdout, and their product is quite different. This at least puts Alaska on the same page, fare wise, as the other guys. We've been enjoying this ride for almost 2 years, so time to buckle up and spend a few more dollars per trip or stay home.
I've been thinking about this a lot and right now I see two main advantages in favor of AS.
If you decide that you are just going to pay the higher fare, you still get waived change fee if you are gold or better in non-basic-econ. That has a lot of value, and the major carriers don't offer that.
The other advantage is the fact that (a) you earn so many more miles for flying, and (b) they are worth so much more. Japan is one of my favorite destinations... 70k miles in F on JAL. With UA, it's going to cost 110k miles on ANA if you can find saver availability (good luck with that).
Furthermore, say I fly a transcon roundtrip for $500. Not a great fare, but not terrible either. With AS you're getting about 10k miles as a gold member for that. With UA (for example)... 8X fare = 4k miles. I value AS miles at about 1.5x UA miles, and I'm earning 2.5x as many of them for a trip like this. Almost 4x the value. This is significant...
And of course... only 40k EQM to maintain status, vs 50k with the legacies.
On the other side of the coin, UA has the network to actually get me where I want to go, when I want to go. With AS I'm often changing my plans to meet their schedule. UA also has better same day change rules (they allow routing changes). They do charge $25 more, but as Gold this is irrelevant since both airlines waive the fee. UA also has a premium F product, although it's only on few routes, it's quite expensive, and you can't get complimentary upgrades to it unless you are a higher tier then gold, so this doesn't add that much value for me (though it's nice to know that it's there for me to buy if I want it)
Honestly I'm pretty pissed off at AS right now, but the valuable miles and waived change fees might keep me around. But I'm not sure. I have a couple of months to decide
Oct 26, 2018, 7:19 pm
#137
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,851
Or rather, with AS I have to fly their partners to get to where I want to go internationally. E.g., next week with Condor to Europe. Or earlier this year with BA to Europe. Neither of which is really my preference when it comes to quality. And then I actually need the same 50k EQMs as with the other legacies (there is zero chance my personally funded travel would get me to 40k AS EQMs). With arguably fewer benefits than, say, *G.
Oct 26, 2018, 7:55 pm
#138
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Yeah if you are mostly an international traveler then I don't think AS is a great choice. My travel is mostly domestic, and I take the occasional international trip (which I try to do in luxury). Also I don't really travel for work so I pay for all my flights out of pocket.
Oct 26, 2018, 9:47 pm
#139
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,851
Yeah if you are mostly an international traveler then I don't think AS is a great choice. My travel is mostly domestic, and I take the occasional international trip (which I try to do in luxury). Also I don't really travel for work so I pay for all my flights out of pocket.
Oct 27, 2018, 2:54 am
#140
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
If you're traveling internationally in J, crediting to AS can be very lucrative, especially in terms of RDMs. But a good part of why I defected to DL is that their program, despite the spend requirement, makes it a bit easier to qualify for status on cheap international economy fares. AS's partner network could be a lot worse, but 25% EQMs on cheap BA or FI fares is... not great.
Oct 27, 2018, 5:31 am
#141
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Oct 27, 2018, 3:37 pm
#142
Join Date: Sep 2001
Programs: Alaska Tanzanite 100K
Posts: 3,858
To reiterate, we have enjoyed full eqms, upgrades, and premium seats on Alaska fares that have matched the other guys' 'Basic' deals and its coming to an end. But I don't see Alaska's MVP devaluation done yet.... plus, 75K status is only like 4 years old I believe- something else to chew on.
Oct 27, 2018, 10:24 pm
#143
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: BART Platinum, AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,158
And that's what they're going to find out pretty quickly. By not offering Basic fares, they have been the best value in many cases over the past couple years. Now that they'll also be offering Basic fares, there are a lot more choices for a similar product at the same price point. Sure, some will buy up. But others will book elsewhere.
I’m a little puzzled at the doom and gloom surrounding BE introduction. In the long run, the non-BE premium has not proven to be that high at other airlines. For example, if I search for cheap UA transcon fares in early December, I see RT SFO-EWR fares of $253 for BE and $273 for regular economy. I’d prefer not to pay the extra 20 bucks, but it’s not going to induce me to stop traveling or shift all my travel to a different carrier.
One way to look at it is that they’re targeting $100m revenue growth on a base of 50 million revenue passengers. They won’t offer a BE option on every ticket sold, but even if they only offer it on 1 in 3, the implicit non-BE premium is about $7-8 per ticket (assuming most flyers don’t purchase BE).
Last edited by milypan; Oct 27, 2018 at 10:30 pm Reason: Added stats
Oct 27, 2018, 11:03 pm
#144
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Berkeley, CA
Programs: UA Silver, Southwest A-List, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 818
I’m a little puzzled at the doom and gloom surrounding BE introduction. In the long run, the non-BE premium has not proven to be that high at other airlines. For example, if I search for cheap UA transcon fares in early December, I see RT SFO-EWR fares of $253 for BE and $273 for regular economy. I’d prefer not to pay the extra 20 bucks, but it’s not going to induce me to stop traveling or shift all my travel to a different carrier.
You are right, we don't know what the actual fare difference will be, so it may not be as bad as it seems. I think AS would take heat for releasing BE no matter what. It's hard to take away something that you offered for free at one time; that's on advantage the new ULCC's had: no expectations. Even then, they still get a lot of bad press.
However, I don't agree with the sentiment that the BE change alone has induced people to change all their travel. I think this change, in conjunction with all of the other changes, have made AS less attractive as a primary carrier. It has made it to where after flying all those miles, you still need to fork over a bit extra to access the elite benefits you earned. That motivates me a lot less to be loyal or make the effort to reach the status again. As stated previously, it was a nice ride while it lasted, but its rare that the loyalty benefits ever get better.
Oct 28, 2018, 11:45 am
#146
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,851
Oct 28, 2018, 11:54 am
#147
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,851
I’m a little puzzled at the doom and gloom surrounding BE introduction. In the long run, the non-BE premium has not proven to be that high at other airlines. For example, if I search for cheap UA transcon fares in early December, I see RT SFO-EWR fares of $253 for BE and $273 for regular economy. I’d prefer not to pay the extra 20 bucks, but it’s not going to induce me to stop traveling or shift all my travel to a different carrier.
I have only been an AS elite since 2014, and while I generally am happy with my travel experience, it does seem to be slowly but surely going downhill for elites... I realize upgrades very much depend on routes and paid fares, but I have not had great luck with Premium and First upgrades this year, and there are virtually no benefits for me on my Q400 flights (50% of all my AS segments).
Oct 28, 2018, 12:30 pm
#148
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP , Delta Gold Medallion, "Credit Card" status for various hotels
Posts: 672
Oct 28, 2018, 12:50 pm
#149
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: A3 *G, AA exePlat, AS MVP 75k Gold, JL sapphire, UA silver
Posts: 4,035
The BE is starting to sell in Nov 2018 for travel in Jan 2019 onward. Since I have travel that I need in march 2019, I just booked it a few days ago to lock on a good price.
As MVP gold, one can just cancel for travel credit if there is a better deal. this is the way I see it.
As MVP gold, one can just cancel for travel credit if there is a better deal. this is the way I see it.
Oct 28, 2018, 2:23 pm
#150
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
I'm planning ahead already. I'm not going for 75K again next year. I'm way too far off (think almost 2 RT to SYD). In case they give me a challenge to get 75K back, I'm planning that trip now just in case to hopefully lock in Premium seats and not a basic fare. Now that I go searching was the challenge capped at MVPG 8 segments? *edit* never mind it was 20K miles in a few months as of early 2018 reports. just no reports of whether the 50k bonus came with it.
Last edited by CDKing; Oct 28, 2018 at 7:04 pm