BOB W

Are you referring to the "Industry leading water service in whY"? Otherwise, I am not sure what you are referencing...

writetorich

Nice promo. Thanks for sharing with community

mike28

Your calculation is correct.
The credit I received for a SFO-RDU I did on April 1 is:
EQM: 2400
RDM: 2400 + 2400 (100% bonus from promo) + 3000 (125% 75k) = 7800

NYC Flyer

In some ways, the product is already better (catering, crews, quantity/selection of streaming video)...will be interesting to see if UA's move to dynamic awards makes the status/double miles promo more attractive to those who might otherwise view AS' schedule frequencies as deficient.

VegasGambler

How is catering better?

On Alaska you can buy a sandwich or cheese plate in E. On E+ you get a snack basket selection and free drinks. (nothing free in E-)

On JetBlue you get snack basket (free) in E-. Free wifi too, FWIW.

On AA you get a sandwich or cheese plate for free in E+, in addition to free drinks. Available for purchase in E-.

On UA you (apparently) get hot food for free in E+. I've never flown it but someone else posted that. Not sure about free drinks (I'm unsure if they give them on transon? In general they don't)

And doesn't DL give a free hot meal to all of economy on transcons?

For E-, I think it's between JetBlue and Delta. For E+, the big 3 all sound better, possibly with the exception of UA (again, not sure and the free drinks) AS seems to be near the bottom in both categories (E- and E+).

If you are flying F, I know that many people like the AS food. Personally I find it very hit and miss; I look at the menu and half the time I end up pre-ordering a cheese tray because none of the hot meals are anything I'd eat. On the other hand I've had some good meals as well (I really like their breakfasts, even if the portions are on the small side)

NYC Flyer

So, at least we agree on the crew and streaming entertainment....I will admit I am primarily comparing AS to my last fling with AA (I wish they would offer their paid food options in addition or instead of the complimentary wraps). I'd be surprised to receive complimentary hot food on UA or DL in economy, but would be delighted if this were confirmed. I find the service and food in F on AS to be much fresher and authentic than AA, but I will concede others may prefer offerings on the legacies or B6 (I do like the Asian veggie meal in J on AA, but it's not always possible to get in advance if one is playing the upgrade game).

I will also admit that I am a lifelong fan of DL, having grown up in the south, and were money/miles no object, I would be in first/D1 on every (domestic) trip.

VegasGambler

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...omy-class.html

LONGER FLIGHTS
On international routes and select domestic routes, you’ll enjoy a complimentary meal in Main Cabin.

My understanding is that this is a hot meal. I've never flown it though.


My main point here is that other airlines treat these transcons as "premium" routes and offer something extra or better than on other routes. AS does not.

For the next 8 months, they do offer double miles (which I actually prefer to a hot meal, by a long shot). But I don't think that you can conclude that the catering is better than other airlines on these routes.

NYC Flyer

Perhaps there is no need?...I prefer AA's buy on board (or, in my dreams, DL's former transcon BoB cheeseburgers) to the "premium" meals offered on a complimentary basis. But if I can get a hot meal in a middle seat on a 10-across 777 from LAX to EWR, I might just try UA....one day.

wolfpacktrojan

It isn't a hot meal. Last time I flew JFK-SAN on DL, we had three options. A cheese plate similar to AS, a turkey sandwich, or an Asian chicken salad. I had the salad, and it was better than I thought it'd be.

VegasGambler

Perhaps there is a need if other airlines are doing better than AS on these routes

Apparently I was wrong about the hot meal on DL (it's not hot) but it's still the equivalent of what you have to pay for on AS. And everyone (on any flight over 250 miles, not only on transcons) gets the snack basket offerings on DL... AS only offers those in Premium.

Basically, every other airline has watered down their FF program by going revenue-based. AS continues to give tons of miles but has cut corners elsewhere.

I'd rather get 2500 miles (5k as MVPG, and 7500 with this promo) on a $150 ticket than 750 miles (1250 with similar status) and a sandwich. So I'm not knocking AS here... If I'm flying economy, I'll buy food at the airport (or pay $9 for a sandwich on board) and take the 6k+ extra miles, thank you very much. But I'm not also going to claim that the catering is better.

As for streaming entertainment; I don't use IFE so I have no opinion on this. I bring media with me so I really don't know or care. I do know that I hate seat-back monitors that can't be turned off, or that turn themselves on to play ads. My only requirement for IFE is that I can successfully pretend it doesn't exist. I love bulkheads where it's in the armrest -- I leave it there for the duration of the flight.

As for crew... I haven't experienced bad crew on any airline, really. I've had uniformly good experiences on AS, but also on AA and UA, transcon or not. Reading FT tends to give a very bad impression of FAs, but I haven't experienced this, ever.

NYC Flyer

Having just come over from AA, the corners appear much sharper on AS to me, particularly in the graciousness and appreciation of customers by crew and J/F catering. I do not miss AA's filet short ribs one bit. In Y, I will gladly bring my own food. AA's $3 wraps vs AS nothing are a push to me (and, yes, there's the cheese plate, but AA has cut back on the quality there too).

I've had great crews on AA, as well as crews that only want to do the bare minimum (and some that are quite assertive at defining that bare minimum). The mileage program on AS is incontrovertibly great , but I don't feel, so far, that I am giving up a lot in exchange.

sfozrhfco

NYC Flyer

Well not everyone believes management's initiatives will fail, and I am a proponent of their product, not necessarily their stock. Eventually, they may have match (may be consolidated into another carrier before then), and everyone will receive paltry returns ala JetBlue. We should just arbitrage while there are material value distinctions...the writing has been on the wall for a long time that FF points are going to be treated increasingly like a rebate/currency. Honestly, I'm surprised AA and UA held out as long as they have...over/under on AA's announcement is somewhere between 7-90 days, IMHO. I don't see them carving a path as a hold out on this among the legacies (but would be pleasantly surprised).

Revenue miles, elite miles will eventually be a thing of the past, and rewards will be tied solely to $$ spent, like every other retailer. The airlines are figuring out how to apply the pareto principle more and more effectively. Right now, AS is a sweet spot, and I am happy to ride it out until the music stops.

Repooc17

For UA, on EWR <-> SFO/LAX + BOS<->SFO routes, pax in E+ and PP (PE) get complementary meals and drinks (incl. alcohol beverage). Assuming you can select E+ seats at booking for free, premium economy seats are also complementary (if available) on at least 1x/day EWR <-> SFO/LAX.

For DL, main cabin pax would get food, not hot food often (would depend on the time of the transcon flight).

alaskaforlife

If qualify for MVPG with the coast2coast challenge and get the 4ggus, then at the end of the year, if i actually hit 50k MVPG threshold, will i get 4ggus again?