Difficulty in partner redemptions
Sep 22, 2019, 9:00 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Anchorage / So CAL
Programs: AKAir 75K, BestWestern PE
Posts: 39
Difficulty in partner redemptions
It seems to me that getting partner redemptions for miles is getting harder to come by. I tend to look for F class only which makes it even more scarce.
I've been a member (paid subscription) of an airfare alert web service for about 2 years now. I seem to find better deals for trans con travel on the web service than I find searching for partner redemptions. I'm getting to the point that I only use AK miles on AK airplanes.
What are FT members doing?
I've been a member (paid subscription) of an airfare alert web service for about 2 years now. I seem to find better deals for trans con travel on the web service than I find searching for partner redemptions. I'm getting to the point that I only use AK miles on AK airplanes.
What are FT members doing?
Sep 22, 2019, 9:08 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 100K
Posts: 2,030
I guess it depends a lot on where you are trying to fly, when you are flying, and how far in advance you look. The program is not as good as when DL was a partner but it’s still good in my opinion.
Sep 22, 2019, 9:18 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,022
On long haul (newish) aircraft business class seats are better than first class was a a decade or so ago. But today's J meals/drinks not what F was decades ago.
Sep 22, 2019, 9:43 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Anchorage / So CAL
Programs: AKAir 75K, BestWestern PE
Posts: 39
Sep 22, 2019, 9:59 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: PDX
Programs: AS MVP Gold 100K
Posts: 2,329
Sep 22, 2019, 10:03 pm
#7
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
AA does provide some good redemption options domestically and to Mexico & perhaps the Caribbean. 27.5K YLW-SEA-PHX-GDL in F was a good redemption especially with a stopover in PHX that AAdvantage wouldn't allow. 27.5K offset a $1100 fare.
For the OP, Europe is definitely a weak spot, although BA has reduced their surcharges on a lot of routes. QF is pretty scarce but CX/JL offers excellent opportunities.
I still find great value in MP and earning meaningful RDM on a cpm basis is pretty easy.
James
Sep 22, 2019, 10:21 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: PDX
Programs: AS MVP Gold 100K
Posts: 2,329
Are you including a stopover? The one time I want to fly the least number of segments is when I am not earning EQM.
AA does provide some good redemption options domestically and to Mexico & perhaps the Caribbean. 27.5K YLW-SEA-PHX-GDL in F was a good redemption especially with a stopover in PHX that AAdvantage wouldn't allow. 27.5K offset a $1100 fare.
For the OP, Europe is definitely a weak spot, although BA has reduced their surcharges on a lot of routes. QF is pretty scarce but CX/JL offers excellent opportunities.
I still find great value in MP and earning meaningful RDM on a cpm basis is pretty easy.
James
AA does provide some good redemption options domestically and to Mexico & perhaps the Caribbean. 27.5K YLW-SEA-PHX-GDL in F was a good redemption especially with a stopover in PHX that AAdvantage wouldn't allow. 27.5K offset a $1100 fare.
For the OP, Europe is definitely a weak spot, although BA has reduced their surcharges on a lot of routes. QF is pretty scarce but CX/JL offers excellent opportunities.
I still find great value in MP and earning meaningful RDM on a cpm basis is pretty easy.
James
I usually have to use the multi-city search function and can find things such as PDX-SEA-DCA-STL, all in F for 25K. I've also done it to get routings like ORD-DFW-PDX so I could fly on the AA Dreamliner. If you look for it, you can also find AA's premium transcon offered up at the 25K level.
Sep 23, 2019, 2:01 am
#9
Formerly known as stellertony
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MEX
Programs: UA Gold, DL Gold, NEXUS, APEC
Posts: 1,146
For domestic travel, as you mentioned paid tickets are often a better deal than mileage redemptions, and overall AS naturally offers more opportunities and better prices on its own planes than on AA, which is more interested in charging higher rates to its own members than making cheap seats available to partners like AS.
Sep 23, 2019, 8:57 am
#10
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
F redemptions in general are going by the wayside as carriers retain F only on routes where there is significant paid interest. Behind those redemptions are alliance redemptions and behind that comes AS.
Sep 23, 2019, 11:50 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
Those "mixed cabin" partner redemption options on AA, etc. in the premium columns are all garbage. I have never seen ONE that wasn't short / positioning leg F, long leg Y.
Sep 23, 2019, 1:17 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,391
I’ve seen JL NRT-KIX Y, KIX-BKK J, AS SEA-EWR Y BA EWR-LHR J. I’ve booked AA MEX-DFW Y, DFW-SEA F. It does happen. Most of the time it’s the way you describe.
Sep 23, 2019, 1:38 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,022
This - I believe the only AS partners with F are American, BA, Cathay, Emirates, JAL, Korean (F not bookable with AS miles), and Singapore (not bookable at all). Most of those only have F on a handful of planes on specific routes - Emirates and BA probably have the most F seats, but neither are great redemption options..
Sep 23, 2019, 2:21 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,391
And now you have. Enjoy. You can now commence complaints about "AS is so cheap they won't open up award F space on a 90/120 minute flight", and this is very true on SEA-SFO/LAX redemptions where you can snag premium class flights on JL/CX- the positioning flight will almost always be in Y, with some rare exceptions (mostly involving E75s where the F/Y ratio is somewhere where AS is willing to allow A inventory to exist). A inventory is super tight on those routes, even 8-9 months in advance. That being said, if you have elite status, you still might spike the F upgrade on that positioning flight (I guess you miss out on that fabulous Alaska Lounge in SEA).
Last edited by eponymous_coward; Sep 23, 2019 at 2:30 pm
Sep 23, 2019, 2:41 pm
#15
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
And now you have. Enjoy. You can now commence complaints about "AS is so cheap they won't open up award F space on a 90/120 minute flight", and this is very true on SEA-SFO/LAX redemptions where you can snag premium class flights on JL/CX- the positioning flight will almost always be in Y, with some rare exceptions (mostly involving E75s where the F/Y ratio is somewhere where AS is willing to allow A inventory to exist). A inventory is super tight on those routes, even 8-9 months in advance. That being said, if you have elite status, you still might spike the F upgrade on that positioning flight (I guess you miss out on that fabulous Alaska Lounge in SEA).
All my JL F redemptions have been from Asia. I don't seem to have any problems finding Saver A space while backtracking on a Mainline transcon from the East Coast.
The add-on to Hawaii or Mexico after a NA stopover is usually in Main but I haven't missed an upgrade on any of those yet. James