beckoa

Didn't see this posted elsewhere; ANC RED-EYE mentioned to me tonight that PP would no longer be accepted in either ANC or PDX Alaska Lounges.

Being based in ANC, this is a disturbing revelation. Yes, access has been hit or miss recently with crowding. And the recent "remodel" did not add any seats that could have increased capacity.

I'd get an Alaska Lounge membership again, but its very limited, and the partnership with AA is rocky at best... plus the AMEX CL's put the Alaska Lounges to shame.

Why oh why does AS have to make it this hard?

Sincerely, a frustrated Mileage Plan Member

~beckoa

Conflipper

I had the agent at PDX mention to me that in the next 2-3 years. They plan to make PDX lounge 2-3X larger than what it is currently. Weather or not that is true I dont know. Also it wont help with PP. But anytime I walk up I always see the sign posted that they are not accepting PP right now anyways so I am kinda shocked it took this long to get rid of it.

beckoa

PDX lounge was wide open this morning. Denied entry. Contacted Alaska expressing my frustrations.

Chugach

Good. ANC isn’t as bad, but PDX is packed more often than not. Too many times I’ll go in there, can’t find a place to sit, so I’ll use the facilities, get a cup of coffee to go, and leave. It stinks for PP users, but honestly AS’ first priority should be people who have Lounge memberships.

scubadu

Literally, the title of your thread and the picture that you posted clearly state that as of 11/1/2019 (i.e. today) the PDX lounge is no longer part of PP.

Why in the world would you have expected entry once it has officially left PP?

Regards

eponymous_coward

Pretty easy: they want to drive memberships into Alaska Lounge, keep the lounges less crowded, and they’re not all that interested in PP $. Simple as that. They’re good beancounters. Sometimes the beans are not on our side as fliers.

JacksonFlyer

I believe the closure of the PDX Alaska Lounge to PP was announced shortly after it was announced that SEA was closed to that program. I have PP as well as access to the Centurion Lounge and a member of the Alaska Lounge and frankly, I saw this coming for awhile based on the number of times the sign was out. PDX for the most part is crowded; I have walked in and watch a crowd of six blossom to almost a full lounge in a matter of twenty minutes. I enjoy the variety of SEA, but seldom do I see anything "empty". The Seattle Centurion Lounge is getting that way currently. I guess there are a lot of Platinum Card holders. I pay the membership for AL as I want the options, even if they may become limited. I am sorry for PP but to be honest, having less people in the lounge is good for me.

notquiteaff

you don’t read Priority Pass and Denied Entry at Alaska Lounges Because of Space - 2019 and Later religiously?

beckoa

I was blindsided by this last night.

Seems AS wasn't - I've had some positive experiences with AS before. This wasn't one of them.

(As an aside, I was surprised I even had time to stop over there; ANC-PDX arrived early and I was ticketed on a 30 minute cxn)

RAD_PDX

Great news!!! Thank you Alaska! This will definitely help the overcrowing at PDX.

Often1

PP makes all the sense in the world if it is bringing in infrequent AS passengers AND PP is paying a sufficient amount to make the deal worth it.

But, if PP is cannibalizing the AS customer base and then not paying enough to make it worth it, AS is left with the short end of the stick.

In any event, I am far from certain that the current PP business model survives for long. Reimbursement requirements are rising as carriers cut back and the fee cannot possibly support long-term growth. Movie Pass, Jr.

scubadu

Eh... ok. The inability to access PDX whether officially in or out of PP has been stunningly well documented in this forum over the past several years. I can't for the life of me understand why you would have been "expecting" access at PDX even if this sudden withdrawal hadn't occurred.

Sorry, but I don't see how not getting into PDX Boardroom using PP could possibly "blindside" any active participant in the AS forum given the history

Regards

JacksonFlyer

I've had some positive experiences with AS before.....

Really? You are a million mile flyer on AS and you only have had "some" positive experiences? I do not fly near as much as you do and I have had a LOT of great experiences with AS and their employees. Oh sure, there is a breakdown in their level of service from time to time but I have enjoyed this airline, their flight crews, GAs, CSRs and many others consistently. I get you are disappointed in the loss of a privilege that was offered by a credit card that AS did not find beneficial and I also get that you might not have been informed of that, but that can't wipe out your entire experience with AS.

lax.sea.jnu

I'm an Alaska lounge member, and generally when I'm able to stop by a lounge (which isn't too often as I'm SFO-based) I find the lounges very crowded. Almost without fail, I see lounge attendants having to argue with angry PP customers about why they aren't allowed into the lounge. This must get old for the lounge agents.

PDXPremier

I was a PPer every year through Ameriprise AMEX Plat and was always frustrated by the sign being out at PDX and LAX, but when the first year free promotion finally disappeared earlier this year, I realized that I finally needed to bite the bullet and get the AS Lounge membership. Honestly, after just 3 months, I've used it quite a bit and I particularly like the fact that I can use it on arrival and one membership gets my entire family entry unlike at the AMEX CL where both myself and spouse needed the AMEX card. It's nice not having to worry about the "sign" being out