Flying for Fun

Does the itinerary you are looking at have a segment(s) that are operated by a Q400. The aircraft doesn't have a first class cabin and hence, no upgrades are available.

As an MVP you are eligible for upgrades on any flight that has a First Class cabin as long as you purchased a Main fare & not a Saver fare.

James

hyedmd

Hi James, thanks for the response. All flights (direct and both segments of the connection flight) seem to be operated by Airbus A321. I attached a couple of screenshots (direct flight only) - am I missing something there?

Flying for Fun

Ahh, If you are looking to use a GGU or are purchasing an eligible fare, the message indicates that there is no U upgrade availability on one or more of your flighs. I see the Blue F, indicating that U space is available so you have selected an upgrade option in your search.

Without any upgrade option specified, the fares are $60 for Saver, $90 for Main & $219 for F. If you add an upgrade option, you are looking for fares that are immediately upgradeable for that status or application of an upgrade instrument. With crazy cheap F(I) fares, the Main fares eligible for immediate upgrade are much higher and obviously of no value in the current climate. Since this flight has U space availability, a 75K would pay $399 (Main H fare), a Gold would pay $499 (Main M fare) and a MVP would pay $699 (Main S fare) for immediate upgrade. The M fare has a 25% COS & the S fare has a 50% COS. Of course, purchasing the F(I) fare for $219 gives you a 75% COS and lounge access for a "slightly" lower fare.... lol. While there were anomalies pre Covid-19, there weren't nearly as prevalent as they are now.

You can't get the GGU pricing on the APP but anyone with a GGU can upgrade to F with U availability. A quick trip to the laptop reveals that the GGU fare is also $219 so it doesn't make sense to use it.

The two segment FLL-SEA-LAX itinerary is another example of a through fare. In main, FLL-SEA is $204, SEA-LAX is $114 as seperate tickets for a total of $318. Combined together on a single itinerary, the through fare is $116. AS can offer an alternate route for the same city pairs without discounting FLL-SEA or SEA-LAX.

For this flight, In Main, FLL-LAX earns 2,337 × 1.5 = 3,506 EQM, 2.57 cpm while the FLL-SEA-LAX through itinerary earns 3,666 × 1.5 = 5,499 EQM, 2.11 cpm.

In your example you have selected a Main fare, R class, which is not eligible to be upgraded either by attaching a GGU (K class or higher) or purchasing the eligible fare for your status. If you are willing to pay the $599 (F(I) as we know is cheaper) then you would be purchasing a fare that is eligible for an immediate upgrade to Premium Class based on your status. Obviously, if you bought Main and paid for the Premium Seat upgrade cost at time of booking, you would save a significant amount of money. If you wait untill your status upgrade window, you could select a Premium Seat (if any remain) complimentary.

James

hyedmd

Amazing, you're extremely helpful as always. I never really cared about getting upgraded on AS, so the upgrade process is a bit confusing. I do get upgraded almost always on UA, and I somehow found their upgrade process to be much easier and less confusing than on AS. Thank you again!

NYCRachel

I have some money expiring in my wallet on 4/30, with no immediate plans to travel due to COVID. Any tips on being able to extend the expiration date? :-\

NoLaGent

Buy a ticket with it for a date far in the future...if that trip doesn't work out, cancel before the trip and return funds to your wallet.

philemer

Where do I send an email about a service failure (no wheelchair upon arrival)?
Thx

EDIT: Is this it? https://www.alaskaair.com/feedback/general-comments

RAD_PDX

You can send it there, or as part of the Alaska Listens survey. Give it 5-7 days for a response.

philemer

Thanks!!

emag_eh7

I'm buying a fare that is eligible for GGU use, but the F is white (not blue) so there is no U space available for immediate upgrade. When checking out, should I just request complimentary upgrade instead? Or can I still apply GGU now in case that opens up, and still be on the comp upgrade list in case that doesn't work out?

First time MVPG, so still learning the ropes.

be_rettSEA

There needs to be U space (blue box w/ F) in order to use a GGU, they can't be waitlisted. If U space opens up prior to your upgrade window, you can either upfare to a GGU eligible fare (K or higher) and apply one at that time, or if you're already booked on a GGU-eligible fare, call in and ask to be removed from the waitlist and apply a GGU. You may want to use a tool like ExpertFlyer to alert you of U space, but keep in mind it can disappear pretty quickly (possibly before you even get an alert), so you'll need to act fast to snag it. Unfortunately you'll need to call in to be removed from the waitlist to apply the GGU.

In most cases, unless there's U space available, I would opt not to lock in the higher fare if a lower one is available.

emag_eh7

Only the GGU eligible higher fare is available, unfortunately. Guess I'll book that and hope for the EF alert, otherwise just take the comp upgrade waitlist for now.

Thanks!

mtofell

I'm new to MVPGold as well and it seems as though these certificates are pretty difficult to use. They sound like a nice perk but when you really distill down what they are good for I'm not sure I'll ever be able to use one.

philemer

Here's the main discussion thread on GGUs: Using (MVP Gold) Guest Upgrade (GGU) Certificates

mtofell

Thanks.... Before I thought the GGUs were not valuable.... After skimming through that thread I know for sure they aren't

Honestly, I take plenty of the blame as I am just too lazy to try to figure it all out. All the fare classes, upgrade windows, lists, etc, etc seems slightly harder to digest than college Calculus. I guess my take has always been to just take a quick look and if an upgrade fare is available I'll grab it but so far they never have been. It may just be the routes I fly.

To me, the best perks came in as a lowly MVP - being able to lock in an exit row seat at time of booking is a huge benefit. As is being able to just walk up to a live person at the airport and hand them my luggage. Previously it was 2-3 stops (at the ATM/luggage tag station, possibly at the tablet carrying "guard" at the end of the velvet ropes and finally at the counter).

As an MVPG now, the premium class upgrades and occasional first-class upgrades are nice. Based on some great advice here, I opt out of premium class waitlist and just do it myself starting at T-72 hours. The couple times I let AS do it they switched me from window to aisle or into a REALLY undesirable seat - 10A on a 737 for example - no window!!! (this is premium? They should pay me to sit there).