jsguyrus

If this rolls out at the same speed as the SFO lounge or the SEA C lounge, we all have about a decade before we have to worry about it.

jiburi

I think it’s time for new tier. There had been too many 75K on upgrade roster pre-pandemic....

I don’t recall any confirmation on the pecking order of complimentary upgrades. My expectation is AA members are bottom of all AS elites, and AS members might be bottom of all AA elites on AA flights. The only time they might be confirmed F ahead up comp upgrade might be due to booking F near booking. That would be the fairest of all.

DL has too many people on the upgrade roster... When everyone is elite, no one is. Status there cost way too much for little actual miles earned/ benefit.

.
DL is so cheap, they only give silver for MM and gold for 2MM. Even worse, annual benefit can easily be reduced at any time. You might have annual Gold now, you might have much less in coming years...

Jiburi

eddiehuang97

Can they at least fix their upgrade system before adopting a new level?

ItsAnAdam

I was gonna say the same thing--especially if that's one of the expanded benefits. Cause rn as a 75k afaik the system still has issues where if there's only 1 F seat open at a time it'll upgrade MVPs over me + 1 companion... so, for example, if the new 100k status allows the elite + 3 companions (instead of just 1) that's going to be a useless benefit until major IT issues are fixed. AS please pick better priorities!!!!

jiburi

Transparency is something that is off currently. I’ve noticed that upgrade lists we see is not the same as gate. Our roster we see on app is mostly alphabetical which is not what gate sees. Our List isn’t the actual roster, and you shouldn’t react based on what you see on app, as alphabetical upgrade isn’t fair whose last name might be Zycoff, FYI.

jiburi

PS-UA has the best list with correct roster for every cabin.

anteater

Ok, so after my discussion with AS today:

• The 100K tier is still in the works and they have limited publicly releasable information simply due to the fact that they are still building it.
  • It will also have a minimum segment qualifier
  • It is not scheduled to be adopted until 2022 at the earliest
  • If released in 2022 it would likely be based upon 2022 activity. They may include 2021 activity for 2022 status (e.g. flew 100k + min segs in 2021 and you could be 100k tier in 2022), but the outlook on that was remote due to the current stage of the tier.
  • They really are considering all options for this tier in terms benefits and of qualifying via segments, perks for regional or international flyers.
• AS has not finalized and is still considering how to prioritize reciprocal upgrades on AS metal for AA/AS elites
• Minimum segment qualifiers for each tier will stay.
• EQ Segments will be on AS metal only
• AS does not plan to introduce EQD's
• AS is working on additional benefits to offset the reduced value of SDC / cancellation waivers for Gold / 75K.
• AS is observing travel patterns for this year and considering how to provide value to grounded business travellers into 2022.
• AS is aware that its network is not as robust for long-haul (high distance travelled) trips compared to partners and is carefully considering how to reward AS loyalty / preserve benefits for AS elites.

AS is encouraging feedback on the new tier, so please do write or call Alaska to express your comments, feedback, or concerns.

RAD_PDX

Thanks for all of the great info!

Probably scratching their heads, wondering why I need to go to Fort Lauderdale 3 times a week

ItsAnAdam

same here, they're probably wondering why I took 5 Saturdays in a row to fly to SEA for about 2 hours before flying back, and plan to do the same thing later this year lol

NoLaGent

Is this where the return of booze and my unicorn come into play?

anteater

I did ask about spirits, pending a reply on that one. I don’t think anyone misses their inflight bourbon more than I do.

As for the unicorn.. didn’t ask.

seacarl

This issue is not purely an IT problem, but a general logic problem, and it has existed on many airlines.

In a nutshell, here is the problem: Top elite member has two people in the PNR. A single seat opens up for upgrade. What do you do?

It's not a question of programming the correct behavior, it is a question of defining the correct behavior. And the correct behavior may well vary based on who the passengers are. Some passengers would say that having one upgraded and one in coach is better than both in coach. Others would say that staying together is better.

In addition to that question, there is the question of what is the correct behavior if #1-2 on the list is a top elite (75K) and the low companion (MVP) and #3 on the list is another 75K who paid the same but bought the ticket later. Who has first dibs? Even if another seat may open up?

I do think it is a bit of a punt when a single seat is released early in the process, and more are potentially going to be released, to automatically upgrade lower elites. E.g. there is a 75K with an MVP on one res, one seat opens, some other MVP gets upgraded, then another seat opens, another MVP gets upgraded. Etc. until the seats are gone and 75K with MVP never had a chance. This does happen. It could be avoided through more thoughtful programming (for example not upgrading a lower elite when there are unsold seats that could become available for upgrade - but then the single U seat should not be release for GGU upgrades or new qualifying fare sales, or should it?)

There are some hard questions to answer about how to process, especially given fairly small 12-16 seat F cabins. I don't think that anyone has thought about it.

In the meantime the process seems to be that when a single seat becomes available, the highest status in a single reservation gets it, and people with two pax in a PNR get skipped not matter how high their status. If your partner is at least MVPG, I would always just purchase in two separate reservations and live with the occasional single upgrade.

Anyway, it's not just an IT problem. It's figuring out a policy. And no one has bothered.

Seattlenerd

Good question, as Million Mile Flyer status (I'm also one, as of 2013) is butt-in-seat miles on AS metal only—no partner miles apply—which is still a relatively high and slightly different bar than the annual status thresholds which can include partner miles. Two Million Mile Flyer status members get MVP Gold 75K for life.

ItsAnAdam

Oh no I totally agree, but this is what I was referring to--the situations where they release F seats 1 at a time, which skips over any two-person reservations on the upgrade list. I know part of the issue is policy, but part of it is also coding problems that could and probably should be resolved alongside a decision on an actual policy. Especially if they are considering allowing 100ks to upgrade more than just 1 other person, because like you said the cabins are small so if a 100k was theoretically allowed to upgrade 3 other people (as opposed to a 75k being allowed only 1 companion) that could cause further problems with relatively small first and premium class cabins. Which really just leads back to the bigger discussion of what benefits are left to give that will actually be usable and not severely diminish benefits for other elites.

As for the million miler issue, could this mean we get a 3 million tier? (not trying to give them any ideas lol)

anteater

I did raise this issue as well - million milers with respect to a new top tier. Pending reply.

jrl767

it REALLY doesn't make sense to establish a policy that's so wide-open in terms of variable human response

I'd venture to guess that the same person might respond differently, depending on the scenario: #1 on list, traveling with companion = "OF COURSE YOU CLEAR ONE"; #3 on list, traveling solo = "OF COURSE YOU SKIP BOTH"

that's how DL has mechanized it for a long time ... with a recent change being that both now clear at the higher status window