anteater

There is no current plan to modified existing MM benefits or future MM flyers obtained after the 100K tier is released.

Xrayman

100K AS tin and 125 with partner miles?

I would say 75K on only AS tin is a more valuable relationship for AS than 100K with majority on partner carrier tin.

Been 75K for Many consecutive years now and 100K not typically a problem in non pandemic times. But if 100K=100k regardless of partner carrier than can reduce #of trips domestic a d do 3-4 international a year in place.

Eastbay1K

Why do you say that? 100K with "majority on partner carrier" means AS gets paid $$$ from partner carriers and it doesn't cost AS anything until redemption time. And if you're not flying AS much, AS isn't giving you many out of pocket cost benefits. And for those with AS status worried about benefits competition, other than upgrade space, what is the competition? And for upgrade space, if these folks (and I could be one of them) are flying primarily on partners, we aren't taking your UG space away.

Now, as for the MMers - AS, are you listening? I am a UA MM. I've been a UA MM since the early 2000s and since the first M, I've flown only about 200K miles. When I became MM, the piece of mind of being Premier Executive "for life" was really appealing. #2 in the pecking order, after 1K (which I had been for years). And then GS came, and then CO came and decided that UA MMs were as valuable as ... and accordingly, a "lifetime of loyalty" went out 1L (occasionally 2L) as I now found myself 4th on the pecking order, after GS, 1K, and PP. If AS does anything close to what UA/CO did with its MMers, there are going to be a lot of really unhappy people. The AS MMers really have contorted nether regions from sitting a million miles in AS seats, and deserve no less than second tier in the pecking order, always, no matter now many levels there may be to peck.

Picture it. A high capacity config UA 777 a couple of years ago. An MMer in paid F. I boarded according to my "place" and nearly 100 people boarded before I did. AS, please never do that do your MMers, even if you ever have 300+ capacity jets.

chrisl137

That's why UA switching to revenue based didn't bother me, though I ultimately have moved all my personal and much of my business travel off UA.

Most of my business travel is domestic transcon Y (a Y cabin only policy) booked less than a week out. I had multiple years where my EQD was enough for Plat, but my EQM would fall between Silver and Gold, so my only benefit was competing for a few E+ seats if I was on top of things as the single 1K got an upgrade to F. On the bright side, I had a very good record of getting exit row aisles with the only empty seat on the plane the middle next to me on tickets purchased less than a week out.

If AS starts handing out upgrade priority to people doing a few transpacs (often at very low cpm), they pretty much become like UA was and there's not a lot of value to the FF program for domestic flyers, whether up and down the west coast or transcon. If they give AA elites priority over AS flyers, they'd start looking like WN for anybody who isn't doing transpacs, whether as a mileage run or for some work/leisure purpose.

ItsAnAdam

Ok this is *HILARIOUS* (and it now makes me feel a bit bad for MM and their nether regions). But also so true. I'm not even a MM and I don't think we should be out here de-valuing MM status because if you've put in the BIS miles you rightfully earned your upgrade priority.

bostonbali

This is my concern exactly. A few longhauls go a long way to earning 100K/year. It's much harder to earn 100K on trips up and down the west coast, or even with transcons.

Single_Flyer

I'd like to see a VERY high number of required AS metal segments for the 100K level. Like 20+. Keep it for the truly loyal.

Visconti

A higher number than 4 (or, was it 6?) would probably strike a better balance. Not that I'd want to undermine my own self interest here, but the moment I've met the partner miles threshold and my 4 (or, 6) segments, all of my ultra short flights are viewed with complete indifference. A segment qualifier would tip the scales towards AS's a favor, and would result, at lest in my case, and likely capture that portion of my marginal revenue.

WillTravel4Food

For the past three years (2017-2019) I averaged 90K miles all on AS doing almost all SEA-<east coast>. I would be most displeased if a 100K with only 10K miles on AS were to bump me below them on the upgrade list. Granted, it would be a rare occasion where a specific100K would actually be flying on AS. However, there could be so many of them on the books that there would inevitably be one or two on every one of those transcons. But then again, unless you're paying a full Y fare on a Monday SEA-DCA or Friday DCA-SEA flight the odds of getting an upgrade are near zero. The upgrade list is always in the 60-90 range and it's not uncommon to see Members of the House and/or Senate in middle seats. I guess in reality, the issue is not that big but it could affect me personally so it's devastating.

Seattlenerd

While this makes bean-counter sense ("we're giving you what we promised") it doesn't necessarily make marketing/customer care sense ('we're giving you what you expected"). Million Mile Flyers are not just long-standing Alaska Airlines customers, they are ambassadors for the airline. AS can choose to see them as a liability (they get free stuff for life) or an asset to be gently leveraged, especially for recovering from difficult times like these. I hope this is one area in which AS reconsiders any decision regarding lowering the mapping of Million Mile and perhaps Two Million Mile status to annual tiers.

It'll also be interesting what AS decides to name the new 100K tier. When I was on the AS Gold Advisory Board around the time of the MVP Gold 75K introduction, the airline specifically chose to name it the way it did to indicate it was simply a higher level of Gold, so as not to imply they were going to devalue benefits achieved by those at the MVP Gold level. (That lessened value may have happened naturally later.) Among the names under consideration for the top tier that became MVP Gold 75K was MVP Onyx. I'll be curious to see what the new naming schema is for the new level, and if the other levels of MVP are renamed in concert.

Erasmus

In what world is 20 segments VERY high? The longest AS routes are about 2.5K. Even if flown in F, that credits at 4375, so still requires 22 segments. I think most of us that earn even 75K on AS metal are pushing double that. As a west coast flyer, a couple of years ago I flew 30 segments on AS and barely cleared MVPG! I'd be completely in support of a high segment number, as it also is a proxy for EQDs---keeps MRs from just grabbing $139 transcons and out-competing those of us who are on planes with regularity, but rational routes (e.g., intra-California).

anteater

How about MVP Ambassador!

HeyItsMK

I've also noticed a change in the limited data points/flights I've took recently. Up until the end of 2020, I've been thanked for being a 75K, but ever since the start of this new year, I've been thanked for being a Gold with no mention of 75K.

Also just throwing everything on the table, they could either go the Aeroplan route and just have it named for the amount of miles required to achieve that level (MVP 20/40/75/100K) or just go with the next step of the current system with MVP Platinum 100K.

HeyItsMK

I think this could be a good idea for people invited for the Advisory Panel

Fredd

OTOH IHG already makes use of it.