ftv

As a 75K Mileage Plan member, who went out of her way to qualify and re-qualify for 75K the last two years over the COVID crises, I am pretty upset over the disrespect shown to the better customers like me.

Alaska recently sent out a promotion for people who were elite but did not requalify for their elite level. People who were not as loyal to Alaska are getting requalified as 75K with only 20,000 miles flown the first quarter. Because I flew two extra trips (which I could have given to another airline, and now see I should have, but paid more to be loyal to Alaska) have to fly my full 75,000 for the same level. (The 50,000 mile bonus nor upgrade priority does not matter..they are literally penalizing people like me for our spend with Alaska.)

It is entirely appropriate to offer customers like me a similar bonus...to move UP a level (in my case, 100K) for a similar promotion, to recognize and thank us for our loyalty instead of punishing us for it. (Even if AS continues the 50 percent EQM bonus for people like us, that still means I have to fly significantly more than the person who didn't qualify.)

If this sounds like I'm infuriated, I am. Anyone else?

NoLaGent

Oh, I'm sure you're not alone. This is Flyerrtalk, after all. Plenty of infuriated folks to go around.

But I fail to see how AS disrespected you. With the 50% EQM bonus, you only had to fly 50k miles this year to achieve 75k. However, with the rollover EQM they gave from 2020, it was actually far less than that for many, probably including yourself.

HOW AWFUL OF THIS TERRIBLE AIRLINE!

Thanks for at least making me chuckle, I love posts like these. Happy Holidays!

NoLaGent

I'm looking forward to my new 100k status next month.

SF1K

AS (just like all Airlines and Hotels) is a business. They need to make decisions that will hopefully have a positive impact on the bottom line. These last two years have been extremely challenging for the industry. I think so far almost every airline and hotel program have made it easier or just extended elite status. As a lifetime WOH Globalist, lifetime MR Titanium and lifetime UA Platinum does it annoy me a bit? Sure - but I also realize these companies need to do what they need to do to make a profit.

Elite airline status isn’t what it used to be anyway. In this past year as an AA executive platinum I’ve not been upgraded. Same on UA. I currently have 14 AS GGUs, 2 AA systemwides, and 80 UA plus points and they are all nearly impossible to use.

I try to mostly buy F for my husband and I. (discounted). For me it now comes with an added benefit. I get to watch at least two extra entitled elite members walk past me to their seats in coach because they missed out on their upgrade to someone that actually paid for the seat, even though that elite is so much more “valuable” to the airline. 😂

I also got the promo to fly 20k to retain 75k. I’m most likely not going to take advantage of it as the benefits of 75k vs MVPG aren’t worth it to me personally. If it happens organically great but I’m fine without it.

Visconti

LOL...I don't know NoLaGent personally, and not that he needs any defending. I understand and appreciate [the] frustration, as I'm sure many on here do; but, it's just business, and while difficult, it's often best to try not to take it personally, at least from my perspective.

And, as NoLaGent observed, the 50% bonus and extra RDMs have all been very helpful, and we've been flying F with upgrades galore the past year. So, it's ok, in my view.

thatmikereed

Why should you care what someone else gets? You got what you got, they're getting what they get. Focus on the gain, not the gap.

eponymous_coward

Anyone who requalifies for 75K during January-April 2022 loses out on those 50k miles (read the promo terms). Any reasonable person would give those miles actual value… so in reality you are being treated better as someone who requalified by flying in 2021 than someone who has to limp in late using the promo. So perhaps you can salve your bruised feelings with that, you actually are literally coming out ahead of them in very real, dollars and cents, go fly somewhere on an award terms.

TravelingZoomer

For all the things in the world to be mad about

anteater

I am disappointed, though not mad, that glassware isn’t and won’t be available on E175’s.

Some if those routes, such as SFO-AUS, can be quite long.

eponymous_coward

You’re not going to be getting glassware back anytime soon if you can’t write a better infuriated screed than that. Why the nerve, expecting you to drink from plastic?

chrisl137

With that, plus the carry-in, plus cheap F tickets the first half of the year, my end-of-year email says I only flew 30K BIS miles to make 75K. I've got about 10K more BIS miles before the end of the year that haven't been tallied yet, but still. I'm a natural MVPG and I get 75K status for 1/3 of this year and all of next year. The 50K bonus RDM more than covered the extra cash I fronted them on F tickets the first half of the year. I'll finish about 4K short of 100, but just don't see the value in trying to get those last few EQM.

ETA: and the closest I get to doing mileage runs is to add SEA-PDX segments to my LAX/ONT-PDX trips. Usually because the schedule is better anyway.

Flying for Fun

Unless you earned 75K without the 50% EQM bonus and no carry-over EQM from January through April, 2020 then perhaps you are the "kettle" calling the pot black.

The status anyone holds beyond April 2022 is "earned" within the parameters set out by AS. You likely "earned" 75K for 2022 with the same reduced qualifications. Not sure why you would be infuriated. Are you infuriated because you can't up-Tier to 100K? The requirements to be granted 100K were dispensed in September, over 3 months ago. If you wanted to take advantage and "earn" the 100K tier while the 50% EQM bonus motored on & an opportunity to "earn" up to 20K EQM through spend, those opportunities are still there if you wish to engage. On January 1st, that opportunity, likely, will have pretty much passed.

The Elite Status extension through April 2022 and the opportunity for a MP member who fell short to retain their prior status with a challenge isn't as glamorous as it sounds. A 75K who "earned" 65K EQM in 2021 will have to fly 20,000 miles (not earn 20,000 EQM) to be extended through December 2022, effectively needing to earn 85,000 EQM & will not receive the 50K RDM bonus.

The challenge does not allow for an up-Tier nor a down-Tier qualification. An MVP can only retain MVP with 5,000 butt-in-seat flown miles. A MVPG with 10K EQM, or zero for that matter, can retain MVPG with 10K butt-in-seat flown miles but can't qualify for MVP with 5K nor MVPG75 with 20K butt-in-seat flown miles. If you don't meet the challenge, you lose your status on May 1st.

Are you infuriated when FFs from other programs challenge to AS? Effectively, this challenge is the same. The challenge differs only in that you are challenging to your current AS status and not one from AA, UA or DL.

I requalified for MVPG75K based solely on the 2021 qualification requirements of 75K EQM & 6 AS segments without any carry-over or 50% EQM bonus. Should I be infuriated that you likely got to 75K with at least the 50% EQM bonus? I am not! You "earned" 75K for 2022 within the parameters AS set out for 2021 just like I did and everyone else did or will.

In reality, my carry-over from 2020 requalified me for 2022 MVPG75K and my status updated in the first week of January. As it turned out, I qualified for MVPG100K on March 8th. With the carry-over & 50% EQM bonus, I have qualified for 75K not once, not twice, but three times. Or 100K twice and MVPG too. I have only had three EQM earning segments, two on AS & one on AA since October 17th and will finish 2021 with about 240K EQM. That doesn't include the "tens of thousands" of miles I flew on awards and other airlines, not AA. Am I infuriated that you only qualified once? Not in the slightest.

Am I infuriated that all Canadian Mileage Plan members had their Elite Status extended through December 2020 and don't have to do a challenge. Again, not in the slightest.

I "earned" my status, just like you did. Do I expect that I should get better benefits because I flew more miles? Of course not, I would expect that I receive the same benefits as everyone who "earned" their status within the parameters set out by AS. The added benefit of flying more for me is earning additional RDM.

Enjoy the status you earned, just like I will enjoy the status I earned and those that will meet the challenge will enjoy their extended status that they earned.

James

TravelingZoomer

We of course, do get more benefits for flying. Namely, the 50k RDM qualification 75k bonus you only get through passing the threshold by flying.

Flying for Fun

Yes, that is true. Perhaps I should have worded that differently. It is the OP's opinion that special treatment should be granted to those that "earned" their Status over those that "earned" their status through a status extension & a challenge. Ironically, the OP likely would not have "earned" 75K without the 50% EQM bonus but still views that status "earned" as superior to any "earned" status maintained through a challenge.

The point I was trying to make is that once you have "earned" your status, you shouldn't expect to be more Elite within your Tier and have opportunity that the "lesser" Elites in your Tier shouldn't. You should get all the benefits of an Elite Tier however AS has allowed you to earn it. Earning the 50K bonus RDM has never been part of a challenge so that really goes without saying.

James

imaflyertalkuserwow

Hol up. First, let’s set aside the EQM bonus and rollover you may or may not have taken advantage of this year since it’s already been stated well by others.

So because you feel the promo is unfair to those that earned 75K in the way you did, you should be offered an “unfair” promo to 100K? The lack of self awareness is impressive.