2022 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A Thread: All Welcome, New and Old!
Feb 1, 2022, 9:52 am
#181
Join Date: May 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: AS MVPG100, Hyatt Globalist, MGM Gold, Caesars Diamond
Posts: 636
I am a long-time AS Elite member (longer if you count VX as well). For all that time I was based in SFO, which was great for flying VX and also great for flying AS.
Anyway, I recently moved to the PHX area. I'm currently 75k but had 0 EQM last year. I'm also going on 3 years of EXP on AA despite almost never flying them (free status from a Hyatt promo, followed by 2 status extensions).
Anyway, my plan was to just fly AA, burn off my AS miles on international partner flights, and be done with AS. Nothing against the airline; they just don't serve PHX particularly well, and AA does.
But now with it being possible to keep AA status without actually crediting flights to AA, and this AS promo to retain my status if I fly 20k miles and 2 segments, I'm wondering if I should credit enough flights to AS to maintain status, and make up the shortfall on AA by earning enough loyalty points on credit card spend and shopping portals. Mileage Plan really is great; I've gotten great value from it in the past and would like to get more, and I love the huge number of partners.
The problem is the requirement for the 12 (or more likely 24, since I won't stop at 75k) AS segments. For the promo, the 20k base miles are no problem (I can do that in one round trip on SQ) but I'm having trouble finding 2 AS segments I actually want to fly. And if 2 are hard to find, how am I ever going to find 24 (or even 12)? Every single flight I look at (for somewhere I actually want to go) is 2x the price of AA (or occasionally UA or DL)
For example, the cheapest PHX-SFO flight on AS in the next 2 months is $69, but they have a $30 buy-up to main cabin. So the cost is $99 (I won't fly basic economy -- I at least want an economy plus seat). AA has a $40 main cabin fare. Obviously I'm not going to pay 2.5x to fly AS instead of AA. Considering that there is some real competition on that route (UA flies it too, as does Southwest) it seems like AS isn't even trying.
Do I just need to give up on AS now that I'm in PHX? Or am I missing something here?
Anyway, I recently moved to the PHX area. I'm currently 75k but had 0 EQM last year. I'm also going on 3 years of EXP on AA despite almost never flying them (free status from a Hyatt promo, followed by 2 status extensions).
Anyway, my plan was to just fly AA, burn off my AS miles on international partner flights, and be done with AS. Nothing against the airline; they just don't serve PHX particularly well, and AA does.
But now with it being possible to keep AA status without actually crediting flights to AA, and this AS promo to retain my status if I fly 20k miles and 2 segments, I'm wondering if I should credit enough flights to AS to maintain status, and make up the shortfall on AA by earning enough loyalty points on credit card spend and shopping portals. Mileage Plan really is great; I've gotten great value from it in the past and would like to get more, and I love the huge number of partners.
The problem is the requirement for the 12 (or more likely 24, since I won't stop at 75k) AS segments. For the promo, the 20k base miles are no problem (I can do that in one round trip on SQ) but I'm having trouble finding 2 AS segments I actually want to fly. And if 2 are hard to find, how am I ever going to find 24 (or even 12)? Every single flight I look at (for somewhere I actually want to go) is 2x the price of AA (or occasionally UA or DL)
For example, the cheapest PHX-SFO flight on AS in the next 2 months is $69, but they have a $30 buy-up to main cabin. So the cost is $99 (I won't fly basic economy -- I at least want an economy plus seat). AA has a $40 main cabin fare. Obviously I'm not going to pay 2.5x to fly AS instead of AA. Considering that there is some real competition on that route (UA flies it too, as does Southwest) it seems like AS isn't even trying.
Do I just need to give up on AS now that I'm in PHX? Or am I missing something here?
Feb 1, 2022, 11:32 am
#182
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVP 100K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, UA 1MM,
Posts: 1,709
I have a flight returning from Mexico in just over a week that does not have an option to pre-order food for First Class on. I was able to select the outbound meal as a pre-order, but not the return. It just shows "food" greyed out. The flight is 1109 miles and departs at 335pm. Is this normal?
Feb 1, 2022, 1:47 pm
#183
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: ANC
Posts: 404
I have a flight returning from Mexico in just over a week that does not have an option to pre-order food for First Class on. I was able to select the outbound meal as a pre-order, but not the return. It just shows "food" greyed out. The flight is 1109 miles and departs at 335pm. Is this normal?
Feb 1, 2022, 9:04 pm
#184
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 2
Thank you for the insights about my MVP status question. (Also, I believe it would sound friendlier to call them invitations to MVP status instead of nominations.)
Feb 2, 2022, 1:22 am
#185
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVP 100K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, UA 1MM,
Posts: 1,709
No, I'll guess it's an IT issue but I really don't know. This year I've been unable to order food in the main cabin because of the reduced service but when I've been upgraded I haven't had any problems pre-ordering. Last year before the reduced service I've seen IT issues where food ordering wasn't available but then it magically appeared a few days before the flight. You can always query customer care and they can take a look.
Feb 3, 2022, 3:11 pm
#186
Join Date: Nov 2007
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, BonVoy Platinum, Hilton Diamond, AA Exec Plat, BA Gold
Posts: 78
Trying to book MR. Can someone please help with mileage calculation i.e. how many miles (elite qualification / redeemable) will I earn with this trip .
Route: JFK-LAX-BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK
Class - Business (R)
All flights are booked via AA however BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK segments are operated by JL (with AA numbers)
Also, I have MVPG status with Alaska.
Thanks in advance.
Route: JFK-LAX-BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK
Class - Business (R)
All flights are booked via AA however BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK segments are operated by JL (with AA numbers)
Also, I have MVPG status with Alaska.
Thanks in advance.
Feb 3, 2022, 3:23 pm
#187
Join Date: Dec 2021
Programs: Alaska Mileage Plan - MVP Gold
Posts: 183
Trying to book MR. Can someone please help with mileage calculation i.e. how many miles (elite qualification / redeemable) will I earn with this trip .
Route: JFK-LAX-BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK
Class - Business (R)
All flights are booked via AA however BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK segments are operated by JL (with AA numbers)
Also, I have MVPG status with Alaska.
Thanks in advance.
Route: JFK-LAX-BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK
Class - Business (R)
All flights are booked via AA however BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK segments are operated by JL (with AA numbers)
Also, I have MVPG status with Alaska.
Thanks in advance.
Flights marketed by AA and operated by another oneworld airline earn according to the AA chart.
In AA R class, that's 150% EQM and RDM. 24301 * 1.5 = 36451.5. So you'll get right around that in EQM.
Then as MVPG you'll get +100% RDM. 36451.5 * 2 = 72903 RDM.
Note that those aren't going to be exact, I've found that AS's distances are slightly different, but should be close to that.
Feb 3, 2022, 4:04 pm
#188
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75k
Posts: 922
I am a long-time AS Elite member (longer if you count VX as well). For all that time I was based in SFO, which was great for flying VX and also great for flying AS.
Anyway, I recently moved to the PHX area. I'm currently 75k but had 0 EQM last year. I'm also going on 3 years of EXP on AA despite almost never flying them (free status from a Hyatt promo, followed by 2 status extensions).
Anyway, my plan was to just fly AA, burn off my AS miles on international partner flights, and be done with AS. Nothing against the airline; they just don't serve PHX particularly well, and AA does.
But now with it being possible to keep AA status without actually crediting flights to AA, and this AS promo to retain my status if I fly 20k miles and 2 segments, I'm wondering if I should credit enough flights to AS to maintain status, and make up the shortfall on AA by earning enough loyalty points on credit card spend and shopping portals. Mileage Plan really is great; I've gotten great value from it in the past and would like to get more, and I love the huge number of partners.
The problem is the requirement for the 12 (or more likely 24, since I won't stop at 75k) AS segments. For the promo, the 20k base miles are no problem (I can do that in one round trip on SQ) but I'm having trouble finding 2 AS segments I actually want to fly. And if 2 are hard to find, how am I ever going to find 24 (or even 12)? Every single flight I look at (for somewhere I actually want to go) is 2x the price of AA (or occasionally UA or DL)
For example, the cheapest PHX-SFO flight on AS in the next 2 months is $69, but they have a $30 buy-up to main cabin. So the cost is $99 (I won't fly basic economy -- I at least want an economy plus seat). AA has a $40 main cabin fare. Obviously I'm not going to pay 2.5x to fly AS instead of AA. Considering that there is some real competition on that route (UA flies it too, as does Southwest) it seems like AS isn't even trying.
Do I just need to give up on AS now that I'm in PHX? Or am I missing something here?
Anyway, I recently moved to the PHX area. I'm currently 75k but had 0 EQM last year. I'm also going on 3 years of EXP on AA despite almost never flying them (free status from a Hyatt promo, followed by 2 status extensions).
Anyway, my plan was to just fly AA, burn off my AS miles on international partner flights, and be done with AS. Nothing against the airline; they just don't serve PHX particularly well, and AA does.
But now with it being possible to keep AA status without actually crediting flights to AA, and this AS promo to retain my status if I fly 20k miles and 2 segments, I'm wondering if I should credit enough flights to AS to maintain status, and make up the shortfall on AA by earning enough loyalty points on credit card spend and shopping portals. Mileage Plan really is great; I've gotten great value from it in the past and would like to get more, and I love the huge number of partners.
The problem is the requirement for the 12 (or more likely 24, since I won't stop at 75k) AS segments. For the promo, the 20k base miles are no problem (I can do that in one round trip on SQ) but I'm having trouble finding 2 AS segments I actually want to fly. And if 2 are hard to find, how am I ever going to find 24 (or even 12)? Every single flight I look at (for somewhere I actually want to go) is 2x the price of AA (or occasionally UA or DL)
For example, the cheapest PHX-SFO flight on AS in the next 2 months is $69, but they have a $30 buy-up to main cabin. So the cost is $99 (I won't fly basic economy -- I at least want an economy plus seat). AA has a $40 main cabin fare. Obviously I'm not going to pay 2.5x to fly AS instead of AA. Considering that there is some real competition on that route (UA flies it too, as does Southwest) it seems like AS isn't even trying.
Do I just need to give up on AS now that I'm in PHX? Or am I missing something here?
The more in depth answer is really a question: where do you fly? The price difference is an issue, but you also need to look at schedule and frequency as well. If you're doing PHX-SFO 30 times a year, sticking with AS and their 1x daily on an E175 would be vastly inferior to AA's 3x mainline dailies. If you miss a flight, what are your alternatives to getting home? Waiting a few hours for the next direct, or taking a multi stop route and losing 10 hours, or having to wait until the next day?
Feb 3, 2022, 4:06 pm
#189
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75k
Posts: 922
LAX and LAS are both weird airports without a dominant player. So, same deal - where do you fly? It might be harder to stick to one airline out of LAS.
Feb 3, 2022, 4:25 pm
#190
Join Date: Nov 2007
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, BonVoy Platinum, Hilton Diamond, AA Exec Plat, BA Gold
Posts: 78
JFK-LAX-BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK is 24301 miles according to https://www.greatcirclemap.com/?rout...ND-JFK&unit=mi
Flights marketed by AA and operated by another oneworld airline earn according to the AA chart.
In AA R class, that's 150% EQM and RDM. 24301 * 1.5 = 36451.5. So you'll get right around that in EQM.
Then as MVPG you'll get +100% RDM. 36451.5 * 2 = 72903 RDM.
Note that those aren't going to be exact, I've found that AS's distances are slightly different, but should be close to that.
Flights marketed by AA and operated by another oneworld airline earn according to the AA chart.
In AA R class, that's 150% EQM and RDM. 24301 * 1.5 = 36451.5. So you'll get right around that in EQM.
Then as MVPG you'll get +100% RDM. 36451.5 * 2 = 72903 RDM.
Note that those aren't going to be exact, I've found that AS's distances are slightly different, but should be close to that.
Feb 3, 2022, 4:54 pm
#191
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
JFK-LAX-BOS-NRT-BKK-HND-JFK is 24301 miles according to https://www.greatcirclemap.com/?rout...ND-JFK&unit=mi
Flights marketed by AA and operated by another oneworld airline earn according to the AA chart.
In AA R class, that's 150% EQM and RDM. 24301 * 1.5 = 36451.5. So you'll get right around that in EQM.
Then as MVPG you'll get +100% RDM. 36451.5 * 2 = 72903 RDM.
Note that those aren't going to be exact, I've found that AS's distances are slightly different, but should be close to that.
Flights marketed by AA and operated by another oneworld airline earn according to the AA chart.
In AA R class, that's 150% EQM and RDM. 24301 * 1.5 = 36451.5. So you'll get right around that in EQM.
Then as MVPG you'll get +100% RDM. 36451.5 * 2 = 72903 RDM.
Note that those aren't going to be exact, I've found that AS's distances are slightly different, but should be close to that.
Feb 3, 2022, 5:04 pm
#192
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
James
Last edited by Flying for Fun; Feb 3, 2022 at 5:22 pm
Feb 3, 2022, 5:21 pm
#194
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
Feb 3, 2022, 5:32 pm
#195
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
The obvious answer is to, yes, abandon AS for AA and be a hub captive. It should be relatively painless since you'd be starting with EXP.
The more in depth answer is really a question: where do you fly? The price difference is an issue, but you also need to look at schedule and frequency as well. If you're doing PHX-SFO 30 times a year, sticking with AS and their 1x daily on an E175 would be vastly inferior to AA's 3x mainline dailies. If you miss a flight, what are your alternatives to getting home? Waiting a few hours for the next direct, or taking a multi stop route and losing 10 hours, or having to wait until the next day?
The more in depth answer is really a question: where do you fly? The price difference is an issue, but you also need to look at schedule and frequency as well. If you're doing PHX-SFO 30 times a year, sticking with AS and their 1x daily on an E175 would be vastly inferior to AA's 3x mainline dailies. If you miss a flight, what are your alternatives to getting home? Waiting a few hours for the next direct, or taking a multi stop route and losing 10 hours, or having to wait until the next day?
I mostly like AS as a place to credit international partner flights to. The miles are worth more than AA IMO and you generally get more of them. So I'd like to keep AS status so I can get the elite bonuses and also have OWE benefits when flying those partner flights with my AS number attached. Without the AS elite bonus I may as well just credit everything to AA and get the 120% elite bonus there.
I totally get that the segment requirements are there to prevent people from using AS as a mileage wallet. I've never done that before (when I was in SF the bulk of my domestic flying was on AS) but that's really what I want to do now. I'm trying to find a way to make it work but it's not looking good.