be_rettSEA

I may be wrong (I've never flown it), but I believe the milk run would be considered a direct flight with multiple stops btw ANC/SEA vs unique flight segments between each of the stops along the way. It would credit the same # of miles and segments (1) as a nonstop between the two cities.

tobikosan

I have a AS miles DUB-BOS OW ticket, need a BOS-DUB a few weeks earlier. On Aer lingus a BOS-DUB-BOS round trip is cheaper than a OW BOS-DUB, can I buy a RT and fly back with a paid economy and mileage Business on same flight? Can I get miles for the paid if I do? Is there a trick to upgrade the return instead? The DUB-BOS cost AS 60K miles FYI

Ford Fairlane

I don't think this deserves a new thread and nearly put it in the Bored Room thread, but...

Starting Dec. 16, flights from SEA to places like IND, CMH, CLE, CVG, and DTW are between $529 and $729 OW in Main. I get that the Dec. holiday season starts then, but I can't recall ever seeing prices so high to that part of the country unless it was a very full flight a few days out.

Was I simply not paying attention to these routes for the latter half of Dec. in previous (pre-pandemic) years, or is all this unprecedented and off-the-charts insane?

There are barely any seats reserved so far on these flights. Does AS really expect people will bite the bullet and pay these prices to take the whole family back to see Grandma and Grandpa for the holidays?

I realize a good answer to this will be yet another link to https://magic-8ball.com/, but I'm interested in any informed speculations.

Edit: FWIW...

Sounds legit.

FlyFreakquently

Is it possible to put Alaska flights on hold? I'm not seeing any option to do so on the checkout page

GW McLintock

Nope... that's an old-school AA thing.

You can book a ticket and always cancel for a full refund within 24 hours per DOT rules. Alaska is very good about this.

-J.

FlyFreakquently

Wow, AA isn't all bad after all.

writetorich

OK, So I already know the very quirky rules about using a guest upgrade certificate at the time of purchase IF no first class space is available ( No shaded blue)
It's counter intuitive because the upgrade requested is supported by an instrument as opposed to a free complementary elite upgrade. But whatever, it is what it is.

Full mileage redemption.-- Alaska miles on Alaska website on Alaska metal.
The mileage upgrade , miles required is the same as coach.
will choosing "mileage upgrade" put us first on the list???
It's 50K miles per person, per way for both Coach and first class upgrade.
Advice which to pick?

remyjette

If they're the same, it doesn't matter which one you pick.

All the "upgrade" column does is help you pick the fare class you want to book. Specifically, it ensures that the fare class is at least the minimum required for an instant upgrade at the selected status level. If the cheapest Main fare available is already in one of those fare classes eligible for instant upgrade, then they'll show the same price and selecting either will have the same result as it'll select the same fare class either way.

As far as where you'll be on the list, that follows the normal upgrade list ordering, the fact that you're booking an award ticket doesn't change that. So anyone with a higher tier of status will have higher priority for upgrades.

writetorich

I thought no.


That is why I thought the Award upgrade was a little better even if only sightly more miles .

SeaLuggageLover

Yes, you can receive complimentary upgrades on mileage awards, you just can't use a GGU.

whackedspinach

I tallied up all of my remaining flights this year and will be sitting just short of 60k EQM on Alaska. I currently do not have status. Should I push to try to hit MVP Gold 75k? I have Thanksgiving week free and would be willing to take a trip ex-SEA to rack up some miles. At first I thought SEA-LHR-ARN RT might be a good route on BA, but it seems those fare codes only earn 50% EQM, so not sure if there is a better partner option that would earn 100% EQM.

SeaLuggageLover

Whether it's worth it is individual. I can say that personally, I"ve enjoyed the increased benefits of 75k a lot. The benefits I value the most are: being able to nominate my bf as an MVP (this is especially helpful when we're traveling separately or under different reservations), getting upgraded to first class more frequently, premium seats at the time of booking, increased baggage allowance (mostly valuable when I'm traveling with non-status companions because I can check their bags), and the 4 lounge passes. My suggestions would be to add up the cash value of the benefits you would use/enjoy the most and weigh them against the cost of mileage runs.

Finkface

Don't forget that 75k requires 12 flights on AS metal (includes QX and OO flights) so make sure you will have that if you decide to go for 75k.

My personal opinion as a 75k is that, depending on what it will cost to earn that extra 15k miles that you need, the jump from Gold to 75k isn't worth it. YMMV of course.

ssk244

I'm in a similar boat but I'm currently 75k and after all my current fall travel plans I'll be about 17k miles short of renewing 75k for next year. Currently of the mind that it's not worth it (while I will miss some of the 75k benefits, namely PE seats at booking and frequent-ish upgrades) but that's ultimately up to you. If I were maybe just 1 RT transcon away from reaching it that'd be a no-brainer, but at 17k miles it's likely a no for me.

TravelingZoomer

If your other plans are already booked and settled and you would take those flights anyways, would 50k RDM in addition to the other benefits worth 17k?