Flyertalker001342

The clock struck midnight 12/31, and there wasn't even a lump of coal on my plate .

I had a 2 year run of, first, MVP, and then MVP Gold, last year, on account of various pandemic-era status promotions AS offered in the last couple of years. I was upgraded on a few short haul flights where it didn't make much difference, and once had a fee waived on a same day flight change. That's the sum total of the benefits I got from AS MVP and MVP Gold status.

So, I was MVP Gold a couple of days ago, and apparently John Q. Public, today. Not that this matters, since I do most of my miles on BA and I have Emerald status with them. I (obviously erroneously) thought they would soft land me to MVP, but I guess they don't do that, or they chose not to do that with me.

jerry a. laska

AS does not have a soft landing. AS is offering a fast track to allow elites to regain their status:
Get On the Fast Track to Elite Status - 2023 Fast Track Promo

Flyertalker001342

I was aware of this promotion, but do thank you anyway for pointing it out here.

I considered doing this for a nanosecond, but the way the AS program is set up and with my own pattern of flying (lots of short haul AS flights which I generally book in First anyway), plus way more miles flown annually on BA than on AS, it just doesn't make much sense. If I requalified as MVP Gold, I'd still have lower status with AS (sapphire) than my emerald status with BA. I already have quite a few AS flight reservations booked in the coming year, but nowhere near enough during the promotional period. It would cost way more to fly a mileage run than the benefits I'd likely get from the status, not to mention I don't really have the time for it anyway. I just requalified for BA Gold/ OWE which gives me that status until the end of Sept. 2024. I've also got AS and BA miles/Avios I'd like to deplete before they get even more devalued than they already are.

I was just somewhat surprised that AS doesn't soft-land. From a business standpoint, I'm not sure that is such a good idea on the part of AS. In my case, it would make zero difference to my pattern of flying and who I fly with, but to some other people I can see it as breaking a relationship that is probably easier to maintain then it is to replace (with another flyer).

jerry a. laska

AS just doesn't offer soft landings and it has never been a feature of the program. They have traditionally offered some sort of buy back (this year's offers here) or the fast track/challenge to earn status back in the first quarter.

Also see:
Just Short of Elite - How to Keep Your Status
Consolidated 2018 Soft Landing (Renew MVP/Gold/75k) Status Offers
Alaska Elite Level over at 12/31 not 02/31(of next year)
Is there a softlanding from MVPG?
Is there a "grace period" when losing status?

Flyertalker001342

Thank you.

AS status is worthwhile if you fly AS a lot and you book or your company books you in economy class.

The longest flight I ever take with AS is 2 hours in duration, and it is most commonly served by a regional jet operated by either Skywest or Horizon (between BOI and SAN). My other route is BOI-SEA, generally when I'm connecting on to a BA flight to LHR. Neither of these routes costs very much in most situations when booked in J, and the J-ticket gives valuable Tier Points on BA that I can often use. The J-ticket also gave lounge access at SEA, which was occasionally of value to me, however AS is removing that benefit on shorter flights but I continue to get it by virtue of my BA status when the tickets are booked using my BA EC frequent flyer number.

It simply made no sense for me to be a middling level FF in both the BA and AS programs, when I could be an upper level member in one of them, and BA made the most sense for my pattern of flying and the benefits I'd get from it.

Repooc17

No US carriers have published soft landing policies, including AS. Status holders are bloated across US carriers, there are little reasons or incentives to offer soft landing.

Just because BA does it does not mean other carriers must follow suit.

Credit cards are lucrative and brings in the dough for US airlines.

Flyertalker001342

I've never personally benefitted from a BA soft landing, although I do know that this exists.

One could argue that status holders are bloated across all Western carriers, not just in the US.

US carriers trade in seat upgrades, and foreign carriers (if BA is representative) trade in lounge access, better service, and dedicated phone lines that actually get answered.

rune87

I'm sorry..but man does this post reek of entitlement. You didn't meet the requirements, you don't get the status and benefits. Not only that your past 2 years were essentially short tracked gifts as it was. If anyone in here has a right to be miffed at the moment its the 75k that earned their status and now AS is giving away an easy regain, bloating those ranks yet again, but I digress.

imaflyertalkuserwow

BRB, gonna go post my frustration about not getting a soft landing from IHG Diamond status despite staying only three nights in 2022 while maintaining status with another program.

Kacee

Curious why you think they should, given that you failed to meet the qualification requirements.

Flying for Fun

My partner was 75K on December 31st, January 1st he is a Member. Wrinkles, including but not limited to Covid didn't allow plans to come to fruition. Poor him? No! He didn't qualify for any status. Why should he get a soft landing? Do you think it would be good practice to get MVPG every other year and drop to MVP in between for perpetual status? I don't think so!

James

hsumh316

I don’t think a comparison can be made between BA gold and AS MVP gold as they aren’t tiers of the same level for service and/or dedicated phone lines. It sounds like OP had already made up your mind on not crediting to AS and if crediting to BA works for you great!

OP is also saying that there isn’t much benefit to having status on AS and then proceed to ask why there isn’t soft landing to status. AS is also competing with other US carriers for the most part and none have soft landings so not sure how switching to a different carrier will be any different. The benefits across the US airlines are very similar.

Flyertalker001342

Pleeeeez, AS fanboys (all of you above who think I posted that I DESERVED) a soft landing.

I said nothing of the sort, I just made the observation. I don't think I'm entitled to anything, and whatever little I received from AS in the way of perks while I had status were things I did not pay for and did not deserve.

AS is a good airline; they treat their run of the mill passengers better than most, and certainly better than BA does. I continue to fly them, however I fly them on routes where the benefits of status, to me, are close to nil. That is why I made the decision to shift all my FF activity over to BA, where I do get things that are of value, to ME.

jiburi

Congratulation. This is exactly how you must think in a world where corporate greed of airlines is mostly for those passengers beneficial to THEM.

I didn’t learn that lesson until DL pulled the rug from me and changed its program to require minimum spend, change lounge access rules, etc. I already had annual Silver status but when my spending didn’t qualify me for normal silver status (only spent $1850 of required $2500), they zeroed my 85K miles I traveled with no roll-over for the following year. I thought wrongly my annual silver status would allow me to rollover 60K qualifying miles.

Then Delta tried, part successfully to pull the rug out of my lifetime Lounge benefit. Now, it has a slight feel of entitlement, with some guilt, that I have to have a conversation with Skyclub agent that I don’t need Delta flight to access its lounge network. Delta continues to chip away my benefit as they’ve found American Express and placed new restriction on my individual lounge membership.

While Alaska is more pro-consumer airline, every airlines have to answer to their investors. I am sorry about your lost AS status but with Alaska now a part of the Oneworld alliance, you can also reel in some of that benefit. Congratulation on finding your own soft landing benefit package.

Jiburi

Flyertalker001342

Before AS became a full member of the OW Alliance, I had "enjoyed" silver status with BA for several years. With the various changes related to Covid and its aftermath, such things as aircraft retirements (especially 747s), reduction in First Class long haul seating on BA, very rare to nonexistent opportunities to get First Class long haul award seating on BA, either through the AS or BA FF programs, my whole model of booking tickets changed in response. BA currently has a mix of a good long haul business hard product ("Club Suites") and a poor one, the old sort of Club World, aka "dormitory" configuration. I refuse to fly in the latter, and at present you could book the former and due to last minute or earlier changes of aircraft end up involuntarily in the latter/dormitory cabin. So, for the moment, I am only flying long haul 1st with BA, and the reality is that I have to buy those seats most of the time, albeit when the prices are acceptable (to me). This by default gives me gold card/OWE status with BA.

If I flew longer segments on AS than I do, and if I was looking to save money on airfares, then having status with AS (as opposed to BA) would matter to me. On a 1-2 hour flight I can tolerate the back of the plane if I choose not to pay for the front, it's just not that big of a deal to me, hence the lack of importance (to me) of AS status, with my own flying patterns. Others have different flying patterns and will make differing choices.