MVPG free changes - for 2 ?

Old Aug 31, 2008, 12:45 pm
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MVPG free changes - for 2 ?

For business travel, I tend to book early and make changes often in order to have the best chabnce of the lowest fare. As an MVPG I have nothing to lose trying for the "bargain" fares, and making changes as my plans change.

I have a couple of trips coming up with family members, and I want to check a couple of things:
  1. If I book an itin with 2 pax, presumably I can change that itin for both of us, with fees waived beacuse one of use (me) is MVPG - right ?
  2. As it's a single itin, presumably there is only one 1k online/CC booking bonus; who'se account does this go to ? Is there any way to affect that ?
  3. Once I have made the rez, if I need to change my flight, but I want to leave my wife's flight unchanged, is there a way to do this ?
  4. Does any of this affect gold UG for the 2nd pax ?
  5. Any other quirks or loopholes I should be aware of as MVPG booking travel for 2 ?
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Old Aug 31, 2008, 1:28 pm
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Originally Posted by dgwright99
For business travel, I tend to book early and make changes often in order to have the best chabnce of the lowest fare. As an MVPG I have nothing to lose trying for the "bargain" fares, and making changes as my plans change.

I have a couple of trips coming up with family members, and I want to check a couple of things:
  1. If I book an itin with 2 pax, presumably I can change that itin for both of us, with fees waived beacuse one of use (me) is MVPG - right ?
  2. As it's a single itin, presumably there is only one 1k online/CC booking bonus; who'se account does this go to ? Is there any way to affect that ?
  3. Once I have made the rez, if I need to change my flight, but I want to leave my wife's flight unchanged, is there a way to do this ?
  4. Does any of this affect gold UG for the 2nd pax ?
  5. Any other quirks or loopholes I should be aware of as MVPG booking travel for 2 ?
1. No. Even though you're on the same PNR, you have separate ticket numbers, and only changes to your ticket are free. The other tickets are subject to change fees unless the ticket holders are also MVP Gold.

The way I deal with this when plans change when traveling with my non-MVPG spouse is to completely cancel both tickets and buy her a new ticket. Then I use the value of her unused ticket for me on a future trip. I also use the value of my unused ticket for me on a future trip.

Since I booked and paid for both tickets, the value of her unused ticket is technically "under my control" and the value can be reused for me without a change fee. But it can't be reused for her the same way. It's not a bad way to deal with changing plans if you plan to do more travel yourself as an MVPG.

2. Surprisingly, the bonus is apparently per ticket, based on my experience, not per itin/PNR. My spouse and I both receive the 1,000 mile bonus in each of our AS Mileage Plan accounts since I enter each of our numbers next to our names when I book online.

3. Customer service reps can split the reservation, giving you a new confirmation code and keeping hers (and her itin) the same.

4. It can. If you and she are on separate confirmation codes in separate PNRs, make sure the customer service rep knows and the CSR can link the two records for MVPG + traveling partner upgrade. But that upgrade only works if you and she are on the same flights, not if she's on a different flight.

5. I'm certain there are, and I'm certain others can help illuminate or clarify the above as well.
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Old Aug 31, 2008, 1:32 pm
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Originally Posted by dgwright99
For business travel, I tend to book early and make changes often in order to have the best chabnce of the lowest fare. As an MVPG I have nothing to lose trying for the "bargain" fares, and making changes as my plans change.

I have a couple of trips coming up with family members, and I want to check a couple of things:
  1. If I book an itin with 2 pax, presumably I can change that itin for both of us, with fees waived beacuse one of use (me) is MVPG - right ?
  2. As it's a single itin, presumably there is only one 1k online/CC booking bonus; who'se account does this go to ? Is there any way to affect that ?
  3. Once I have made the rez, if I need to change my flight, but I want to leave my wife's flight unchanged, is there a way to do this ?
  4. Does any of this affect gold UG for the 2nd pax ?
  5. Any other quirks or loopholes I should be aware of as MVPG booking travel for 2 ?
I'm not Gold, but I've traveled on the same PNR as a Gold twice this year, so I'll attempt this.

1. (Answer redacted because Seattlenerd knows more than me...)

2. I'm not sure I can give you a definitive answer on this, but here's my experience: I paid for one of the two trips I took with another person on my card, and I did receive the 1K booking bonus for that trip. I believe I was logged in under my account online; however, I had listed the other person as primary (that person was Gold, and I wanted to make sure we were waitlisted for our upgrades with Gold priority). I do not know if the other person received a 1K booking bonus. (On my other itinerary, it was not bought with an AS Visa, so no 1K booking bonus applied.) So, you can draw whatever conclusions you want from this experience!

3. Both of my trips were on companion fares, and so we had to stay traveling together. I believe but cannot confirm that you should be able to change your wife's flight separately from yours, but I do not know if doing so would cost anything in change fees.

4. Possibly, and probably! (Sorry, I can't give you any more definitive answer than that!)

5. Probably...and I'm sure there will be plenty of replies to this thread that will help you!
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Old Aug 31, 2008, 1:45 pm
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Thanks for such a comprehensive answer !

Originally Posted by Seattlenerd
The way I deal with this when plans change when traveling with my non-MVPG spouse is to completely cancel both tickets and buy her a new ticket. Then I use the value of her unused ticket for me on a future trip. I also use the value of my unused ticket for me on a future trip.
Wow, so that is almost as good as free changes, except maybe the value of 2 seats on a 1-way may be high enough that I have to book an R/T and miss out on the 2nd 1k bonus when rebooking in order to use the whole fare.

One last question - can I do this online (ie does the whol itin for both of us show up in my <my trips> or do I need to call the MVPG desk ?
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Old Aug 31, 2008, 3:36 pm
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You can usually rig the itin to show up in My Trips if it won't already (by calling the MVPG line if nothing else)- I do this for my daughter even when the confirmation codes are different (she was flying on a BTT voucher, I was paying).
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Old Aug 31, 2008, 8:03 pm
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Originally Posted by dgwright99
Thanks for such a comprehensive answer !



Wow, so that is almost as good as free changes, except maybe the value of 2 seats on a 1-way may be high enough that I have to book an R/T and miss out on the 2nd 1k bonus when rebooking in order to use the whole fare.

One last question - can I do this online (ie does the whol itin for both of us show up in my <my trips> or do I need to call the MVPG desk ?
It turns out the value of my ticket and my spouse's ticket have to be reused separately -- they can't be combined as they are two different ticket numbers -- so that has effectively solved for me, at least, the problem of having too high a value to reuse all at once. The two trips I cancel (mine and spousal unit's) I then re-book as two different trips for myself in the future, and no change fees result.

I generally call the MVPG desk to make these kinds of changes, because I honestly don't know if they can be done online -- and I don't want to mess it up. They are very nice about it, in every case.
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Old Sep 1, 2008, 12:08 am
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Originally Posted by Seattlenerd
It turns out the value of my ticket and my spouse's ticket have to be reused separately -- they can't be combined as they are two different ticket numbers -- so that has effectively solved for me, at least, the problem of having too high a value to reuse all at once. The two trips I cancel (mine and spousal unit's) I then re-book as two different trips for myself in the future, and no change fees result.
That's fantastic ! Really is as good as 2nd tix being fee-free from a practical point of view.

But now I have to find a way to casually refer to my wife as "spousal unit" and see how she reacts....
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Old Sep 1, 2008, 1:31 am
  #8  
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Originally Posted by jackal
I'm not Gold, but I've traveled on the same PNR as a Gold twice this year, so I'll attempt this.
And benefited quite nicely

1. I have changed an intiniary as MVPG with another pax (booked the wrong date ops: and they waived the change fee for me, but required one for the second pax (who I UG'd with the companion pax)

Originally Posted by jackal
...
2. I'm not sure I can give you a definitive answer on this, but here's my experience: I paid for one of the two trips I took with another person on my card, and I did receive the 1K booking bonus for that trip. I believe I was logged in under my account online; however, I had listed the other person as primary (that person was Gold, and I wanted to make sure we were waitlisted for our upgrades with Gold priority). I do not know if the other person received a 1K booking bonus. (On my other itinerary, it was not bought with an AS Visa, so no 1K booking bonus applied.) So, you can draw whatever conclusions you want from this experience!
Yes both (or all) travelers on the PNR would get the 1K AS online booking bonus for using the AS VISA (Have confirmed this numerous times with the companion certificate, including this instance)
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Old Sep 1, 2008, 11:48 pm
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They seem to be pretty smart about it. Even a 24hr first class upgrade with other non-MVP/MVPG's on the itn will split off the upgradee on a new confirmation code.

It made checking in everybody confusing as hell.
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Old Sep 2, 2008, 12:46 am
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Originally Posted by maokh
They seem to be pretty smart about it. Even a 24hr first class upgrade with other non-MVP/MVPG's on the itn will split off the upgradee on a new confirmation code.

It made checking in everybody confusing as hell.
This happened on the way to SEA-DOO on our companion ticket. BOB W quickly snagged the last seat when the GA boarded the plane and asked the two of us which one of us would like to upgrade.

A couple of days later, he was checking for the status of the return flight, and he no longer existed (according to the confirmation number).

I should have let him suffer (and be left behind in SEA) for his over-eagerness to grab that F seat , but instead, I was nice and forwarded the email I had received with his new confirmation number.

However, with the ensuing volcanic ash crisis, it certainly made handling our alternate arrangements a bit more difficult. I was also told by several people that the split shouldn't have happened, given that we were traveling on a companion fare.

Seems like a certain computer system might need to be modernized. Oh wait...nevermind...we know what happened last time they tried that...
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Old Sep 2, 2008, 12:53 am
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Originally Posted by maokh
They seem to be pretty smart about it. Even a 24hr first class upgrade with other non-MVP/MVPG's on the itn will split off the upgradee on a new confirmation code.

It made checking in everybody confusing as hell.
Originally Posted by jackal
This happened on the way to SEA-DOO on our companion ticket. BOB W quickly snagged the last seat when the GA boarded the plane and asked the two of us which one of us would like to upgrade.

A couple of days later, he was checking for the status of the return flight, and he no longer existed (according to the confirmation number).

I should have let him suffer (and be left behind in SEA) for his over-eagerness to grab that F seat , but instead, I was nice and forwarded the email I had received with his new confirmation number.

However, with the ensuing volcanic ash crisis, it certainly made handling our alternate arrangements a bit more difficult. I was also told by several people that the split shouldn't have happened, given that we were traveling on a companion fare.

Seems like a certain computer system might need to be modernized. Oh wait...nevermind...we know what happened last time they tried that...
Hmm... so if there is more then one person on a PNR, even if its a companion certificate, the system will split off eligible persons if indeed U class opens up?

Couple of questions then...

Does this happen only after the res is under 'airport control', or can it happen during the 72-48-24 hour window...

Does the companion who is not UG'd still have the ancillary 'status'... that is, still eligible for an UG if another U seat were to open up?
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Old Sep 2, 2008, 1:16 am
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Originally Posted by beckoa
Does the companion who is not UG'd still have the ancillary 'status'... that is, still eligible for an UG if another U seat were to open up?
Well, when Bob 'n' I were looking to see if we'd been upgraded for the return, even though we were now on separate PNRs, we were both upgraded at the same time. Had I not kept his status, I should have either not been upgraded or should have gotten the upgrade 24 hours after he did.

When I was calling to see about fixing our trip during the volcanic ash mess, the agent on the phone mentioned that, interestingly, my Mileage Plan number was not showing my MVP status, although neither did she mention that I was showing with MVPG status. However, I may have ended up keeping a pseudo-Gold status (or at least fake-Gold-companion status, since Golds can upgrade a traveling partner on the same PNR, right?).

Also, it could have been tied not to my/our current elite status but rather a separate status assigned at the time we booked the reservation and requested the waitlisted upgrades. In other words, the upgrade status is attached to the waitlist request rather than the traveler's actual status--meaning that my upgrade request had Gold status and therefore Gold priority.

You could test this out by booking travel for a following calendar year, requesting the upgrade, and then not requalifying for status. If you still receive the upgrade, then you know the status is attached to the upgrade request. (Of course, who on FT would ever dream of planning on losing status? )

Originally Posted by beckoa
Does this happen only after the res is under 'airport control', or can it happen during the 72-48-24 hour window...
Another option, maybe: if only one U seat opens up, someone traveling with more than one person and with both persons on waitlisted status might not receive the upgrade until two seats open up simultaneously! I don't know if this is the case--just a complete shot in the dark...
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Old Sep 2, 2008, 1:05 pm
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[QUOTE=dgwright99;10288570]For business travel, I tend to book early and make changes often in order to have the best chabnce of the lowest fare. As an MVPG I have nothing to lose trying for the "bargain" fares, and making changes as my plans change.

I have a couple of trips coming up with family members, and I want to check a couple of things:
  1. [*]
= It should not create a change fee as it is for an MVPG... as long as both passengers are in the same reservation.

Originally Posted by dgwright99
[*]As it's a single itin, presumably there is only one 1k online/CC booking bonus; who'se account does this go to ? Is there any way to affect that ?[/LIST]
= No it should accrue the bonus on each.

Originally Posted by dgwright99
[*]Once I have made the rez, if I need to change my flight, but I want to leave my wife's flight unchanged, is there a way to do this ?[/LIST]
= Yes - the PNR would be divided and essentially become 2 separate reservations - then changes can be made to either or both. However, change fee's would then be charged for any susequent changes to the NON MVPG reservation

Originally Posted by dgwright99
[*]Does any of this affect gold UG for the 2nd pax ?[/LIST]
= Yes. IF the reservation is divided, and the second passenger is NOT an MVPG then they would not receive the free upgrade if it were available.

Originally Posted by dgwright99
[*]Any other quirks or loopholes I should be aware of as MVPG booking travel for 2 ?[/LIST]
= If it is a companion reservation, both the passenger and the MVPG would need to complete travel together. You cannot divide a companion reservation (except in the instance of irregular operations on the part of the airline where it needs to split you for some reason). Technically you cannot upgrade only one on a companion ticket - however Ive seen postings of a glitch that has allowed that. Truth be told the glitch will probably be fixed so I wouldnt count on it being able to be done for long.
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Old Sep 2, 2008, 9:54 pm
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Originally Posted by kaceyellis
= It should not create a change fee as it is for an MVPG... as long as both passengers are in the same reservation.
OK, I'm editing this response from what I posted earlier after a bit more explanation. Apparently, this is true. I wasn't aware because I've never tried it; I usually just cancel both tickets, repurchase new ones, and use the full value of each cancelled ticket for me without fees.

It was explained to me that this is an MVPG reservation and as long as the itin remains identical for both pax and the reservation is not split, there should be no change fee for any pax on the reservation.

However, if the two tickets aren't changed in lockstep and stay in the same reservation, that's when the MVPG ticket change has no fee for an MVPG and the non-MVPG pays a change fee. Thus my earlier workaround.

Last edited by Seattlenerd; Sep 3, 2008 at 7:06 am Reason: New, improved info
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Old Sep 4, 2008, 12:20 am
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"It was explained to me that this is an MVPG reservation and as long as the itin remains identical for both pax and the reservation is not split, there should be no change fee for any pax on the reservation. QUOTE]"


I was told something different when I purchased two tickets to maui for Novevmber. I am MVPG and hubbie is MVP. The ticket agent specifically said any changes to the tickets would result in $0 change fee for me but hubbie would pay the fee. I am wondering if AS has different rules for fully paid tickets versus paid tix plus $50 companion tix?

Regarding the question on upgrade, does the ability to upgrade 1 of 2 passengers change when using $50 companion tix? In April me, hubbie and mom travelled to HNL. I was upgraded well in advance for return flight. In HNL, I called AS 48 hours prior to return flight to check on upgrades for hubbie (MVP) and my mom (no status). We were told there was 1 seat left but they could not give it to my hubbie because they were on "shared" itinerary so that meant both passengers had to travel in same class. If there were 2 seats left they would have upgraded them both.

Is that really how it works?
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