Which airline to use [SEA to multiple destinations]
 

What is your origination city/airport? SEA
Where do you tend to travel? All over the US
What is you goal for the frequent flyer program (status, upgrades, rewards, etc.?) Status, rewards, upgrades
How much do you travel in an average year? I will travel 40-60k miles this year
Do you fly for business, pleasure, or a mix? Mix, mainly business
How much of your travel is paid by someone else? 20%
How much control do you have of choosing flights, airlines, etc.? I have complete control over the other 80%
What days of the week do you typically travel? Wednesday or Thursday usually
Can you book flexible fares? Sure
If you are likely to qualify for elite status will it be miles or segments? Miles
Do you have a preference or imposed requirement of hotel/rental car/credit card partners? Nope
Can you get extra miles from credit cards, surveys, other partners? Sure
How would you like to use your miles for awards? Domestic flights, possibly an international
What benefits do you hope to receive for elite status? Upgrades, free bags, lounge access, premium lines

Here's the situation and my current thinking:

1. I do 10-15k miles on AA yearly. This is paid by my employer.

2. I will be going on tons of med school interviews this summer/fall. This should be in the realm of 40k miles minimum.

3. I thought about using AS, but with SEA being a hub for AS, I am wondering if I would ever get any upgrades ever with just MVP or MVP gold.

4. I am thinking about Delta (and using their Delta Reserve card for the lounge access). This way I could fly on AS as well and get credit for those through their Delta-Alaska partnership. Then again, I wouldn't really be able to use my AA miles from my employer for elite status.

5. Lounge access is important, but I am willing to pay out of pocket before elite status even (or with a special offer such as the Delta reserve card).


Thanks in advance!

Welcome to FT!

I think if you are getting 15K miles "subsidized" by your employer, you might as well continue to use them. There's no point in throwing away those miles while doing double work on earning status on DL just for a credit card that you have to pay to essentially get lounge access. AS can be credited to AA and you will have some benefits as AA elite, but no upgrades.

Lounge access, while nice, may be over-rated. Get an Admirals Club or Priority Pass membership; or get AMEX Platinum and get free Priority Pass access, plus $200 in credit on your airline of choice (for $450 annual fee).

More importantly, do a status challenge so you can get status sooner. If it were AA, you can time it with your work trips with some personal MR's thrown in and you will be elite faster than any other airline.

Good luck!

AS upgrades out of SEA depend on the routes you are traveling. This is an important factor we can't really determine from your post. AS up and down the coast and midcon is an easy upgrade; DCA/EWR is not.

Keep in mind that AS status gets you better Y seats/more bags on BOTH AA AND DL (and very rare upgrades on DL), as well as privileges on AS. My inclination has been to stick with AS.

Thanks for the advice. Can't AA miles also be used on AS? Why should I use AA instead of AS?

Also, the AMEX Platinum card seems like a good deal. I will have to look into that.

Thanks!

Great thanks! This is reassuring. I will be going to DFW, IAH, MSP, SFO, ORD, PHX, BOS... pretty much all over. I am hoping I could score an upgrade here and there even with MVP, although MVP Gold is my goal.

You'll do OK if most of your routes are midcon or shorthaul, obviously better if you get MVPG. PHX and BOS through SEA re tough, though PDX-BOS is easier.

IMO, lounge access in SEA is completely overrated, given the quality of food for sale at SEA, and the fact that for $50, you can get NEXUS, which qualifies you for TSA Pre✓, and once you have that you will almost always be allowed to go through the "fast lane" at SEA. I've arrived at SEA 40 minutes before flight departure and made it to my gate in plenty of time.

Unless you're getting lounge access gratis with a credit card, I wouldn't bother. A cheap trial would be a 30 day Delta lounge pass for $90 (which will get you into AS clubs as well), the cost of which can be applied to a full year pass (or you can buy the AS lounge pass for cheaper once you get elite status).

Yes, you can. I mention AA as you said work travel will get you 15K miles off the bat, and as a result, you will probably have a greater benefit of elite status if you are on the actual carrier, vs alliance/association.

However, if you are going to base the rest of your flights on AS, then AS should be your choice (especially if they offer a status challenge, which I do not know if they offer or not).

Great, thanks! This is really useful information.

I assume when you say med school, you mean a U.S. MD school. You also sound like a non-trad. I doubt (my opinion) you will be getting 40k miles on the interview trail in a single season unless you live somewhere outside the US mainland or want to throw your money out the door. Even if I attended all the interviews I was offered, I wouldn't have reached 40k miles nor would I want to. I sort of got "burned out" after attending so many interviews. Apply smart and schedule your interviews by region to save money. Good luck~

-M.D. Class of 2017

Thanks for the advice. However, living in Seattle, I am kind of geographically isolated as far as med schools go (and especially the ones I want to go to). After UW (competitive) and OHSU (insane OOS tuition), I am looking east coast. Colorado is insane tuition. Utah doesn't let out of staters in that often. I plan to apply to 25 schools and I make plenty of money to afford the interviews.

From SEA -> east coast, it's about 5k miles roundtrip. If I did 2 to New York, one to Boston, one to DC, one to Florida, one to Houston, etc. it starts to add up.

Plus, add in family traveling, a vacation to Miami, etc. some of which will be added on to some of these interview flights and 40k is very easy.

Come on over to the University of Iowa.

My Fiance is in med school there right night, it is a pretty nice place. Coincidentally she is also from Seattle, we hope to get back to UDUB or OHSU for residency.

+1

Also by going AS you can have all the points on AA and DL post to your AS account(all points in 1 account instead of all over). So you can make the 50,000 tier and get luggage and perferred seating on AA and DL, also maybe even a upgrade?

Awesome! I would be stoked just to get in anywhere. Congrats to her.

I think AS is the way to go. My family is also in Spokane and AS flies there often. Thanks!

I fly out of SEA, primarily on business. My territory is mostly the midwest and I fly into a lot of small airports but I fly through pretty much all of the hubs. AS makes the most sense for me.

I just started flying last year (about 12 months ago) and I've never been upgraded. Take that with a grain of salt because AS is actually the airline I fly the least (by miles). However, I appreciate preferred seats (Currently sitting in Main Cabin Extra on an AA flight through DFW). So far 75K miles, with 28 segments on AA, 26 on DL, and 16 on AS. I still prefer AS.