Jan 8, 2015, 12:16 am
Last edit by: jackal
Welcome to the Newbie Lounge Thread!
Anyone is welcome to ask anything, even the most basic questions, in this thread without having to fear a snarky response. In this thread, there's no such thing as a dumb question--we were all new to Alaska Airlines, FlyerTalk, and even the whole idea of mileage programs once and needed some help navigating the ropes. We're here to help you do just that!
That said, if you want to do a little reading to see if your question has been previously discussed, links to some of the most common and extensive topics in this forum are listed in our FAQ thread--click here to check it out.
Special care will be given in this thread to trying to provide answers in a clear manner with minimal use of acronyms and jargon.
If you need to contact someone for help, here's a current list of our forum's team:
Ambassadors (Our Greeters--members who have specifically volunteered to welcome and mentor newbies and monitor this thread):
ANC RED-EYE
baliktad
beckoa
golfingboy
Moderators (Our Janitors--members who have volunteered to do housekeeping/keep the forum in order)
Cholula
jackal
You are welcome to send a private message to any of these individuals for assistance, but you'll generally get a faster response and broader palette of answers if you simply post your inquiry here in this thread.
Note to FlyerTalk members who enjoy the ability to take advantage of loopholes--if someone posts something that exposes information you'd rather not be public, please remember this is a Flame-Free thread, and harsh or snarky posts are not permitted. Although FlyerTalk itself does not censor posts that share information, members are free to edit their own posts to remove information. If you wish to request any poster to remove information they have shared publicly, please do so politely and respectfully.
Welcome, and we look forward to providing any assistance we can!
~the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan forum team~
For the previous incarnation of this thread, please click here
Anyone is welcome to ask anything, even the most basic questions, in this thread without having to fear a snarky response. In this thread, there's no such thing as a dumb question--we were all new to Alaska Airlines, FlyerTalk, and even the whole idea of mileage programs once and needed some help navigating the ropes. We're here to help you do just that!
That said, if you want to do a little reading to see if your question has been previously discussed, links to some of the most common and extensive topics in this forum are listed in our FAQ thread--click here to check it out.
Special care will be given in this thread to trying to provide answers in a clear manner with minimal use of acronyms and jargon.
If you need to contact someone for help, here's a current list of our forum's team:
Ambassadors (Our Greeters--members who have specifically volunteered to welcome and mentor newbies and monitor this thread):
ANC RED-EYE
baliktad
beckoa
golfingboy
Moderators (Our Janitors--members who have volunteered to do housekeeping/keep the forum in order)
Cholula
jackal
You are welcome to send a private message to any of these individuals for assistance, but you'll generally get a faster response and broader palette of answers if you simply post your inquiry here in this thread.
Note to FlyerTalk members who enjoy the ability to take advantage of loopholes--if someone posts something that exposes information you'd rather not be public, please remember this is a Flame-Free thread, and harsh or snarky posts are not permitted. Although FlyerTalk itself does not censor posts that share information, members are free to edit their own posts to remove information. If you wish to request any poster to remove information they have shared publicly, please do so politely and respectfully.
Welcome, and we look forward to providing any assistance we can!
~the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan forum team~
For the previous incarnation of this thread, please click here
2015 Alaska Airlines *FLAME-FREE* Q&A thread: all welcome, new and old!
Jan 18, 2015 | 12:17 pm
#121
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 18,346
Jan 18, 2015 | 9:08 pm
#122
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 759
QF has a chart for the 'Intra-Australia' region. I don't know offhand if that region definition includes NZ or not. I can see online results for SYD-MEL whereas SYD-CHC and SYD-AKL give an error message with nothing found so I'm going to guess that region doesn't include NZ. So, I'm going to say it's probably not allowed.
Jan 19, 2015 | 7:43 am
#123
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 18,346
QF has a chart for the 'Intra-Australia' region. I don't know offhand if that region definition includes NZ or not. I can see online results for SYD-MEL whereas SYD-CHC and SYD-AKL give an error message with nothing found so I'm going to guess that region doesn't include NZ. So, I'm going to say it's probably not allowed.
Jan 19, 2015 | 2:24 pm
#124
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 73
Hi there... I booked two award tickets, SEA - PHX on 30Jan - 02Feb. One is in my name and the other is my wife's. The great news is the Hawks made it and are Phoenix bound!! The bad news is that something came up and now my wife can't attend. Does anyone have suggestions or strategies for being able to rebook my wife's award ticket to a friend's name? I'm wondering if I call, will they likely not be able to immediately rebook to another name since the flight is likely oversold?
If it helps at all, I'm 75k. Would appreciate any tips or suggestions that I can communicate to the agent.
Thanks.
If it helps at all, I'm 75k. Would appreciate any tips or suggestions that I can communicate to the agent.
Thanks.
Jan 19, 2015 | 5:11 pm
#125
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP Gold
Posts: 2,733
Hi there... I booked two award tickets, SEA - PHX on 30Jan - 02Feb. One is in my name and the other is my wife's. The great news is the Hawks made it and are Phoenix bound!! The bad news is that something came up and now my wife can't attend. Does anyone have suggestions or strategies for being able to rebook my wife's award ticket to a friend's name? I'm wondering if I call, will they likely not be able to immediately rebook to another name since the flight is likely oversold?
If it helps at all, I'm 75k. Would appreciate any tips or suggestions that I can communicate to the agent.
Thanks.
If it helps at all, I'm 75k. Would appreciate any tips or suggestions that I can communicate to the agent.
Thanks.
AS tickets are nontransferable, which means there is no such thing as a name change. If your wife will not be flying on this trip as ticketed, the next step is determining how to recover the value of the ticket. By paying the $125 cancellation fee, you can obtain AS credit in the amount of the original ticket to purchase a new ticket at current availability and prices. As you've noted, since the Super Bowl flights are sold out/oversold, it's unlikely you'll be able to secure a confirmed seat on your desired flight.
Unfortunately, possessing a ticket in someone else's name doesn't give you the right to assign who will occupy the seat - that's why you need to supply a name at time of purchase. I know it's logical to assume that you've purchased a seat on that flight and can use/assign it as you see fit, but that's not how the airlines see it.
Your other option (if you don't really care who you go with) is to pull an Elizabeth Gallagher... For such a popular trip it just might work!
Jan 19, 2015 | 5:37 pm
#126
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Splitting time between small towns in NorCal and Wydaho
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 21,495
The question above begs the question - how much VDB comp would you require to give up your seat on a SEA-PHX flight Super Bowl weekend? 
Jan 19, 2015 | 6:51 pm
#127
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 18,346
This situation sheds light on another reason these name changes should never be allowed. Resellers and scalpers. Just look how much of a markup there is now on game tickets.
Jan 20, 2015 | 11:23 am
#128
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 73
ticket
Thanks for the insight... Above I stated the ticket was purchased using an award and my miles... I thought award tickets could be cancelled without penalty? Yikes!
Yeah I get why they are non-transferrable... Otherwise there would be a resale market. What I was hoping to do is cancel her ticket and rebook immediately in a friend's name (with miles). But I'm guessing since the flight may be oversold, it would not let the agent immediately book another ticket.
Thanks for the input though!
Yeah I get why they are non-transferrable... Otherwise there would be a resale market. What I was hoping to do is cancel her ticket and rebook immediately in a friend's name (with miles). But I'm guessing since the flight may be oversold, it would not let the agent immediately book another ticket.
Thanks for the input though!
Since the ticket is in your wife's name, your status doesn't really mean anything in this case.
AS tickets are nontransferable, which means there is no such thing as a name change. If your wife will not be flying on this trip as ticketed, the next step is determining how to recover the value of the ticket. By paying the $125 cancellation fee, you can obtain AS credit in the amount of the original ticket to purchase a new ticket at current availability and prices. As you've noted, since the Super Bowl flights are sold out/oversold, it's unlikely you'll be able to secure a confirmed seat on your desired flight.
Unfortunately, possessing a ticket in someone else's name doesn't give you the right to assign who will occupy the seat - that's why you need to supply a name at time of purchase. I know it's logical to assume that you've purchased a seat on that flight and can use/assign it as you see fit, but that's not how the airlines see it.
Your other option (if you don't really care who you go with) is to pull an Elizabeth Gallagher... For such a popular trip it just might work!
AS tickets are nontransferable, which means there is no such thing as a name change. If your wife will not be flying on this trip as ticketed, the next step is determining how to recover the value of the ticket. By paying the $125 cancellation fee, you can obtain AS credit in the amount of the original ticket to purchase a new ticket at current availability and prices. As you've noted, since the Super Bowl flights are sold out/oversold, it's unlikely you'll be able to secure a confirmed seat on your desired flight.
Unfortunately, possessing a ticket in someone else's name doesn't give you the right to assign who will occupy the seat - that's why you need to supply a name at time of purchase. I know it's logical to assume that you've purchased a seat on that flight and can use/assign it as you see fit, but that's not how the airlines see it.
Your other option (if you don't really care who you go with) is to pull an Elizabeth Gallagher... For such a popular trip it just might work!
Jan 20, 2015 | 11:43 am
#129
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 18,346
Thanks for the insight... Above I stated the ticket was purchased using an award and my miles... I thought award tickets could be cancelled without penalty? Yikes!
Yeah I get why they are non-transferrable... Otherwise there would be a resale market. What I was hoping to do is cancel her ticket and rebook immediately in a friend's name (with miles). But I'm guessing since the flight may be oversold, it would not let the agent immediately book another ticket.
Thanks for the input though!
Yeah I get why they are non-transferrable... Otherwise there would be a resale market. What I was hoping to do is cancel her ticket and rebook immediately in a friend's name (with miles). But I'm guessing since the flight may be oversold, it would not let the agent immediately book another ticket.
Thanks for the input though!
The problem you will run into is the seat will likely not go back into award availability, even if it were a flight 8 months from now.
Jan 20, 2015 | 1:34 pm
#130
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, Hertz PC, Marriott Lifetime Plat, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 44,261
Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)
I've had some luck with name changes, but haven't tried on an award ticket. And not certain what happens inventory wise, if the inventory is held. I'd call AS and find out what options they have.
I've had some luck with name changes, but haven't tried on an award ticket. And not certain what happens inventory wise, if the inventory is held. I'd call AS and find out what options they have.
Jan 21, 2015 | 5:04 pm
#131
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Nor Cal
Programs: Marriott Gold
Posts: 2
Trying to fly MCO to RNO with Virgin and Alaska
Hi everyone,
This is my first post, and I hope I am in the right place. I am trying to book a flight 3/4/15 from MCO to RNO, which is not offered directly with Virgin. I would like to fly MCO to LAX with Virgin then LAX to RNO on Alaska Airlines.
The connection times are only 55 minutes apart, so I don't think I have enough time to collect baggage, change terminals and make my flight.
Is there a website to book flights with multiple Airlines so my baggage will be checked through?
My biggest criteria is comfort, and as far as I can tell, Virgin will be the most comfortable flight from MCO.
Thanks for any help (or suggestions) you can offer.
This is my first post, and I hope I am in the right place. I am trying to book a flight 3/4/15 from MCO to RNO, which is not offered directly with Virgin. I would like to fly MCO to LAX with Virgin then LAX to RNO on Alaska Airlines.
The connection times are only 55 minutes apart, so I don't think I have enough time to collect baggage, change terminals and make my flight.
Is there a website to book flights with multiple Airlines so my baggage will be checked through?
My biggest criteria is comfort, and as far as I can tell, Virgin will be the most comfortable flight from MCO.
Thanks for any help (or suggestions) you can offer.
Jan 22, 2015 | 9:31 am
#132
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: YVR (BLI/SEA)
Programs: AS MVPG, Delta Plat, HHonors Gold, NEXUS, Marriott Silver
Posts: 195
If I book an AA ticket with an AS leg on it (last leg), will i get my full MVP benefits on that portion of the flight(well minus the luggage as I'll be checking in with AA)?
Jan 22, 2015 | 10:55 am
#133
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AS MVP, PriorityPass, Global Entry
Posts: 748
This is my first post, and I hope I am in the right place. I am trying to book a flight 3/4/15 from MCO to RNO, which is not offered directly with Virgin. I would like to fly MCO to LAX with Virgin then LAX to RNO on Alaska Airlines.
The connection times are only 55 minutes apart, so I don't think I have enough time to collect baggage, change terminals and make my flight.
Is there a website to book flights with multiple Airlines so my baggage will be checked through?
The connection times are only 55 minutes apart, so I don't think I have enough time to collect baggage, change terminals and make my flight.
Is there a website to book flights with multiple Airlines so my baggage will be checked through?
In terms of interlining the baggage, probably not, although since the flights starts with Virgin America, it would probably be a better question for that forum (as it would be whether Virgin America has an interline agreement with Alaska, and whether they would do so or not).
55 minutes is also tough in that if run into any issues, you could have a problem. Note that at LAX Virgin America operates from Terminal 3, and Alaska operates from Terminal 6, and that does require leaving security and re-entering.
Jan 22, 2015 | 10:55 am
#134
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AS MVP, PriorityPass, Global Entry
Posts: 748
Yes, you should get your full benefits on the AS leg. When you book the ticket, there will also be a AS record locator (you may have to call to get it), and from there you can verify waitlist status/etc on Alaska's website.
Jan 22, 2015 | 11:10 am
#135
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 18,346
Hi everyone,
This is my first post, and I hope I am in the right place. I am trying to book a flight 3/4/15 from MCO to RNO, which is not offered directly with Virgin. I would like to fly MCO to LAX with Virgin then LAX to RNO on Alaska Airlines.
The connection times are only 55 minutes apart, so I don't think I have enough time to collect baggage, change terminals and make my flight.
Is there a website to book flights with multiple Airlines so my baggage will be checked through?
My biggest criteria is comfort, and as far as I can tell, Virgin will be the most comfortable flight from MCO.
Thanks for any help (or suggestions) you can offer.
This is my first post, and I hope I am in the right place. I am trying to book a flight 3/4/15 from MCO to RNO, which is not offered directly with Virgin. I would like to fly MCO to LAX with Virgin then LAX to RNO on Alaska Airlines.
The connection times are only 55 minutes apart, so I don't think I have enough time to collect baggage, change terminals and make my flight.
Is there a website to book flights with multiple Airlines so my baggage will be checked through?
My biggest criteria is comfort, and as far as I can tell, Virgin will be the most comfortable flight from MCO.
Thanks for any help (or suggestions) you can offer.