Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  I just flew back from Iceland on Saturday night, so I am a little behind schedule on my blog posts.  I have a few posts in the works about my roadtrip around Iceland (1,000+ kilometers in 5 days), my review of a new global WiFi hotspot device that worked very well in Iceland, the final results of my credit card App-O-Rama and more.  But before I get to those posts, I wanted to share my thoughts on the upcoming Alaska Airlines 2-for-1 day promotion with the San Francisco Giants.  Even though this event has not happened yet, I have some good insights about the promotion because I participated in the Virgin America 2-for-1 day promotion with the San Francisco Giants a few weeks ago.  I will also share my strategy for going to the game or buying the discount codes online.

Here are the complete terms and conditions of the promo (I bolded the important parts):

Discount: Buy one ticket at the regular price and get a second ticket for just the taxes. Discount code is valid for 50% off two tickets. Valid for itineraries with exactly two people, traveling together and booked and ticketed at the same time in the same reservation and at the same fare; valid for one-way or round-trip travel. Fare basis code information can be found in the section entitled “View Fare and Baggage Rule” on the Itinerary and Price Summary page. Fare types that are ineligible for this discount may be lower than other fares with discount code applied. One discount allowed per reservation. Not applicable to Mileage Plan Award Reservations, Alaska Airlines Vacation packages, tour or contract fares.

Reservations & Ticketing: Valid for new ticket purchases only at alaskaair.com. Discount Code cannot be applied to tickets that have already been purchased and issued. Discount Code is relinquished at time of ticketing and void for future purchases. Credit card required for purchase.

Routes: Discount valid systemwide (excluding Prudhoe Bay and Cuba) September 17, 2017 – February 28, 2018

Based on published fare routings and some cities may not be available.

Purchase By: September 20, 2017.

Travel Valid From: September 17, 2017.

Travel Complete: February 28, 2018.

Blackout Dates: November 17-28, December 15, 2017-January 3, 2018, February 15-19.

Minimum & Maximum Stay: Per applicable fare rules.

Flights: Valid only on flights operated by Alaska Airlines, and flights operated on behalf of Alaska Airlines by Horizon Air, Sky West, Pen Air and Virgin America. Not valid on codeshare flights.

Taxes, Fees and Surcharges: Passenger is responsible for all applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges, including checked baggage fees.

Combinability: Not valid with any other discounts, including Discount Codes, coupons, discount programs, MyAccount online discount, or other arrangements.

Changes and Refunds: Changes and refunds are allowed per the applicable fare rule and will result in the forfeiture of the Discount Code in cases where the modified itinerary does not qualify for the discount. Once issued, tickets are not transferable.

Mileage Plan: Mileage Plan credit applies and upgrades are allowed.

Transferability: Discount Codes may not be sold, bought, bartered, auctioned or collected in bulk. Any deemed by Alaska to have been distributed or acquired improperly will not be honored and traveler will be responsible for payment of full fare.

Additional Terms: All rules of alaskaair.com and the applicable published fare not mentioned within these terms and conditions apply.

Other: Discount Codes have no cash value and are not valid for travel. Lost or stolen Discount Codes cannot be replaced. Alaska has the final authority regarding Discount Code redemption. Travel is subject to Alaska’s contract of carriage. Terms and conditions as written herein are final and cannot be changed by any statement or representation of any unauthorized person, including employees of Alaska/Horizon or issuing organization. Other restrictions may apply and Alaska reserves the right to suspend or change this offer without notice.

Long story short, you need to book your trip by September 20, for travel between September 17 and February 28, excluding blackout dates around Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Presidents’ Day Weekend.  You can book an Alaska Airlines or Virgin America flight, but no codeshare flights.  Lastly, you are responsible for paying the taxes/fees on the second ticket.

First off, if you have any Alaska Airlines or Virgin America trips coming up before February 28 that do not land on any of the blackout dates, you are in good shape.  Since you are responsible for paying the taxes and fees on the second ticket, you can find out what the total cost will be ahead of time.  Let’s assume I wanted to purchase 2 one way tickets from San Francisco (SFO) to Seattle (SEA).  The price for 1 ticket is $85.20.  To see the breakdown in cost, add the flight to your Alaska Airlines cart.

Then click the link for Taxes, Fees and Charges.

Under the base fare, you will see the Taxes and Fees section.  I know $19.15 seems low, but this ticket is cheap.  If you plan on purchasing an expensive round trip ticket, your taxes and fees will be more expensive.  Add the total cost for the first ticket and the taxes and fees from the second ticket to find your total cost.  If that price for 2 tickets sounds like a good deal for you, then this promo works for you.

My girlfriend went to the Virgin America 2-for-1 day promo a few weeks ago and she got a postcard when she entered the stadium.  Each person who entered the stadium got a postcard (until all 40,000 postcards were given out).  On the back of the postcard, there was a link and a code.  I followed the instructions on the back of the postcard by visiting the link, entering the code, and then signing into my Alaska Airlines account.  The code then showed up in my Discount and Companion Fare Codes section in my Alaska Airlines account.  I then clicked the SHOP button to purchase our flights.  The discount code is automatically added to the reservation and I confirmed the discount when I purchased the tickets.

If you are in San Francisco and plan on going to the game, I suggest buying your tickets a few minutes before the start of the game (1:05pm on Sunday, September 17).  You can buy tickets on your phone through the StubHub, GameTime, and SeatGeek websites or apps.  Then show the barcode when you enter the stadium.  You can only use the barcode once to enter the stadium, there are no in-and-out privileges.  If you want multiple postcards, you will need to buy multiple tickets or try to be sneaky and ask for extra postcards.  As of this morning, SeatGeek has tickets on sale for $25, but I am sure the prices will go down closer to game day.

If you do not want to go to the game, you should be able to find these postcards for sale on eBay right around 12pm PT on Sunday, September 17.  If you want the best deal, wait 1-2 days for the prices to drop since these postcards expire on Wednesday, September 20.  I am gong to pass on this promotion because I do not have any plans to travel on Alaska Airlines or Virgin America during a non-blackout date.  If you can get one of these postcards and take advantage of the promo, you can save a few bucks.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!