Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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Trip Report: Alaska Airlines Inaugural Flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Mexico City (MEX)

Buenos dias everyone! It finally happened – Alaska Airlines returned to Mexico City (MEX), with near-simultaneous inaugural flights from San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX). I wrote about these new routes and this was my first-ever inaugural flight on any airline, so I’m pretty happy that it was on my favorite airline on a route that means a lot to me (since I moved from the Bay Area to Mexico City just under a year ago).

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No Olé-overs!

Airport Experience

I made the risky choice of taking an UberPOOL to SFO, and arrived just minutes before the 1-hour cutoff for checking bags internationally. We hustled over to one of the check-in kiosks, and after an unnerving number of loading screens, were able to print our bag tags and boarding passes in the nick of time. We then stood in line for another 10-15 minutes to hand our bags to an agent – the longest I can remember spending in an elite line, and this was with only 3 people ahead of us. There were several flights leaving around the same time with four agents working, and a lot of people were confused about where they were supposed to be.

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Earn up to 4,000 Bonus Alaska Airlines Miles with Dash for Miles & Back to School Bonuses

Buenos dias everyone!

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan has a new promotion called “Dash for Miles” where you can earn up to 3,000 bonus Alaska Airlines miles for earning miles with three partners: Mileage Plan Dining, Mileage Plan Shopping, and The Opinion Terminal.

Take the Dash for Miles Challenge. How do 3,000 extra bonus miles sound? The miles are yours when you earn with all three of these partners, once you’ve registered for the offer below. Score 1,000 bonus miles for each partner you earn with through September 30, 2017. Mileage Plan Dining Mileage Plan Dining Earn 3 miles per dollar at over 11,000 participating restaurants. Mileage Plan Shopping Mileage Plan Shopping Earn miles at over 850 online stores like Apple, Groupon, Macy's, and plenty more. Mileage Plan Survey The Opinion Terminal Speak your mind and earn at least 400 miles after you join and complete your first survey.

This is a fairly straightforward promotion, and a pretty easy way to collect extra miles – there doesn’t seem to be any minimum spend requirements for the dining and shopping promotions, and hopefully signing up for The Opinion Terminal and completing one survey isn’t too onerous. Plus, you don’t have to complete all three tasks – you’ll earn a partial bonus even if you complete just one.

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American Express Membership Reward Points Transfer to Virgin America Ending October 31

Good afternoon everyone, I have another short blog post about American Express to share.  I hope you liked my morning post: $10 Statement Credits Just Posted for Jifiti Nike Promo / $50 Nike eGift Card AMEX Offer.  I was going through my American Express credit card statements and spotted this announcement at the bottom of my American Express Everyday Credit Card statement.  Effective November 1, transfers from American Express Membership Reward Points to Virgin America will no longer be possible.  The last day to make transfers to Virgin America is October 31.

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PSA: Free Checked Bags on Alaska Airlines by Linking BofA Credit Card to Mileage Plan Number

Do you fly Alaska Airlines? Do you have the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card? Do you ever pay to check your bag when you fly Alaska Airlines? Something strange happened to me recently when I flew Alaska Airlines, and I just figured out what happened! For years I flew on Alaska Airlines, and if I checked a bag, I was charged a checked bag fee and paid for it. Then for a few years, I had Alaska Airlines MVP Gold elite status and got used to not paying for checked bags. That was nice! After those status days ended, I had a few flights where I got charged for checked bags and paid the fee. However, for my last five flights where I’ve needed to check a bag, I wasn’t charged a fee. I had no idea why, and I almost didn’t want to know :)

But recently, I put the pieces of the puzzle together and I want to make sure you’re in the know too! You see, I’ve also had the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card for years, and because everyone focuses on the Companion Fare benefit, it’s easy to forget, as I did, that the card also comes with one FREE checked bag for you and up to six other passengers on your reservation.

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Somehow I completely forgot about the free checked bag benefit

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My BOS-SAN Alaska Airlines Flight Home Ended with New Luggage

After the flight from San Diego to Boston and my volunteering to be bumped experience, I was expecting a smooth return back to San Diego. But this was not to be! The nonstop flight from Boston to San Diego is an early evening flight. We boarded on time and I took my favorite window seat. We pulled back from the gate and then SLOWLY got into the departure queue. It started to rain. I looked up at the sky and I just didn’t have a good feeling about our departure. I think all of us who travel a lot, and who sit at window seats like I do, watching the sky and clouds, develop a sense about these things.

The pilot started giving us the we-don’t-know-exactly-what’s-happening-yet-but-it-looks-like-we’ll-be-here-for-another-fifteen-minutes speech. He did this a few times, and then he turned the engine off. He told us Boston had stopped ALL flights from leaving due to the weather, and planes were not being able to take off to the northwest.

People were free to get up and move around, so I went to talk with the crew. I wanted to know their take on it, whether or not we might have to stop on our way to San Diego to refuel, or even the chances of a canceled flight. They did suggest I call my Hyatt and see about getting a room for the night, just in case. Because I could see from my window seat that some planes were indeed landing and taking off, I asked the crew about this. They told me that Alaska Airlines actually waits longer than many of the airlines before canceling a flight. I took this as hopeful news, since I had called my Hyatt and they were overbooked by 6 rooms! Continue reading