Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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New Alaska Airlines MVP Gold / 75K Elite Members Should Have 4 Guest Upgrades (Expiring 12/31/2018)

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  A few days ago, I was booking an Alaska Airlines flight for my brother (I am the personal travel agent for all my family members), and I was logged into my Alaska Airlines account.  2 weeks ago, I received 10,000 Alaska Airlines miles when my Virgin America account was linked to my Alaska Airlines account and my Virgin America Elevate Gold elite status matched to Alaska Airlines MVP Gold elite status.  I was curious if I had any guest upgrades in my Alaska Airlines account and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

Alaska Airlines Guest Upgrades 1

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Alaska Airlines Announces New Routes from California (SAN, LAX & SFO) to Mexico City (MEX)

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Buenas dias everyone,

It looks like Santa has been talking to the folks at Alaska Airlines, because the first wish on my travel hacker wish list was granted today: Alaska Awhirlines announced that the US Department of Transportation has granted them tentative approval to operate four flights a day to Mexico City starting this summer!

New Alaska Airlines routes to Mexico City

New Alaska Airlines routes to Mexico City! Image from gcmap.com

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My Upcoming Long Presidents Day Weekend in Cabo San Lucas (+ your Restaurant & Activity Recommendations)

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Good morning everyone, I am heading down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico tomorrow for a long Presidents Day Weekend.  A few months ago, I wrote Redeem Virgin Atlantic Miles for Virgin America Award Flights (Complete Route Network from SFO).  In that post, I showed how it was possible (at the time) to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles for travel on Virgin America (this partnership is no longer possible since Alaska Airlines is acquiring Virgin America).  Long story short, I redeemed 25,000 Virgin Atlantic miles for a round trip Virgin America flight from SFO to SJD (Cabo).  This will be my second trip to Cabo and I wrote about my first trip in these posts:

During my first visit, I stayed at the beautiful Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort and loved the property.  Here is a view from my room that overlooked the pool and beach.

Hilton Cabo View2

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My 2017 Elite Status Strategy: Should I Move from Alaska AIrlines to American Airlines?

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Buenas dias everyone,

Since my travel has started ramping up in 2017, I decided it was time to sit down and look at my strategy for earning airline elite status in the coming year. Which means…spreadsheet time!

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A portion of my elite status planning spreadsheet

Where I am Today

I currently have Alaska Airlines MVP Gold, United Airlines Gold, and Virgin America Silver elite statuses. I’ve already credited a couple of trips to my Alaska Airlines account (two on American Airlines and one on Delta). Most of my confirmed flights later this year are on American Airlines or other OneWorld carriers.  Continue reading →

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Around the World in 14 Days (Business Class Mistake Fares, Airbnbs & a Cooking Class)

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Buenas dias everyone!

I’m a bit late on this, but I wanted to let you know that we started a round-the-world trip earlier this week and will be sharing some updates along the way.

After spending the weekend with some friends in Austin, we took off for Madrid in business class on an American 787-9 – booked with Citi Thank You Points and upgraded with AA System Wide Upgrades. (Four other friends were on our same flight, but we left them behind in Premium Economy…and then they left us behind at the Madrid airport!)

AA business class on the 787 Dreamliner. Photo from aa.com

AA business class on the 787 Dreamliner. Image from aa.com

We immediately hopped on a train to Valencia to visit a friend of my partner’s, crashing at an Airbnb for two nights, and are now on our way to spend two nights at the Holiday Inn Express Barcelona City 22@. Two other members of the group got to Barcelona yesterday, so tomorrow we’re doing the same EatWith cooking class that Whitney wrote about last week. On Friday, we’ll be taking a short flight to Algeria on Air Algerie, then hopping on a Qatar business class mistake fare to Hong Kong via Doha. (Two other friends will be on the ALG-DOH flight, and we’ll meet up with the other four in Doha and fly the rest of the way together). Continue reading →