Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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Poll Question: Do you Prefer Chatty or Silent Pilots?

Do you prefer when a pilot gives you lots of information about your flight or do you prefer when they keep quiet? Or do you prefer some other happy medium?  Last week, I had a strange experience on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Diego and want to see what you all think.  The flight time is about 2.5 to 3 hours, and during the whole flight the pilot said NOTHING. Not one word!

I didn’t even realize the pilot hadn’t said anything until my travel companion said, “I really don’t like it when pilots don’t explain or apologize when a flight is delayed.” Then it struck me, the pilot, he or maybe she, hadn’t said a word.

The flight did take off almost 30 minutes late. Nothing about that from the pilot, or the weather, or about seat belt signs, or about landing or temperature upon arrival. Nothing even about all the gorgeous scenery as we flew over snow covered mountains. No Happy New Year and thanks for flying Alaska. Not a word.  We did hear from a flight attendant on occasion about the Alaska Airlines Credit Card and using the appropriate bathroom for your class of service! Continue reading

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I Booked SFO-JFK Virgin America First Class for 25,000 AS Miles not 62,708 VX Miles

Good evening everyone.  I’m really excited that Virgin America flights are now booking with Alaska Airlines miles.  I have had my eye on a SFO-JFK flight around Labor Day Weekend, but I was waiting for an airfare sale before booking.  I was leaning toward JetBlue or Virgin America since I have lots of miles with those airlines, but I was just waiting for the price to drop.  Here are the current prices for a one way flight in economy, business, and first.  I’m not sure why some flights fall into business class and not first class, but whatever.

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My Outrageous 2017 Travel Predictions + Reader Ideas Needed

Good morning everyone, I’m sorry for the delay, but I have been diligently thinking about my 2017 travel predictions.  I am going to channel my inner Nostradamus to come up with some outrageous travel predictions for 2017.  Doctor of Credit has a good resource for all other 2017 travel predictions.

Disclaimer: I have made some travel predictions in previous years and I am more often wrong than right, but that losing streak has not dampered my prediction spirit.  To see how bad I am at making predictions, please read A Look Back at my 2016 Predictions (Airlines, Hotels, Credit Cards & MS).  I consider myself an optimistic pessimist (I prepare for the worst, but hope for the best), so these travel predictions will sound depressing.

Airlines

  • Southwest seems bent on making the Companion Pass very difficult to get unless you fly Southwest every week.  I believe credit card signup bonuses will no longer count toward the Companion Pass and Southwest might kill the whole concept of the Companion Pass entirely or switch to a certificate program similar to the Alaska Airlines companion fare or Virgin America companion ticket.
  • Other airline credit cards will adopt the Alaska Airlines companion fare (you pay full price and your companion pays up to $120) or the Virgin America companion ticket (you pay full price and your companion pays full price minus $150).

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2 Mysterious Alaska Airlines MVP Gold Guest Upgrades & 24-Hour Gift Certificate Wait Period

Good morning everyone.  Yesterday, there was a lot of excitement around Virgin America and Alaska Airlines, so I was looking around my Alaska Airlines account for more info.  I checked my Alaska Airlines account and saw a new link called Thank You Gift listed under the Mileage Plan header.  I didn’t notice this section before, but it says I have 2 MVP Gold Guest Upgrade codes available.  The codes expire on December 31, 2016, and I cannot use them, so they are available here on a first come, first use basis.

  • 9HL7-T237-2830-6919-4440-2203
  • 9HL7-T249-5463-3372-6009-2204

The strange thing is that there is a link that goes to the guest upgrades section, but there is nothing listed in the guest upgrades section.

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Alaska Airlines Breaking Up with Delta, but Improving Mileage Plan

Buenas tardes everyone,

I’m on a Delta flight from Monterrey to Atlanta right now, and right before takeoff I received an email from Alaska Airlines announcing changes to their mileage program. “Enhancements” is often a code word for devaluation, but for the most part these seem like good things – with one glaring exception.

Alaska and Delta Ending their Partnership Effective April 30, 2017

Buried at the end of their updates and press releases is the big news that Alaska and Delta are severing their partnership next year. People have been predicting this since Delta expanded their Seattle operations several years ago and launched head-to-head competition on some of Alaska’s core west coast routes, and it’s finally happened: the last day of the partnership will be April 30, 2017. After that, Alaska and Delta will stop codesharing each other’s flights, and members of their respective mileage programs will no longer be able to earn or redeem miles on the other airline. However, both airlines will still award miles for flights booked prior to today’s announcement, even if the flights are after April 30 – a very nice move. (No elite benefits will be honored after that date, though). Continue reading