Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Tonei Glavinic. 4 Replies

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!

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 →

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

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Tonei Glavinic. 2 Replies

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 →

Poll Question: Do you Prefer Chatty or Silent Pilots?

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Shelli. 15 Replies

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 →

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

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Grant. 22 Replies

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.

Continue reading →

My Outrageous 2017 Travel Predictions + Reader Ideas Needed

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Grant. 18 Replies

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).