Travel to Europe with Alaska Airlines Miles I am a fan of Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program. It helps that I live in Seattle (Alaska’s base). 95% of my domestic flights are on Alaska. Many other miles folks agree that Alaska is one of (if not the) best airline loyalty program. With … Read more
As Alaska Airlines is bringing Virgin America into the fold; there are bound to be growing pains. For example, Alaska’s on-time arrivals have dropped significantly since the merger. I am not sure about cause and effect, but delays are on the rise. This week Alaska announced additional routes out of Dallas … Read more
File this one under: “Didn’t see it coming”. Today Alaska Airlines announced Condor, a Frankfurt based airline, as their newest partner. Condor is owned by Thomas Cook Group, a British travel company. The earning structure when crediting Condor flights to Alaska Mileage Plan is surprisingly generous. Condor doesn’t have their … Read more
Alaska Airlines signaled they were serious about expansion when they purchased Virgin America back in December 2016. For the time being, Virgin America is sticking around. While not as flashy, Alaska has continued to show it’s commitment to dominance on the West Coast with subsequent announcements of new routes from … Read more
In the world of travel, customer service is hugely important. When your flight is delayed or you have an issue checking into a hotel; customers need help immediately. With the rise in social media use, Twitter has become a front line for customer service. And expectations are high; waiting an … Read more
Virgin America Mileage Run Up until recently, Virgin America allowed for VERY creative routing for travel between Portland, OR (PDX) and Los Angeles (LAX). Depending on the dates, you could fly from PDX-LAX with stops in San Francisco, Florida, New York, Boston, and/or DC for under $100. Virgin America has … Read more
Much conversation over the past 24 hours has focused on a mysterious 10,000 Alaska Mileage Plan mile bonus showing up in members accounts. Well, here is what I was able to learn directly from a staff member at Alaska: We understand that many Mileage Plan members have questions about a … Read more
2016 Year In Miles I traveled more in 2016 than any other year year by far. And it will likely be a long time before I travel as much in one calendar year again. I started grad school this past summer — time and money will be in short supply … Read more
Alaska Airlines Game Changer Mileage Plan Update Phew! Lots of news out of Alaska Airlines HQ today. Here is what you need to know about today’s Alaska Airlines Game Changer Mileage Plan update. Alaska award tickets just got cheaper Many West Coast flights now start at 5,000 miles. Read my post on … Read more
Cheaper Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan award tickets for domestic flights on Alaska operated flights go into effect today. Last week Alaska Airlines announced the purchase of Virgin America. At the press conference, two important dates were given in the merger process. First, as of December 19 (today), members of Alaska’s Mileage … Read more
SingleFlyer Top Posts of 2016 2016 has been an exciting year. I flew more miles than I have ever flown in a year before. I tried out a number of aspirational flights like Cathay Pacific and Emirates First Class as well as a few long flights in the back of … Read more
Alaska Airlines + Virgin America Press Conference Yesterday (December 14) Alaska Airlines announced the purchase of Virgin America. So far the language the airlines are using is a lot about partnership and “joining forces”. This is a departure from other acquisitions, such as the recent takeover of US Airways by … Read more
Alaska + Virgin Merger Ad Campaign Alaska Airlines has a history of nice ad campaigns. Virgin America, on the other hand, tends to be a bit less conventional. Today, in hoping to merge the two brands, Alaska and Virgin introduced their new Different Works ad campaign. It’s a little bit … Read more
Future of Mileage Plan and Elevate loyalty programs Starting on Monday, December 19, Alaska will begin to allow Mileage Plan members to earn miles on Virgin America flights. Likewise, members of Virgin America Elevate will be able to earn points when flying Alaska. It has not yet been announced if … Read more
Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 75K Status Explained Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 75K is the highest status you can earn with Alaska’s Mileage Plan program. Status is good with Alaska through the following calendar year. For example, status earned in October 2016 is kept through the end of December 2017. What are … Read more