When travel hands you lemons: How I made the most of a delayed flight I spent this weekend at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad. I flew to Port of Spain on JetBlue (SEA-JFK-POS) with the SEA-JFK leg a redeye in Mint Class. Going home was a bit trickier due to timing … Read more
Alaska 75K Gold Lounge Passes Non-Transferable UPDATE 3/4/19: It seems like Alaska may be walking back this devaluation. Alaska has added new language to the MVP Gold 75K website: **To redeem 75K Lounge day passes, visit the Alaska Lounge and provide your Mileage Plan number to the Concierge. To ensure … Read more
Alaska Airlines Same Day Flight Changes and Upgrades A same day flight change is a nice option for travelers hoping to move to an earlier or later flight the same day as their originally booked ticket. I use this option a ton. For example, this past weekend I was in … Read more
Alaska Airlines Premium Class is the new “Economy Plus” class being rolled out across the airline’s 737-800, -900 and E175 aircraft. The new Premium Class officially launches on flights with retrofitted aircraft starting January 5, 2017. Alaska Airlines Premium Class can be purchased starting today. Premium Class comes at a … Read more
If you read my website with any regularity, you know I am a fan of Alaska Airlines. Their generous Price Guarantee has saved me some serious cash over the years. Recently I ran into some problems with my Alaska Mileage Plan status change not showing up correctly on reservations I … Read more
Alaska Airlines Mile Calculator For all things Alaska Airlines, check out my Alaska Airlines Page. Calculating your total miles with Alaska can be a bit of a chore. The Mileage Plan website shows your progress towards the next level of elite status and your mileage activity. However, it doesn’t break … Read more
Is Alaska Airlines getting Premium Economy seats? Currently it is one of the few airlines that hasn’t started charging for premium economy seats (with extra legroom and other perks).
According to KUOW (Seattle’s NPR station), Alaska Airlines is planning on testing out a preferred seating program on some flights. During the 1st Quarter Earnings Call (which you can listen to here), Alaska Airlines Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Harrison spoke about the new seats early in the call:
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Last week there was some buzz over a (possible) mistake fare from Dubai (DXB) to Austin, Texas (AUS) on British Airways and partner airlines, all in First Class.
I use the term “mileage run” in the title of this post, but really it is hardly a milage run for two reasons:
Mileage runs are usually cheaper (this one, for me at least, worked out to be 7.4 cents per mile). And having a one way from the middle east is not super helpful.
I learned about the deal while in Disneyland with my nephew and other family members and only had my iPad available to work on the itinerary. I booked through the devil OTA because by the time I was ready to pull the trigger, BA.com had already caught the mistake fare and removed it (but Expedia was still live). I wanted to make sure that all my segments were in First Class (some BA flights from LHR to US cities do not have a First Class, only Business). My ticket has been confirmed and I even was able to choose my seat. Others in the Flyer Talk forum have not been as lucky, no clue why mine ticketed while others have not yet.
Here is why I decided to book this deal:
A mileage run (or MR if you are hip to the lingo) is when you book a flight just for the loyalty points you earn with the airline (or hotel for that matter). Usually this is done when you find an extremely low fare on an airline you like to earn status with.
Living in Seattle, my airline of choice is Alaska. I have been MVP for the past few years, but this year I am aiming for MVP Gold. The benefits of MVP Gold are extensive; most important to me are upgrades to first class and ability to change a flight with no penalty. You must earn 40,000 “elite qualifying miles” (or EQMs), which usually means actual miles flown. Miles you earn through using your Alaska Airlines Visa Card, for example, do not count towards elite status.
