Article: Alaska’s Member-Unfriendly Award Booking Change

[AFF Editor]

Alaska’s Member-Unfriendly Award Booking Change is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

Alaska's Member-Unfriendly Award Booking Change

Alaska Airlines no longer lets you change the frequent flyer number on award bookings to that of a Oneworld partner airline, meaning you can't access Qantas status benefits.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[levelnine]

You have to wonder how it will be enforced. If you can find a website that'll allow you to update the FF number attached to a booking (eg Finnair), what happens when you try to update it?

 

[SYD]

I’d be surprised if it sticks beyond flights on AS metal? As mentioned above, use another OW website or change details at checkin.

Another potential workaround for 2x PAX both with non AS OW status is to try and use the other PAX FF details just for them. Their benefits should be bestowed on both PAX on the booking.

This system is becoming common on *A. SQ won’t let you add another program to an award booking let alone change FF details. But you can change/add details at physical checkin (ie see an agent).

UA doesn’t allow you to change FF details once in (there’s a FT thread on that one). But again, you can usually update the details at checkin.

I stumbled on both those two via redemption travels in recent travels…

 

[Mwenenzi]

When redeeming Alaska Airlines miles for an international Business or First Class ticket, that isn’t really a problem because you would get access to most of the same benefits anyway. But if flying Economy or Premium Economy and you have Qantas Gold status, for example, you won’t be able to use your Qantas status benefits on an Alaska Airlines award booking.

Not really for BA (and QR?). With BA business class you do not get a free seat selection, unless you have mid-top tier status (OWS OWE). Or wait until T-7days/T-24hrs or pay $$ (UKP195?). So if you redeem an AS award in BA business class and have nil-low (OWR) AS status you are our of luck.
More airlines (EK, QR, AF, KLM & ?) have no seat selection and/or no lounge access on some lower priced lite business class fares.

With the AS ffp can you redeem an award for "another person"? Who may be a 99.9% clone of you but with status in another OW airline.

 

[CaptJCool]

Presumably they’ve upped the points spend needed for redemption ?

In looking at say First San Fran - Tokyo was 70,000 now 110,000?

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Echoing what others have said. I'm not sure how they would enforce this. They would need to change their MMB site. Most people just book for someone else who happens to have the same name and enter their FFP # in there.

I wonder if this was related to people trying to upgrade on award tickets. One may recall an infamous poster on these forums had booked an AS award ticket and requested an upgrade with their QFF # and there were issues processing as it was issued by AS. Apparently they got it done in the end but perhaps one of the reasons...

 

[levelnine]

I wonder if this was related to people trying to upgrade on award tickets. One may recall an infamous poster on these forums had booked an AS award ticket and requested an upgrade with their QFF # and there were issues processing as it was issued by AS. Apparently they got it done in the end but perhaps one of the reasons...

Hard to know what's driving such a niche policy change (if there's any rationale to it at all), but my guess would be AA Plat Pros/Exec Plats attaching their number to AS award bookings & accessing First Class lounges at greater cost to AS.

 

[farstar]

They have also removed Priority pass so the lounges must be getting overcrowded.

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

In my (fairly extensive) experience, Alaska's booking engine doesn't let you add a non-AS number to a reward booking from the outset anyway. It may have been possible to call in or chat with their customer service to change the number to another programme, but I always found it easiest to leave the field blank when booking and then simply add it directly with the operating airline, typically Qantas in my case, and I could do it online.

I just checked an upcoming Alaska reward ticket booked on Qantas that I'd added my QF number to ages ago (and that reflects on QF's system), and the booking within Alaska still shows no frequent flyer number added to the booking.

TL/DR - I don't see much practical change here, though I suppose in theory with it being a formal restriction there could be punitive action --- but frankly that seems nothing more than that: theoretical. Why would they go to the trouble, and would they really cancel the ticket if they did?

 

[Mattg]

As a data point, I just flew on an award ticket for travel on QR that I booked with Alaska miles. By default my Alaska number was attached to the booking and I was unable to change it prior to checking in. However, when checking in at the airport, the QR agent was able to swap out the AS number for my QF frequent flyer number. My boarding pass had "oneworld emerald" on it and this was recognised for lounge access etc.

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

As a data point, I just flew on an award ticket for travel on QR that I booked with Alaska miles. By default my Alaska number was attached to the booking and I was unable to change it prior to checking in. However, when checking in at the airport, the QR agent was able to swap out the AS number for my QF frequent flyer number. My boarding pass had "oneworld emerald" on it and this was recognised for lounge access etc.

In the past, I recall that "Myself" was listed as the suggested passenger when you get to that stage of the booking and the AS number was indeed linked already and couldn't be changed, but that you could also choose something like "New passenger" and then just put in your first and last name and leave the AS frequent flyer number field blank. I would do this and then, after ticketing, add my QFF number via QF's website and then I was set. I don't believe it ever reflected back on AS' end but has always stuck on QF's side.

 

[Mattg]

In the past, I recall that "Myself" was listed as the suggested passenger when you get to that stage of the booking and the AS number was indeed linked already and couldn't be changed, but that you could also choose something like "New passenger" and then just put in your first and last name and leave the AS frequent flyer number field blank. I would do this and then, after ticketing, add my QFF number via QF's website and then I was set. I don't believe it ever reflected back on AS' end but has always stuck on QF's side.

I did exactly that during the booking process, but the Alaska website was smart enough to work out that the "new passenger" had the same name as me, so automatically added my AS number.

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

I did exactly that during the booking process, but the Alaska website was smart enough to work out that the "new passenger" had the same name as me, so automatically added my AS number.

What a lovely enhancement. At check-in it is, then!