Yesterday I reported on a troubling restriction when it comes to the ability to redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles. There’s now an update, as I’ve heard back from the airline.
In this post:
Alaska blocking partner awards close to departure
Alaska Mileage Plan is currently blocking a vast majority of partner award tickets within 72 hours of departure. This doesn’t apply to award tickets on Alaska metal, and based on my searches, also doesn’t apply to some domestic award tickets on American.
However, best I can tell, award tickets in all other regions are blocked within three days of departure. This comes in one of two forms. Either flights just no longer show as available within 72 hours of departure (they literally drop off the search at the 72-hour mark), or they show as available, but when you go to book, there’s an error message stating:
Too Close to Departure
It is too close to the scheduled departure time to purchase this flight. Please start shopping again.
This restriction doesn’t just apply online, but also applies by phone. Many phone agents also reportedly claim that they’ve been made aware of a new policy that was recently implemented.
Fraud is a major issue with airline frequent flyer programs, whereby people will hack accounts and then book last minute travel, with travel taking place before the theft is caught. Going back many years, we saw Mileage Plan restrict partner awards within 72 hours of departure, but in a much more focused way. In the past it was typically limited to awards on just a couple of partners (Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines) and in select regions (typically within Asia).
We’ve never seen Mileage Plan block partner awards in such a widespread way. As any savvy miles & points collector can attest to, last minute is often the best time to book award tickets, given that many airlines make space available close to departure. So this restriction greatly limits the value of Mileage Plan miles.
Alaska states that this is a short-term policy
I’ve just heard back from an Alaska spokesperson, who tells me the following:
The 72-hour restriction we currently have in place for award redemptions with our partners is short-term – it’ll last only days and not months. We understand its impact on some of our guests’ travel planning and we apologize for the confusion. We’re always focused on ensuring we have the most compelling proposition in the market. We know that’s not possible with a limitation on close-in bookings.
Yesterday I stated confidently that I didn’t think this restriction would stick around in its current form, because the people behind Mileage Plan are ethical and want to run a great program, and restricting virtually all partner awards within 72 hours of departure would be a major and unprecedented program devaluation.
We’ve seen some other programs add hurdles to redemptions close to departure, but outright eliminating them is unheard of.
The above statement from the airline is also the perfect example of why I respect the people at the airline so much. We’ve been reassured this is temporary, have been given a rough timeline for this being resolved, and the airline even acknowledges that Mileage Plan can’t be a compelling program if this restriction sticks around.
While I can of course appreciate the desire to limit fraud as much as possible, these risks can be mitigated by simply putting more restrictions in place on last minute redemptions. For example, Mileage Plan could restrict last minute redemptions to phone bookings only, or could even set up two factor authentication.
Bottom line
At the moment, Alaska Mileage Plan is blocking most partner awards within 72 hours of departure. While we’ve seen Mileage Plan put some last minute redemption restrictions in place in the past to counteract fraud, we’ve never seen the program outright block nearly all redemptions, both online and by phone.
The good news is that I’m told that this restriction won’t stick around, and is just temporary, so I look forward to this being resolved soon.
What do you make of this Mileage Plan partner award blocking situation?
Living in Australia and being an Alaskan Milage member, for the past 3 weeks we have been unable to to find ANY Qantas milage ticket availability on ANY sectors on ANY date in the next 12 months, eg when searching SYD-LAX it only shows Fiji, JAL and AA when there have always been heaps of economy QF u.
Have called both QF and Alaskan but not fixed yet
ditto~ found the exact same problem.
Alaska MP is not a lot of use to Australians unless one is travelling to/through the US. Regrettably, my travel plans exclude such travel for the next 4 years.
LOL
I am going to Tokyo in a week and the phantom PE space on JAL is really annoying. None of the first class space that American shows is available on Alaskan either. FRUSTRATION all around. Looks like ill have to use 60k miles on American x2 for my son and I.
The QF space that American shows is also phantom.
@Ben
Is it possible to create a subsection, or make it more clear what is "updated" in a thread/article when you make updates?
This one is more obvious, but there are other times when an article is updated, and I have no idea what has changed because it reads the exact same as when it was first published.
Im dealing with another issue at the moment. Alaska shows so much phantom JAL PE space but doesn’t show the biz or first class space that American sees. So frustrating.
I assume calling Alaskan won’t help?
I think it's time airlines get serious about mileage fraud and require identity verification before allowing mile purchases and mile redemptions. Without this element, account bans are useless since brokers will just make more accounts. Usually requiring verification is a significant hurdle for a business (in both privacy terms and in terms of creating a friction), but airlines literally it, as part of the business, before anyone can fly. Until they do something like this,...
I think it's time airlines get serious about mileage fraud and require identity verification before allowing mile purchases and mile redemptions. Without this element, account bans are useless since brokers will just make more accounts. Usually requiring verification is a significant hurdle for a business (in both privacy terms and in terms of creating a friction), but airlines literally it, as part of the business, before anyone can fly. Until they do something like this, it'll just be a game of whack-a-hole with mileage brokers and fraudsters.
Thanks for the update. I no longer think Alaska had good intent re their program. They no longer allow you to put in my AA frequent flyer number on award tickets, even when the miles come from my wife’s account. I’m a OWS but have to pay bag and seat fees on award tickets. The workarounds (finnsir site, issuing ticket for “someone else” doesn’t work anymore.)
This deserves some coverage.
Ben, this is a pretty good comment and maybe something that does deserve a post. Specifically, the checked bag payments. Unless I'm mistaken, if you have a Delta CC (other than the no-AF Blue one) you can get one free checked bag *regardless* of payment method used to purchase the ticket or whether it's an award ticket, whereas AS has been imposing restrictions here.
A few days?
It's been weeks Lucky...
Tried on 25Oct to fly on 28Oct but missed the cutoff by a few hours.
Except I didn't know there was a cutoff as this new rule wasn't anywhere to be found in the terms and conditions.
How do you have respect for a company that implements a new rule with no notice and no updated terms and conditions?
I had to fly home on 29Oct as a result.
Not impressed at all...
@ Paul Griffin -- Sorry, I'm not sure what your "a few days?" comment is in reference to?
So airlines don't generally update their terms & conditions when they add temporary restrictions on their program, because the overall terms cover them for that, saying they can make changes at any point without notice, etc.
I totally understand your frustration, and I'd feel the same way. I choose to respect management at an airline based on...
@ Paul Griffin -- Sorry, I'm not sure what your "a few days?" comment is in reference to?
So airlines don't generally update their terms & conditions when they add temporary restrictions on their program, because the overall terms cover them for that, saying they can make changes at any point without notice, etc.
I totally understand your frustration, and I'd feel the same way. I choose to respect management at an airline based on their behavior over the long term, rather than any particular instance.
For example, let me ask you -- which airline do you respect? Whatever airline it is, I'm sure I can point to behavior at the airline that would be less than impressive, but that doesn't mean the airline isn't trying overall.
You quoted the spokesperson "it’ll last only days". It has almost been a month. So at least a few weeks. Not only a couple days...
If it is temporary, then why all the secrecy? Why not put a blurb on the website? When I tried to book, I searched, and it gave me a whole whack of options. Only well into the booking process did I get an error. Why not state the new temporary...
You quoted the spokesperson "it’ll last only days". It has almost been a month. So at least a few weeks. Not only a couple days...
If it is temporary, then why all the secrecy? Why not put a blurb on the website? When I tried to book, I searched, and it gave me a whole whack of options. Only well into the booking process did I get an error. Why not state the new temporary (if you believe it is temporary) policy from the initial search?
They way this has been handled has been very poor. So no, I wouldn't say they have earned a lot of respect at all.
Qantas flights ALL Disappeared!!!
Zero availability in
Sounds like it was just a computer glitch.
I'm new to this, so maybe I just don't understand... why this is worrying or extreme?
Because some people gambled and transferred a ton of their Amex MR into HA miles and thus AS miles. They are sitting with hundred thousands to millions of AS miles strangled to be used.
Oh come on, that's a huge overstatement Carl. Last-minute redemptions likely made up a very small fragment of award bookings, and the availability was highly limited to begin with.
This is certainly a step-back, inconvenience, and cause of frustration. But if someone is sitting with "hundred thousands to millions of AS miles" they only have themselves to blame. There are plenty of easy redemption options, and you shouldn't really bank airline miles to begin with...
Oh come on, that's a huge overstatement Carl. Last-minute redemptions likely made up a very small fragment of award bookings, and the availability was highly limited to begin with.
This is certainly a step-back, inconvenience, and cause of frustration. But if someone is sitting with "hundred thousands to millions of AS miles" they only have themselves to blame. There are plenty of easy redemption options, and you shouldn't really bank airline miles to begin with unless there's some crazy-good transfer deal going on (such as right now with Chase-Virgin).
Blocking JL and CX redemption within 3 days (fwiw, the former seems to be enforced by JL rather than AS) already cost me a lot, I’m not even looking at premium redemption, just looking at last minute spontaneous trip. Sometimes I’d book it 3 days out and cancel it as time close by.
Putting it across the whole AS redemption will be god awful. AS has fraud problem to tackle, but there can be...
Blocking JL and CX redemption within 3 days (fwiw, the former seems to be enforced by JL rather than AS) already cost me a lot, I’m not even looking at premium redemption, just looking at last minute spontaneous trip. Sometimes I’d book it 3 days out and cancel it as time close by.
Putting it across the whole AS redemption will be god awful. AS has fraud problem to tackle, but there can be much better ways to deal with it, like requiring accounts to have 2FA to book, or requiring booking on the phone and verify with email to confirm, or restrict the redemption to account owner only.
Instead they chose the laziest, and most destructive method.
I expect AS MP to go down the gurgler now that they have merged with Hawaiian. So basically it's open to all and sundry in the US doing miles and points. Used to be quite good with award availability up until that point.
You can understand partner airlines not wanting to degrade their premium cabins with a whole bunch of point hackers who clearly could not afford to pay cash fares. You can see...
I expect AS MP to go down the gurgler now that they have merged with Hawaiian. So basically it's open to all and sundry in the US doing miles and points. Used to be quite good with award availability up until that point.
You can understand partner airlines not wanting to degrade their premium cabins with a whole bunch of point hackers who clearly could not afford to pay cash fares. You can see why routes to and from the US are getting limited by other non US airlines.
I noticed lately that all the QF availability on AS is drying up since the Hawaiian merger. There's a direct correlation between that and trying to block some of the US point hackers. That's my take on it, having been using AS MP for 8 years now.
I'm happy to see this. Alaska has been given out miles and elite status insanely cheap since they joined OneWorld. Alaska has exploited OneWorld by leaching their partners instead of focusing improving their own fleet and maintenance. (It feels like Avianca LifeMiles program to Star Alliance.)
I wish OneWorld members should start restrict/limit Alaska's miles to redeem for partner's award space.
We all knew that Alaska would find ways to devalue the points after the merger, despite their restrictions. So if they can't change the value of a point, they can certainly restrict them significantly.
BA has been doing this for a long time. Even worse, it's more like a whole week rather than 3 days. Very frustrating as you can see identical available inventory on AAdvantage, so it's not as if there's 'No Avaiability'; just not on BA.
Can BA book over the phone?
I think one way to solve this issue, its every time you try to redeem a reward within 7 days, either a PIN code send to the last known phone number (in case the hacker changes the number) and to the new number, and the email reservation send to both the old and new email (..the hackers email). In other words, if you try to change your phone or email during a redemption closer to the departure date it should be a suspicious activity.
If an airline knows that there're a large group of people waiting to book last-minute F/J awards, why would it release these awards earlier? Why wouldn't it hold on to those seats until the last minute to potentially sell them for cash to business travelers, who may have to buy these tickets at the last minute? If, for example, JX knows that it can't wait until the last minute to release its saver awards, it...
If an airline knows that there're a large group of people waiting to book last-minute F/J awards, why would it release these awards earlier? Why wouldn't it hold on to those seats until the last minute to potentially sell them for cash to business travelers, who may have to buy these tickets at the last minute? If, for example, JX knows that it can't wait until the last minute to release its saver awards, it might just do so sooner to avoid flying with a half-empty J cabin.
Ha! Cathay Pacific was/is notorious for flying out with almost empty F cabins all over their network. Would not release empty seat inventory at all. Seems counter-intuative to me, but I suppose some genius at CX thought it was the way to go.
No wonder they weren't turning a profit!
I got hit by this today morning for an AA flight to the US. I was not happy about it and I ended up using BA points for the AA flight.
My guess is they will try to excuse this as being for security of customer account balances but I also suspect this will make AA’s partner airlines happy too. Bad for me as a customer.
I have the opposite reaction to those that think this 'wont last' -
Most of the world (minus US) can operate on award travel more than 2 days out
I suspect the partners are saying - this just doesn't work. Partners are international.
Let's see how this shakes out
Same with most of the US population, to be fair. We're talking about a TINY fraction of award redemptions. Probably is, this site is obviously HEAVILY skewed so within the readership here it seems to be fairly common.
My account was frauded a few months ago with miles stolen. Although Alaska reinstated miles, there’s a restriction on my account now where I have to contact them to give a PIN number before I can make *any* redemptions. It’s awful.
The fact that they can’t implement 2FA in 2024 when every other company on earth seemingly has had it for years is, frankly, pathetic.
Hate to break this to you but,
"I have to contact them to give a PIN number"
IS a form of 2FA.
The fact that you whine about a company not implementing 2FA in 2024 when they ALREADY had it for years is, frankly, pathetic.
I've flown 400,000 moles exclusively on Alaska Airlines and only just now used some miles to fly to Knoxville. They put me on a crappy American Airlines flight.
The first time I've ever had my luggage lost AND the first time I've had a flight canceled.
I will never fly with Alaska Airline miles again.
I must be an exception. I always book my trips months in advance. Are we sure this isn’t some software error?
Well, you certainly aren't the ONLY exception, as I always book months out as well...
Just verified here , Starluxe sfo - tpe Premium econonmy leaving tonight 50k avb 11/12 , was able to check out and cancelled.
Not sure what you are saying here. You were able to find availability and book but then it got cancelled after booking? And what is "avb"? Sorry for not understanding.
Phone app appears to be working. Can get STARLUX out of LAX and SFO 13th and 14th.
For 75K ? I saw lots of 255K :(((
Also concerning - Alaska has zero award availability on Qantas. About 3 weeks ago it disappeared entirely.
Yas, I plan on filing with DOT since this isn't not published anywhere. I just wanted to upgrade my shorter leg on Starlux once J became available.
Get over it.
Majority of traveling public don’t redeem last minute reward tix because of work schedule, schools, etc. This only affect people who are savvy with award redemptions who also have flexible jobs, no kids, grown kids, and/or retired. General public won’t know the difference. Plus you can’t find much international award tix in J these days so the program had been ranked awhile back before this.
Also affects those who book the time off work and then book the flights last minute. There's always some availability so why not?
Agreed with JetSetFly. DenB, I'm sorry to hear that but what you describe is a very niche case. For most of the working population, PTO is so valuable and *hard to change* that we need near-certainly to proceed with travel plans.
Also.... granted I am very West Coast-biased but I haven't seen great last-minute awards with AS in years. Reading through these comments I feel like I'm in some parallel universe or I just really suck at setting up alerts.
They're already getting uber-restrictive with booking partner airlines, especially over the Pacific...and especially in J/F. i.e. Good luck getting a long-range (calendar wise) ticket on QF to OZ from the states!
Bingo. Parner redemption opportunities with AS have been mediocre for months if not years.
Last minute discounted rates on partners is all I care about now. If this actually spread to become a thing with all the programs...just wow. The last crumb of any value would be gone. It would force the higher rates as the only rates for partners.
I can see all them doing it claiming it's, "for our benefit in protecting fraud." When in fact that is an easy disguise to force you to redeem on...
Last minute discounted rates on partners is all I care about now. If this actually spread to become a thing with all the programs...just wow. The last crumb of any value would be gone. It would force the higher rates as the only rates for partners.
I can see all them doing it claiming it's, "for our benefit in protecting fraud." When in fact that is an easy disguise to force you to redeem on their metal or pay higher rates for partners. They could quickly fix the entire booking process of partner awards by implementing an easy authorization protocol.
The whole partner thing is already becoming a joke. For a trip next week that I'm stalking there are plenty of reduced J seats on Austrian and Lufthansa that are bookable with Miles and More but not any other program. Everyone is blocking partners now. This is one more way to shut the door totally by where partners are just for show when it comes to loyalty programs.
"The last crumb of any value would be gone. "
I don't understand hyperbolic statements like this. If the S Tier travel redemption opportunities are gone (And I agree with you that they are indeed slowly fading), surely you move on to the A or B Tier.
Throwing your arms up in the air, giving up and going all in on Travel Portals or Altitude Reserve statement credits isn't the logical next step.
Yup had this three weeks ago when i tried booking phl mxp 48 hours before my flight
Implement passkeys and require online booking and this problem goes away. I believe Hyatt is the biggest program with them already implemented
Bingo. Passkeys or 2FA and it's sayonara fraudsters.
Really just lazy on Alaska's part to blanket disallow <72h bookings.
Alaska runs Mileage Plan for the benefit of the company, not customers. If a feature of the program is costing them money, or simply not earning enough, they'll pull the plug. If that alienates members who transfer points from credit cards that don't make Alaska money, I'm sure their care factor is close to zero.
Well there aren't that many transfer partners to disappoint.
What about modifying an upcoming flight within the 72 hour windows?
Same blocked, not all carriers through my AA I got the option, Starlux popped up saying changes weren't allowed plus calendar was empty of flight options
This would be ok if there was an exemption for people booking tickets for themselves. In fact, I would be ok if they had a list of 3 family members names also allowed to be ticketed within 3 days but anybody else would be banned unless added to the list a week or two or even 30 days ahead of time.
imagine being so bad (or having so few manpower) at patrolling your program against fraudsters that you simply nuke the program instead.
This policy kills almost all JX redemptions as they only release longhaul premium within 3 days of departure.
Also Ben, are you sure about the ethical part? They promised rollover miles in March for 100k members and now it is silently cancelled. They devalued some routes by 100% 11 months ago,...
imagine being so bad (or having so few manpower) at patrolling your program against fraudsters that you simply nuke the program instead.
This policy kills almost all JX redemptions as they only release longhaul premium within 3 days of departure.
Also Ben, are you sure about the ethical part? They promised rollover miles in March for 100k members and now it is silently cancelled. They devalued some routes by 100% 11 months ago, and then next month the earning side will be devalued by 100%-200% in a lot of cases. Not my definition of ethical.
@ beyounged -- Can you expand on the rollover miles situation, as that's not something I was aware of? Regarding the Mileage Plan changes, they're a mixed bag. There's some really, really good stuff, and also some bad stuff. The 100-200% devaluations are some very extreme cases, but a lot of people also come out ahead.
The rollover miles were the miles qualifying toward elite status. Any miles over 100,000 were rolled over to this year. This was always stated to be a one time offer. Tey are the miles that count toward status not the miles you book awards with. Just looked and tey didn't go away.
@Ben earlier this year, and even earlier when they introduced 100K as a status, they promised it will not be just 75K with 25% more RDM bonus (at the time the 2 status were almost identical), and teased some rollover EQM as a feature that will come later in the year. Now at year end, there is no rollover in sight for 100K and it will only start next year, at the expense of other...
@Ben earlier this year, and even earlier when they introduced 100K as a status, they promised it will not be just 75K with 25% more RDM bonus (at the time the 2 status were almost identical), and teased some rollover EQM as a feature that will come later in the year. Now at year end, there is no rollover in sight for 100K and it will only start next year, at the expense of other significantly more valuable options, so they lied.
Most of BA/CX/QF/RJ premium cabins have received 100% RDM reduction. Unless you book on AS, which is not possible at all. Factor in the destruction of earn rate on MVPG/75K members, lower tiers see consistent 150%+ earn reduction. I cannot see anyone coming out ahead with this year's changes unless they already have 1MM miles to burn through and accrue EQM. Earn side is annihilated, so the burn side at most has a year to live. What is the benefit of EQM on redemption when you barely earn enough for a one way SEA-SIN in 2 years?
Actually, getting this message when trying to book DOMESTIC AA metal for (5) days out.
"We're sorry, we aren't able to confirm space on these partner flights. Please try again and choose different flights, dates or cities."
I can confirm that it is not possible on DOMESTIC AA also within the 72 hours departure.
I'm glad that their blocking close-in award bookings. I was checking my flight schedules the day after Christmas an I was shocked to see a trip booked to Lago, Nigeria via Doha on Qatar. This crook booked a QSuite on Qatar just six hours before departure. At least this crook had good taste and 280,000 of my miles. When I noticed it, the flight was just begining to board at IAD. I called Alaska and...
I'm glad that their blocking close-in award bookings. I was checking my flight schedules the day after Christmas an I was shocked to see a trip booked to Lago, Nigeria via Doha on Qatar. This crook booked a QSuite on Qatar just six hours before departure. At least this crook had good taste and 280,000 of my miles. When I noticed it, the flight was just begining to board at IAD. I called Alaska and told them what happened. The agent put me on hold while she contacted a supervisor. When she got back, she told me that security pulled this guy off the plane at IAD. By the time my call was finished, I had the 280,000 miles back in my account and changed my password.
@ Steve from PDX -- Hah, funny that they caught the person at the airport. In fairness, if your miles are stolen due to unauthorized activity, the airline is still supposed to make you whole. Ford had miles stolen, and travel happened before we figured it out, but they restored his miles:
https://onemileatatime.com/insights/alaska-mileage-plan-account-hacked-miles-stolen/
Ben, I wasn't worried about getting my miles back. I'm glad that for once, the crook (the royal prince of Nigeria) got caught with the goods.
Lagos in Nigeria, you say? Sounds true to form.
Thanks a lot...you ruined my trip home to help disperse all my lawfully gained millions of $$ to random folks via email!
Your welcome. Remember, I'll always be here for you
Thanks...now can I get your United MileagePlus account number? I'd ask for your SkyPesos number, but I already promised that scam to Tim Dunn!
The only awards I ever book (hundreds of thousands of points per year) are always booked in the final days before the flight. I marvel at people's ability to plan travel months in advance but that's not me. Mileage Plan is of almost no value to me, if I can't book longhaul premium seats 2 days before travel. this story is alarming and while I have confidence in Ben's prediction that "this won't last" I...
The only awards I ever book (hundreds of thousands of points per year) are always booked in the final days before the flight. I marvel at people's ability to plan travel months in advance but that's not me. Mileage Plan is of almost no value to me, if I can't book longhaul premium seats 2 days before travel. this story is alarming and while I have confidence in Ben's prediction that "this won't last" I find the total absence of timelines unnerving and frustrating. "We've been experiencing fraud" seems to be an All-Terrain vehicle that companies can ride anywhere they want to go.
Ever been in an airport? Then you already know the immutable truth: The Opposite of "security" is convenience.
@DenB ---> I never travel internationally on business, only for leisure. Perhaps it's just me, but I can't book airfare, hotels, restaurant reservations, etc., etc. within 72 hours. I need to make arrangements to take time off work; so does my wife; etc., etc. If you can, "more power to ya," as the saying goes, but I have to say (sorry, Ben) this is non-issue for me.
"So if this sticks around, it would greatly limit the value of Mileage Plan miles."
It was already limited to the point of abject uselessness by no longer offering any awards in premium partner cabins.
100% this. The only use I've gotten from AS miles in the past 2 years is booking domestic AA flights
@ TravelinWilly -- I hear you, though in fairness, that's largely outside of Alaska's control, and this game has no doubt changed over the years. Gone are the days of readily available CX F awards, JL F is much harder than it used to be, EK F redemptions through Mileage Plan aren't a thing anymore, etc.
You're absolutely right that the sweet spots that previously restricted with the program are no longer there, partly due...
@ TravelinWilly -- I hear you, though in fairness, that's largely outside of Alaska's control, and this game has no doubt changed over the years. Gone are the days of readily available CX F awards, JL F is much harder than it used to be, EK F redemptions through Mileage Plan aren't a thing anymore, etc.
You're absolutely right that the sweet spots that previously restricted with the program are no longer there, partly due to pricing, and partly due to lack of availability.
However, I have to say that I'm redeeming more Mileage Plan miles than ever before for domestic travel on American, giving the excellent pricing. I realize that's not terribly aspirational, but it sure saves me a lot.
I hope the change doesn't stick, but it would not surprise me if it did. Alaska has slowly been devaluing its Mileage Plan.
I would frequently book award flights for me and my SO online. I used to be able to put my SO's BA number in when I booked them as she could then get us into One World lounges based upon her BA status. No more. Can no longer do it online...
I hope the change doesn't stick, but it would not surprise me if it did. Alaska has slowly been devaluing its Mileage Plan.
I would frequently book award flights for me and my SO online. I used to be able to put my SO's BA number in when I booked them as she could then get us into One World lounges based upon her BA status. No more. Can no longer do it online and phone reps refuse to do it as well. Claimed there was a no "double dipping" policy that has now gone into place. I can see not allowing me to use my BA status for an AS award flight, but how is my travel companion using their BA status a "double dip?"
Definitely encourage people to write to Alaska customer care. Hopefully they will walk this back with enough pushback. This also penalizes people who make last minute travel changes...
I can confirm that this happened to me trying to book ORD-LHR in J on AA metal for a next day departure on 10/24. J was available online (AS) website and through AA's website. I got the error that it was "too close to departure," called AS got the same thing from the phone rep. I pushed back (as a 100k I should have some flexibility, but nothing with AS). Ended up burning UA miles, thankfully they had saver J available.
Seems like it would be in violation of the merger agreement to preserve loyalty program rights, but I'm just a Holiday Inn Express lawyer.
@ Chris -- I could be mistaken, but wasn't the agreement to not do anything that decreases the value of a HawaiianMiles mile compared to pre-merger? I don't think this would violate that, but I could be mistaken.
Plus all bets are off with how the new administration may shake up the DOJ.
Happened to me two weeks ago. Flying BKK to SFO. Could not book online and phone agents, including supervisor, said new policy in place. Terms and conditions were NOT updated so not transparent at all. Very frustrating rollout for travellers. I delayed my travels by a day to comply with the new UNWRITTEN terms.