On Tuesday we learned that Alaska finally gained antitrust approval from the U.S. Department of Justice to complete their takeover of Virgin America. While the merger was supposed to close in October, it has been pushed back significantly as the DOJ has been seeking concessions from the airline to ensure that sufficient competition remains. To…
Continue reading: Alaska Settles Lawsuit, Takeover Of Virgin America To Close Shortly
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What are the chances we don't get the ability to transfer points between programs? I have a nice amount of VA points that are hard to use since I'm in Nashville, but would love to fly Alaska to Seattle.
>>> It sure sounds like the plaintiffs were looking for a payout rather than to actually prevent the merger, and it seems like that’s exactly what they got. Even if Alaska was in the right, settling at a cost was probably the best bet, given the cost of delaying this merger further . . . <<>> Bring on the reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, and perhaps even points transfers between both programs! <<<
Well, I *did* receive MVP Gold status from Alaska just this week -- I had applied for a Status Match back in October! -- and saved over $200 already because of it.
Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner with Citi Thank You Points. If VA miles become transferable to Alaska, would this be an opportunity to move TY points to Alaska?
I call bullshit on the DOJ. If the DOJ is so worried about competition, how come we're down to 3 legacy carriers, more expensive fares than a few years back (despite oil prices being down), and fortress cities?