Questions and Answers

For years, Alaska Mileage Plan has been my primary program, even though I only do about half of my domestic travel on Alaska flights. I maintain MVP or MVP Gold status, but I’ve always depended on flights from partner airlines to qualify.

In the past, this worked pretty well (even though I live in New York), since I could choose AA, Delta, or Alaska and still earn 100% flight miles. Of course, this is no longer the case. Most Delta economy fares now earn 50% of flight miles. Now that many AA fares are only earning 25%, and with many international partners having similar earning rates, it no longer makes sense for me to stick with Alaska Mileage Plan.

So, with 2016 coming to a close, I need to switch another program (ideally with a status match). But, which one? At this point, I’m primarily concerned about continuing to qualify for elite status at some level, but I also want to maximize my earning in a program with good award value and availability, primarily for longhaul premium cabin flights. In summary:

– For someone who I flies relatively long distances on relatively low fares, which program makes it the easiest to qualify for elite status? Which makes it easiest to earn qualifying points for flights on international partners?

– With lower/mid tier elite status (equivalent to Alaska MVP or MVP Gold), which airline will allow me to earn the most points, factoring in status bonuses, on discounted economy fares?

-I’ve noticed a lot of programs are reducing or even eliminating earning on many partner economy fares. Which are not? I want to get points (and status) from as many of my flights as possible.

Is anyone else in a similar situation with Alaska? What program(s) are you choosing and why?

I live in NYC, fly mainly to the west coast and Midwest, 2-3 times/year to Europe, and occasionally to the Middle East or Latin America. Most of my paid tickets are discounted economy fares.

Just credit Delta or American to Alaska. Their reward program is the best, why switch?

[QUOTE=”MarkS, post: 22502, member: 2121″]Just credit Delta or American to Alaska. Their reward program is the best, why switch?[/QUOTE]
Because most Delta fares are now earning 50% and American fares now earning 25% as of August… which means means I’d need to fly 2-4 times as much to get status on Alaska.

sorry misunderstood the question.

The airline you can take most often that gives 100% to PQM. American?

I’ll leave it to some who may be better informed about status.

[USER=2453]@Taylor H[/USER], pretty much every major US carrier is moving towards a revenue based model with the current exception of Alaska so you are not likely to see any great bargains with other carriers unless your are able to consolidate all your travel with one carrier. Travelers like you who fly long distance at low fares are precisely the constituency most carriers are moving away from, for better or worse. You’ll still get status for miles flown at most places if you can hit the rev requirements or get a cc waiver but that’s the current reality. The honest answer to your other question is “It depends”. How much you earn in redeemable miles will depend on your destinations, fare classes etc.

This might be helpful: [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/08/06/credit-airline-miles/[/URL]

I’m a west coast person who primarily flies to Europe several times a year and I’ve held status with United, US Airways, Delta and AA at different times over the past 15 years. I’m currently with AA. If I were you, utilizing JFK, however, I’d go with Delta. They have great partners in Europe, international award availability is easier (than AA) and they have great domestic coverage. They offer a credit card waiver for MQD which should help you meet the spend requirement for elite status if you’re flying discounted Y fares. AA does not currently have a cc waiver for EQD.