Alaska Airways has posted an replace to its Mileage Plan award chart web page. Whereas particulars are restricted, I can’t think about that that is going to be excellent news.
Alaska Airways making accomplice award adjustments
Right here’s the total replace posted to Alaska Airways’ web site:
Excellent news for 2022! Cathay Pacific awards might be out there to ebook on alaskaair.com in October and LATAM awards might be out there earlier than the top of 2022.
Beginning late December, the best way you view award charts on-line is altering. We’ll have a simplified award chart to point out you the place award ranges begin primarily based on which areas you’re touring from and to. With this variation, much like awards on Alaska, accomplice award ranges might fluctuate relying on a number of elements together with route, distance, or demand. You’ll proceed to have the ability to get pleasure from nice worth on your miles. As at all times, one of the best ways to view pricing and availability for the routes you’re thinking about flying is to seek for your particular journey dates and locations.
To recap:
- Earlier than the top of the 12 months it’ll be attainable to ebook Cathay Pacific and LATAM awards on Alaska Airways’ web site
- As of late December 2022, Alaska can have a simplified award chart the place beginning award ranges are displayed primarily based on which area you’re touring from and to
- Just like how Mileage Plan has dynamic award pricing on Alaska, there may also be extra elements that impression accomplice award ranges, together with route, distance, and demand
My tackle this ominous Alaska Mileage Plan announcement
Regardless of this announcement beginning with “excellent news,” I feel it’s protected to say that on stability this growth gained’t be excellent news. In fact Cathay Pacific and LATAM awards coming to Alaska’s web site is nice information, however that’s about it.
Past that, it’s arduous to know simply how dangerous these adjustments might be. We’re instructed to count on a “simplified award chart” and dynamic award pricing. A number of ideas on these factors:
- Up to now, Alaska Airways has promised to attempt to present 90 days advance discover of any award chart devaluations, and these adjustments are occurring in late December, which is… 90 days from now
- Alaska Airways positive has a humorous approach of speaking adjustments prematurely; sure, the airline gives discover, however we’re not really instructed what precisely is altering
- Since Alaska Airways joined oneworld, the airline has been promising a brand new unified accomplice award chart, although we’ve been made to consider that this is able to be along with particular person accomplice award charts sticking round; it’s anybody’s guess if that’s nonetheless the plan, or if there’ll simply be a single award chart
- Whereas Alaska Airways means that award pricing might be extra dynamic, in actuality that’s already sort of the case, within the sense that these days Alaska has “normal” awards on many companions, for conditions the place there’s not saver stage award availability (for instance, transatlantic Aer Lingus enterprise class awards can value 60,000 to 280,000 miles one-way)
There are some superb makes use of of Alaska Mileage Plan miles, particularly for journey on airways like Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Japan Airways, and so forth. What are my expectations of those adjustments?
- I think these adjustments might be unfavorable, however I don’t suppose they’ll be catastrophically dangerous
- The vital factor to bear in mind is that with accomplice award reimbursement charges being what they’re, Alaska doesn’t have a lot of an incentive to vastly enhance accomplice award prices, particularly if it retains members engaged in this system
- Personally I count on the “dynamic” facet of award pricing to return extra within the type of totally different pricing for various distance awards inside the similar area; for instance, perhaps a New York to London award might be priced otherwise than a Los Angeles to London award
So yeah, I’m not likely positive what to make of those adjustments. We all know they’re coming, however we don’t know far more than that.
Backside line
Alaska Mileage Plan might be making accomplice award adjustments as of late 2022. We’ve been given roughly three months discover, however we’re not precisely positive what we’ve been given discover of.
On the plus facet, Cathay Pacific and LATAM awards might be bookable on-line within the coming months, which is nice information. We’re additionally instructed to count on a simplified award chart, and to count on extra variability in accomplice award prices. How that truly performs out stays to be seen.
What do you make of those upcoming Alaska Mileage Plan adjustments?
