You've got to be kidding me, Alaska Air! #AlaskaAir #Youvegottobekiddingme #IflySWA
I'm finally booking travel for the summer, and I've got great plans with lots of flights:
The process takes me forever. I really try to get the best deals (if you know my father, you know what I'm talking about) so I spend hours Googling and Kayaking and searching all the mileage programs for the best combination of deals.
I've been working on Shannon to DFW then to Boise the next day so I can stay one night with the fam in Dallas.
I booked an Alaska flight on Wednesday, July 24 from Dallas Love Field to Boise for 2:15 p.m. I used miles to hold a flight and planned to cancel it within 24 hours. Now, to be fair, it DOES say you only have 24 hours to change or cancel without penalty. Of course, I forgot to cancel it and just now called to see what, exactly, my penalty situation would be.
I have now been reminded as to why I have unspent miles on Alaska more than 3 years after I received the bonus miles.
But let's get serious. Take a look at the options the agent gave me. I remind you that this flight cost $270 USD.
- Abu Dhabi to Luxembourg
- Amsterdam to Dublin
- Shannon, Ireland to DFW
- Dallas to Boise
- Boise to Austin
- DFW to Abu Dhabi
- Abu Dhabi to Seychelles
- Seychelles back to Abu Dhabi.
The process takes me forever. I really try to get the best deals (if you know my father, you know what I'm talking about) so I spend hours Googling and Kayaking and searching all the mileage programs for the best combination of deals.
I've been working on Shannon to DFW then to Boise the next day so I can stay one night with the fam in Dallas.
I booked an Alaska flight on Wednesday, July 24 from Dallas Love Field to Boise for 2:15 p.m. I used miles to hold a flight and planned to cancel it within 24 hours. Now, to be fair, it DOES say you only have 24 hours to change or cancel without penalty. Of course, I forgot to cancel it and just now called to see what, exactly, my penalty situation would be.
I have now been reminded as to why I have unspent miles on Alaska more than 3 years after I received the bonus miles.
But let's get serious. Take a look at the options the agent gave me. I remind you that this flight cost $270 USD.
- Cancel the flight for $170. But I get to keep the miles!
- Change the flight for $125 (I get to use the miles, then, but have to pay any difference in the cost of the trip).
- Not show up for the flight. No fee, but I lose 12,500K miles.
- Wait until the day of the flight and change to a different flight for only $50.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!
Perhaps I was in Texas too long and flown on Southwest Airlines too many times. Their rewards program is mostly incredible. You can change it for no fee until it's time to board the flight, and maybe even until the plane takes off, FOR NO FEES. No mileage penalty, no points fee, no change fee, no cancellation fee, no "rebooking" fee.
I do not understand why more airlines companies in general do not understand that we consumers would become loyal customers if they would be reasonable.
As a frequent visitor to the Pacific Northwest, there was a time when I really enjoyed Alaska Airlines. Their flight attendants have always been super nice and they have a great reputation for customer service. But this incident has pushed me to always fly Southwest Airlines whenever possible. I cannot support a company that so ostentatiously seeks to squeeze pennies out of customers--especially customers who are members of their "loyalty" program.
Isn't the point of loyalty programs that customers feel just a little bit better tended to than those who are just casual users of the business?
Southwest should thank Alaska for their newest re-committed Rapid Rewards member.
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