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Always ask for what you want
I currently have top tier, MVP G75, with Alaska Airlines. The main reason I pivoted away from American was Alaska’s superior MileagePlan program, and my pleasant experience interacting with customer service on Alaska. It was disappointing to see the relationship between AA and AS reduced at the end of last year. In case you missed it, the long and short is that elite benefits are no longer extended, and unless the flight is booked via Alaska’s site, you won’t earn miles on domestic flights operated by AA. Two big hits. However, yesterday I got notice, via email, that my flight from Indianapolis to LAX had been cancelled. It was supposed to be operated by Virgin America, routing via SFO, and the email I received rerouted me through Seattle. That would make for a very long day and I had an early morning the next day. I know AA operates a flight from IND to LAX, sold by Alaska on their website, and is a direct option.
I phoned Alaska and explained the situation. At first, the rep couldn’t find the codeshare. I found an AS flight number for her, and she asked if I could be placed on hold while she consulted her supervisor. A few minutes later she came back on and told me that the supervisor had approved the re-routing, booked me in Y fare bucket, and also assigned me a main cabin priority seat. I was surprised by both. Y earns full milage on AS, and as of January 1, Alaska Elites no longer have access to Priority and MCE seating. In the end, I got to leave later from Indy and arrive earlier into LA.
My ticket even says it was issued by AS, a point that will help me accrue the mileage I assess I’m due.
It’s reasons like this that make mileage runs, loyalty, etc worth it.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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