Alaska Airlines has taken a step to align themselves with American Airlines, Delta, and United… and it’s not a great one for us.
They announced that they are introducing saver fares to compete against Basic Economy fares and that they will begin charging for exit row seats. These new Saver Fares will be bare bones, but it hasn’t yet been announced whether you’ll still be allowed to bring a carry-on bag (I’d assume not, but it remains to be seen). You will still be allowed to make a seat assignment, which is not something that the other airlines with basic economy fares allow. These new changes are expected to hit sometime between fall 2018 and early 2019.
Additionally, they are making some negative changes to their change policy for non-elite members. Going forward, only Alaska MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75K members will be able to make changes to their itineraries without a fee more than 60 days in advance of travel. We don’t know exactly what the new fees for changes and cancellations will look like, nor do we know when this is going into effect.
Overall, these changes aren’t great but will give some travelers more options to save money when they don’t need the additional benefits that won’t come with basic economy fares, but we need to wait a little longer to find out all of the details associated with these changes.
What do you think about Alaska’s addition of Basic Economy fares and the changes made to their change policy?
All Articles
Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
Add to Favorites
- Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card in the first 3 months.†
- Earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $30,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in the calendar year.
- Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
- Settle into your seat sooner with Priority Boarding and enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas.‡
- Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access.‡
- Terms and limitations apply
- See Rates & Fees
Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
| FTG Review | Reward Breakdown | Points Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
Breakdown
Earn (pt.)
Spend
3 months
0
$3,000
Per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Purchases
2.00
$1
All Purchases
1.00
$1
|
||
|
Already have this card? Maximize your rewards.
|
||
