Expert Tip #5: Alliances are key to maximizing Miles and Elite Status

8 Comments

1. I actually agree with most of what you have written but there are certain airlines like Alaska air who while not in the alliance offer similar benefit and mileage earning oppty to thier partners from delta and aa

2. I’m not sure what you’re saying in regards to Alaska. You can earn Alaska miles flying on Emirates and many Skyteam and Oneworld parnters. What “alliance” lets you earn and redeem miles on both DL and AA? Yes, there are cons that might make AS a sub-optimal choice, but those might be outweighed if you primarily fly AS metal but also fly DL and AA, or mix and match Skyteam and Oneworld. It was a difficult choice for me flying out of SEA – I chose DL for specific reasons, but if I was flying AA or AS routes I would have definitely chosen AS.

3. I have to agree 100% with what Aditya said. Alaska does NOT participate in an alliance yet if you are a west coast flyer ESPECIALLY Seattle or Portland based, Alaska is an AMAZING airline choice. You get status on Delta, free bag checks and even upgrade to first (rarely) with delta and SAME with AA (minus the upgrades). Both AA and DL give Alaska MVP/GOLD/75 gold priority checkin, security, and boarding. AS also has partnerships with KLM, AF, LAN, Qantas, Emirates, KE, BA, Iceland air and more! Also if you have status with any of the above then you can earn miles with your primary airline and still fly alaska and if you collect via DL, AA, AF, KLM you can even earn elite qualifying miles.

4. I agree that Alaska is an ‘outlier’ amongst the non-alliance airlines (see my post – http://unroadwarrior.boardingarea.com/2010/06/03/alaska-airlines-the-switzerland-of-frequest-flier-programs/). But at the end of the day it is still a small set of airlines that Alaska partners with, when compared to a true alliance. Also, on the East Coast, it makes less sense to pick Alaska as your primary airline.

5. Really? Let’s compare Skyteam to AS:

   Skyteam (15)
   Aeroflot
   AeroMexico
   AirEuropa
   Air France
   Alitalia
   China Airlines
   China Eastern
   China Southern
   CSA Czech Airlines
   Delta Air Lines
   Kenya Airways
   KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
   Korean Air
   TAROM
   Vietnam Airlines

   Alaska (15)
   Air France
   Air Pacific
   American Airlines
   British Airways
   Cathay Pacific
   Delta Air Lines
   Emirates
   Era Alaska
   Icelandair
   Kenmore Air
   KLM
   Korean Air
   LAN
   PenAir
   Qantas

   Granted, some of the AS partners are not usable but I’d say the same for any alliance. Fly Vietnam Airlines or TAROM much from the east coast? AS is a very compelling choice for some on the west coast. The downsides aren’t necessarily the number of parnters.

6. The reason to avoid flying airlines such as Southwest or Emirates or even Alaska is that although you can earn miles while travelling on them but you don’t earn Status miles and so you don’t get any elite benefits like Lounge access and other perks…Alaska on the other hand is a slightly different case, on the domestic front they partner with Delta and American (you can earn status miles as well) and then you can earn Status miles while flying on Emirates as well(but in most cases you can only earn 50% of the actual distance flown)….But again overall I think its better to align with any Alliance… But again it depends on where you live and which airlines you prefer to fly….

7. Unroadwarrior, you don’t get it.
   If you fly AS, you can credit to DL or AA, earning full EQM and RDM. So it doesn’t even matter who *AS* partners with. Flying AS bolsters a Skyteam or Oneworld account.

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