Reader Question: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Redemption Problem, Connecting Segments Not Bookable Online

In the present day a reader contacted us asking a couple of frequent drawback with Alaska Airways Mileage Plan that considerations award redemptions on companions with a connection section not being bookable.

Alaska has had this drawback for a very long time and whereas its award chart has some actual candy spots, the sensible side might be fairly the other and supply for a lot of complications.

Mileage Plan nonetheless imposes routing and provider restrictions on its awards, even after essentially the most lately revealed complete award charts:

Alaska Airways Mileage Plan Releases “Complete” Award Charts

Combining totally different airways remains to be not doable in lots of circumstances, and a few airways are nonetheless not bookable on all of their routes however that isn’t even the issue one among our readers has.

Right here is his e mail:

For the previous couple of years, I earned virtually 300k Alaska miles by signing up for bank cards advert transferring resort factors. I’m not able to ebook a flight for myself and my spouse however can’t appear to seek out any availability irrespective of for what vacation spot.

We’re planning to go to Thailand and Vietnam and essentially the most cheap means is from NA via Tokyo or Hong Kong. Lengthy-range flights on Japan Airways can be found and so are the connections however solely when searched individually, by no means in the identical search. I don’t have sufficient miles to ebook this individually. At this level we don’t even care anymore the place in South Eat Asia we fly, worst case we keep there for a number of days after which purchase an inexpensive ticket to journey onward. Options?

Nicely, it’s at all times good to be versatile like this, and it positively helps to maintain one’s choices open, however that doesn’t clarify the basis reason behind the issue.

The reader didn’t specify from the place in North America he desires to fly from however the underlying problem is both a technical fault with Alaska Airways web site or a some married section requirement. Married Phase is synonymous for 2 segments booked together, however on this case, it appears to be reversed, particularly that the reader want to ebook all of it collectively however can solely discover it individually.

Right here is an instance:

Alaska exhibits nothing when trying to find your complete routing however while you put in every route individually you then’re capable of ebook it. As two separate tickets although.

There’s a technique round this, you may ebook the principle route (crucial one) first after which name Alaska to request so as to add one other section. This additionally works when the web site doesn’t show the proper class of service on a via ticket however while you search individually it has every little thing accessible.

This occurred to me final yr after I booked Bangkok-Tokyo-Los Angeles:

Award Success: Japan Airways First Class Bangkok To Los Angeles With Alaska Airways Mileage Plan Redemption

It would now at all times be essentially the most handy choice to having to name the airline and wait lengthy occasions on the telephone to get one thing like this resolved, however in some unspecified time in the future, you gotta choose your poison as they are saying.

You may be charged with the extra quantity of taxes and miles (if any) and the ticket will likely be reissued.

I discover Alaska Airways to have a few of the extra nice and educated brokers to speak to so it isn’t as dangerous as calling a few of the different carriers.

Conclusion

Certainly one of our readers contacted us to obtain recommendation on tips on how to proceed with an Alaska Airways Mileage Plan award reserving on accomplice airways. The web site is appearing up for him and he doesn’t appear to get any outcomes that may enable him to ebook his ticket in a single itinerary. I counsel that he calls Alaska Airways on this occasion, particularly as he can see each segments being accessible when booked individually. When that happenes to you, take down that data (occasions and flight numbers) and provides it to the agent.

The reader ought to be capable of piece collectively his desired itinerary that means. What the web site exhibits isn’t at all times what can truly be booked on the telephone, and brokers often have the facility to manually sort things that the web site doesn’t present. This doesn’t simply go for Alaska Mileage Plan however most different frequent flyer applications as effectively, with one of many exceptions being Avianca LifeMiles which is totally horrible.