Alaska Airlines Matches: No More Change Fees

It has been a remarkable week in the airline industry, as Alaska becomes the fourth major U.S. airline to abandon change fees. The new policy does not apply to Saver fares. which did not normally allow for changes in any event. But Alaska’s policy applies to all other tickets.

International Tickets Included

Both Delta and United apply their new policies eliminating change fees to domestic flights only. That includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Canada, Mexico, and all international destinations (and even U.S. Pacific territories like Guam) are excluded. They will still apply change fees to those tickets.

Alaska is extending its new policy to international destinations, as well. This aligns with American Airlines, its future oneworld alliance partner. Just a day earlier, AA announced sweeping changes to its policies. Not just to its change policy, but to its Basic Economy product and same-day standby fees. American is eliminating change fees on domestic and “short-haul” international routes, including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

It’s worth noting that Alaska has no long-haul international routes. Beyond the U.S., the airline’s route map includes Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. Except for Costa Rica, Alaska’s new policy fully matches up with American Airlines.

In a statement, Alaska Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer said:

“COVID has taught us that flexibility in travel is key. As we evolve our approach to travel to include more than 100 safety actions, it’s important to give our guests flexibility when they book by eliminating change fees.”

Saver Fare Waiver Extended

Alaska is also extending its waiver on Saver fares (due to Covid-19) for new bookings through December 31st. Customers who purchase Alaska’s basic economy product can cancel and re-book their flights if needed.

If The Fare Changes…

Alaska deposits its customers’ excess funds into an online wallet, which can be used toward future travel. Nothing will change here.

If you re-book to a lower-cost ticket, the airline will deposit the fare difference to your wallet. Of course, you’ll pay the higher cost if the fare is more expensive.

Award Ticket Changes

Alaska did not specifically address Mileage Plan award travel in today’s press release. The airline simply announced it would be eliminating all change fees, which would presumably include award travel.

Alaska’s policy on award travel was simply to charge the $125 change/cancellation fee should plans change. So we would expect that when Alaska eliminates all change fees, they mean all of them — including award travel. I’ve emailed the airline for clarification on this point.

Is This One Less Elite Benefit?

As I wrote yesterday, Alaska has a decision to make with its Mileage Plan program. Until now, Alaska could claim free changes as a nice benefit for its top-tier MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75K members. Not anymore.

It is Not a Devaluation, Even Top-Tier Elites Gain

There’s a chance that top-tier elites will see this change as a devaluation of their status. But let’s get real: top-tier elites won’t lose anything here. It’s just that other passengers will get the same thing.

Even top-tier elites are getting a boost. Alaska waived change fees for actual top-tier elites, not for their travel partners. Let’s say an MVP Gold books a family trip for four. But if she’s the only one with top-tier status and the family’s plans change, they would have paid $375 in change fees. Alaska’s new policy eliminates that cost, allowing even top-tier elites to hang on to more of their money.

Less Incentive to Earn Top-Tier MVP?

I think Alaska’s bigger problem here is that they now offer less incentive to earn MVP Gold. One of the best benefits of MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75k is now being given to everyone, regardless of status. That’s welcome news, but customers are no longer required to earn top-tier status in order to eliminate change fees from their lives. It’s not a devaluation, but Alaska’s new policy clearly removes some added value from it top-tier status.

Comparing MVP to MVP Gold

My wife and I have long been Alaska MVPs. But this year, I decided to pursue MVP Gold status. We’d gone to Hawaii in January, so I’m well on my way and will have MVP Gold by October.

MVP Gold offers several benefits not offered with entry-level MVP status. These are the benefits that stand out to me:

• 100% miles bonus, compared to 50% with entry-level MVP.
• A higher spot on the upgrade list.
• Complimentary same-day flight changes (my usual flight only goes just once per day, but this is handy for people living near an Alaska hub).
• Four annual First Class guest upgrades. These are not free upgrades, and customers will spend more on their flight purchase to use.
• Access to select international lounges in Australia, Iceland, London, and China.
• A free premium beverage — i.e., a free drink — if you’re not already sitting in Premium Class or First Class.

To me, the biggest benefits are the first two. By earning more miles, I can earn more free travel in the future. And of course, a higher spot on the upgrade list will ensure I’m sitting in First Class more often. Or at the very least, Premium Class.

As a customer, I have to ask if the benefits are worth the extra time on the hamster wheel to earn MVP Gold status. I’m not entirely sure. Fortunately, I’ll have until the end of 2021 to find out.

The Oneworld Question

Again, Alaska is joining the oneworld alliance by the end of the year. Thus, its elites will enjoy some additional benefits across the range of oneworld member airlines. We’re assuming that Alaska’s MVP Gold elites will slot into the oneworld program with Sapphire privileges. We just don’t know that yet. Sapphire would be a nice benefit to international travelers; because the primary global benefit of Sapphire status includes access to Business Class lounges.

And yet, it feels like Alaska should find one more useful benefit to offer its MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75k customers. I’m not quite sure what that would be.

Final Thoughts

Alaska Airlines is the latest to eliminate change fees, and we couldn’t be happier. It’s a great benefit for everyone, and even the airline’s top-tier MVPs should be happy with the news.

At this point, JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines are the two main dominoes yet to fall. And I expect that we’ll hear something soon, at least from JetBlue. I don’t expect the ultra low-cost carriers, like Frontier and Spirit, to make any significant changes.