Alaska Airlines Changes Mileage Plan to Crush Loopholes for Frequent Flyers
Photo Credit: An Alaska Airlines plane painted like a salmon. Flickr / JerandSar Gimbel
Skift Take
For Alaska Airlines, sudden changes to its loyalty program may be a lesson learned in how temperamental frequent flyers can be. But in the end, travel hackers will have to either play the game that the airlines create or quit.
Alaska Airlines has changed a sliver of its loyalty program, and travel bloggers responded with unilateral fury.
"I feel what Alaska has done is unrepairable and trust has been destroyed," ranted the owner of Renespoints.com, for example, reflecting the feelings of many.
One change to Alaska's loyalty program — and the way that it was implemented — has triggered the outcry.
Mileage Plan, Alaska's loyalty program, is widely regarded as one of the best in the industry. Unlike with American, Delta, or United, passengers can still earn miles based on the distance they fly. And since Alaska doesn't belong to one of the big airline alliances, those passengers can still redeem miles on a
