Airline Credit Card Question

[LJSquishy]

I have a question about the different airline credit cards regarding the bonus miles you get for signing up, etc.

I know you need to spend $X amount to receive your miles for signing up (usually 25k miles or so) and that it basically pays for a round trip ticket, but after meeting that criteria, can you use those miles for your free ticket and also take advantage of the $99 companion ticket? Or, can you only use one or the other?

My in-laws have an Alaska Airlines (I think) card and they will be going to Hawaii in November but they said they couldn't use their points (earned points, not free signup points) for a free ticket plus buy a $99 companion ticket...They had to use one or the other. I'm asking because I'm hoping to do a Disneyland trip sometime in the next year but only if we can get a free or $99 ticket (both would be ideal!).

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I have a question about the different airline credit cards regarding the bonus miles you get for signing up, etc.

I know you need to spend $X amount to receive your miles for signing up (usually 25k miles or so) and that it basically pays for a round trip ticket, but after meeting that criteria, can you use those miles for your free ticket and also take advantage of the $99 companion ticket? Or, can you only use one or the other?

My in-laws have an Alaska Airlines (I think) card and they will be going to Hawaii in November but they said they couldn't use their points (earned points, not free signup points) for a free ticket plus buy a $99 companion ticket...They had to use one or the other. I'm asking because I'm hoping to do a Disneyland trip sometime in the next year but only if we can get a free or $99 ticket (both would be ideal!).

If I understand your question, you must buy one ticket with cash to get a companion ticket for $99 from Alaska Airlines. If more than 2 are traveling, others can get tickets, subject to availability, on the same flight using frequent flyer miles.
-- Suzanne

 

[3angelsmom]

I think the rules for using a companion pass will vary depending on the credit card program. I know that for one card I looked at, after meeting the spending criteria you got points and a companion pass, but the pass had special rules, blackout dates, etc. When I researched it further, people on travel forums reported that it was virtually impossible to use the companion pass. Not saying all companion passes are like that, just that you really have to read the fine print and research each one.

I prefer the SW visa. I earn a bunch of points and can apply them any time (no blackouts) to how ever many tickets I want.

 

[LJSquishy]

Thank you both so far for your responses. I was thinking about the Southwest Visa but really I'm open to any major airline card. I suppose it would be wise to assume that for just 2 people flying, I would have to choose whether to use the miles or the $99 companion ticket and that I can't use both. That is kind of a bummer, but still better than nothing.

 

[Sandi]

I think the rules for using a companion pass will vary depending on the credit card program. I know that for one card I looked at, after meeting the spending criteria you got points and a companion pass, but the pass had special rules, blackout dates, etc. When I researched it further, people on travel forums reported that it was virtually impossible to use the companion pass. Not saying all companion passes are like that, just that you really have to read the fine print and research each one.

I prefer the SW visa. I earn a bunch of points and can apply them any time (no blackouts) to how ever many tickets I want.

I have the Delta AMEX and you really need to schedule WAY in advance or be really flexible to use the $99 companion fare. I was able to use the companion fare for my DD and me to go to WDW in August with just a few weeks notice, but we flew on Wednesday and Monday -- not the usual days of the week I'd choose, but we had the flexibility and it was worth it to redeem the fare. I find that using miles is not as difficult.

Make sure you read the rules for whatever card you're looking at. They are all different and subject to change.

 

[taaren]

I have both the Southwest and the Alaska Airlines cards. For our next trip to the World we used the Alaska $99 companion fare to get from Maui to the West Coast for DS & I, and yes we had to pay for my fare. DH's fare we paid for because he had a large credit with them since they had messed up one of his flights previously ... What you could do is if you have more than 2 people, pay for 2 using a regular fare then the $99 companion fare, then use miles on the 3rd person.

We then used the Southwest CC to get from OAK to MCO for free.

As far as I know there aren't any major restrictions on when you can use the companion fare on Alaska. We are flying from OAK to Maui on it on Xmas eve.

Honestly I like the simplicity of use of Southwest Rapid Rewards much better, especially since if the fare goes down you can get points back (I've done this several times with our outbound trip). However, since Southwest doesn't fly to Hawaii (yet) we needed both. Rumor has it Southwest will be coming out here soon though ... (at least they are starting to inquire about lining up contracts at the airports).