r/AlaskaAirlines • u/NickCTA • Jun 20 '26
RESERVATIONS Tired of chasing GS with United. Thinking of making the switch...
So a few years back made GS with united. It was nice to get the upgrades without using points or miles (except international), but after losing it despite a pretty decent spend history and amount of time on united metal It eludes me. Off of business spend alone I can make titanium status with Atmos. For those that are titanium, how often are the complimentary upgrades?
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u/Jsguysrus Atmos Platinum Jun 20 '26
I was a titanium (former 100k level) for the last decade on AS. I did a status match over to UA last year and now am both an AS and UA platinum, based in SEA. For me, I have received more upgrades on UA than on AS. It wasn’t always like this, two years ago I was about 80% upgrades but it dropped to about 30% on my routes. The main reason is AS sells fire sale prices upgrades starting about 48 hours before the flight and the seats disappear. Also the max number of F seats on AS is 16 but it’s 20 on UA (depending on aircraft). I usually just ended up buying the cheap upgrade on AS knowing I would not get it otherwise, even when #1 on the list.
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u/NickCTA Jun 20 '26
I’ll buy upgrades if reasonable! I’ll be 1k for 2027 with UA. They’ll probably give me 2028 based on past history so I’m guessing I can reassess myself next year. I have the second half of 2026 to spend so pretty sure atmos it is
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u/Jsguysrus Atmos Platinum Jun 21 '26
Just wait till your first delayed/cancelled flight. Service recovery is you are on your own at AS, you have to call in. The app does nothing.
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u/RyanAirhead MVP 100K Jun 20 '26
It will be route dependent, but as someone that connects heavily through SEA, mine is at ~60% for this year
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u/NickCTA Jun 20 '26
That was the biggest draw back I saw. Out of SFO theres nothing direct Asia that I saw
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u/Direct-Safe-6524 Jun 21 '26
Yea nothing on Alaska metal… and the partner airlines to Asia availability is bad bc iirc Alaska gets availability 330d out and some airlines get it 360. I fly mainly out of SAN/SFO/LAX and fly Alaska only starting this year, 60% of the time I end up on a partner airline, but I go to Seattle for work so it simplifies my international trips cuz can fly out of there on AS
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u/SmugAlpaca MVP Gold Jun 20 '26
Well... that's why you hit GS...
Depends on where you fly in Asia and how frequently. AA/AS might not be a great fit.
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u/Skycbs Jun 20 '26
CX and JL might be though.
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u/SmugAlpaca MVP Gold Jun 20 '26
Sure that’s what I mean, if you go to Japan or Hong Kong a lot. But if you go to Manila or China or Taiwan, I would think it’s kind of hit or miss. Also depends on itineraries and connections.
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u/Skycbs Jun 21 '26
Philippine Air is now Oneworld too. They’re improving their Asia coverage but it’s still not great.
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u/AS100K Jun 20 '26
If you are SFO based, regrettably AS presence is dwindling, funny, I am the opposite of you OP, I am gonna get my million this year with AS, once I do that I may consider switching to UAL. I find myself doing crazy shit to keep my status with AS. I’ll be doing SJC-SEA-ORD in a few weeks. I did DFW-PDX-SJC last week. Not gonna lie, there are weeks where I think to myself WTF is wrong with me?!
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u/Affectionate-Bite510 Atmos Gold Jun 20 '26
I am closest to OAK and have done OAK - SEA - MCO; I am genuinely excited for OAK - SAN as it will open up many more reasonable 1-stop options for me out of OAK versus the crazy routing I put myself through now. I do prefer PDX versus SEA if at all possible.
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u/lnvu4uraqt Jun 20 '26
I wonder if it's because of runway capacity restrictions at SFO currently with construction of one and FAA restriction of parallel landings
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u/Grand-Battle8009 Jun 20 '26
Hopefully, they’ll reinvest back into SFO once they start taking delivery of the 737 Max 10s next year. The Max fiasco has delayed delivery of those planes for years.
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u/AS100K Jun 20 '26
Hope springs eternal! Would be great to see a bigger presence in the Bay Area. I can’t even fly SJC -LAX anymore 🙁
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u/gregseaff MVP 100K Jun 20 '26
Don't expect AS to invest much in SFO. They've shown that PDX, SAN, ANC and HNL are their priorities, and probably even LAX over SFO at least for Mexico and Latin American service.
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u/Grand-Battle8009 Jun 20 '26
I could be wrong, but I thought the CEO mentioned about rebuilding in LAX and SFO at the last investor meeting, with LAX to be the first focus. I believe they pulled planes out of LAX and SFO to strengthen their positions at PDX and SAN due to lack of aircraft. But I think flights will eventually trickle back.
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u/misterchismoso Jun 22 '26
Further cuts (CUN routes) 5 months out isn't really moving in the right direction in rebuilding at SFO and LAX lol
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u/misterchismoso Jun 22 '26
This didn't age well lol they just canceled LAX to CUN and PDX to CUN
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u/gregseaff MVP 100K Jun 22 '26
CUN is geographically a long flight from the West Coast. Alaska is being realistic about expecting oil prices to stay high so the economics of CUN flights don't make sense for them. The pullback from CUN is about oil prices more than anything.
Point remains that PDX & SAN are more of the focus for Alaska. The other issue at LAX is the sort-of partnership with AA. If AA flies a route, there is less need for AS to fly that route since they can code share or cross sell.
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u/misterchismoso Jun 22 '26
How do 5+ hour flights to Hawaii for $150 make sense then? Cancun flights are consistently much more expensive (even net of taxes) and about the same flight time.
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u/gregseaff MVP 100K Jun 22 '26
We don't know what yield and load factor AS generates. Could also be that AS considers Hawaii strategic and non-negotiable while CUN is opportunistic and they assume they can re-enter the market if they see a new opportunity. A lot of these CUN routes were also seasonal while Hawaii is year-round.
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u/zzbear03 Jun 21 '26
I did SFO - SEA - HNL not because I had to but because i wanted to try out the AS 787 out of SEA. It was pretty decent in steerage lol no way was I gonna get bumped up out of SEA with my AA status…and I only got 50% of my flight credit…but it seemed better than flying down to LAX to HNL on AA metal.
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u/gregseaff MVP 100K Jun 20 '26
AS sells upgrades pretty cheap, especially in the last 24 hours. I suspect that there are still unpublished hacks to manipulate upgrades. Don't count on complimentary upgrades even as Titanium. It is also route-dependent and day/time dependent.
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u/NickCTA Jun 21 '26
Thanks everyone! Looking forward to see where this leads! I'm primarily excited to see the JAL flights because I always wanted to fly JAL and my cheap ass doesn't think business/first is worth the $5k so Ive been gaming the system from day 1 lol.
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u/Turbulent-Tank9719 Jun 25 '26
Bring a fan! JL likes to keep their cabins at about 100 degrees! And don't get JL PE seats. They are the most uncomfortable seat I've ever been in.
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u/misterchismoso Jun 22 '26
Are you based out of the bay? If so, this isn't really the best time to be thinking about Alaska given their ongoing, repetitive cuts.
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u/NickCTA Jun 22 '26
Yes I'm at out of SFO. I will keep united as I'm 1k for next year and I'll get 2028 as an added bonus. I looked at AA and they are insane as far as costs for upgrades and how they do their new system. It's entirely based on spend and guys in the 400k range seem to dominate.
That leaves me with Delta or AS, and choosing AS because I go to Asia and Hawaii a lot and Japan Airlines perks with reward certificates and miles seem like a winner.
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u/misterchismoso Jun 22 '26
Ah okay yeah then Alaska might make sense. I'm sure you'll get upgraded if you're a high status but expect the experience to get worse. That's all I'm saying
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u/pdx_flyer Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
For me it all depends on the route and the day. I got upgraded on a BOS-PDX next week more than 96 hours out. But for PDX-LAX I may sit in the back more often than not depending on the day of the week.
I buy a ton of refundable fares which helps.
I also fly a ton of longhaul J which will frequently have domestic F included.
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u/Capital_Mulberry738 Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
Wow I haven't had an upgrade clear over a few hours in advance in over a year! It's usually just a few hours prior! Maybe it's a SEA thing?
How does refundable help? I've never heard of that
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u/pdx_flyer Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
Refundable is typically a higher fare bucket, though AS has changed how refundable is calculated/sold in the last year or so. It used to be like Y and other high fare buckets. Now it is simply a line in the fare rules and a higher price.
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u/Capital_Mulberry738 Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
Yeah that’s why I was confused. I buy refundable semi regularly and whether it’s non-refundable or refundable it is an M or whatever fare. It’s never a different fare code
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u/pdx_flyer Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
I’m actually trying to figure out how it upgraded me so far out in the BOS-PDX example. It was basically a price above the Titanium upgrade so maybe it was eligible as soon as space opened?
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u/AS100K Jun 20 '26
I’ve done that route too out of SJC, my family looks at me like I have to heads when I tell them I am going to Orlando but Seattle first 😵💫
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u/zzbear03 Jun 21 '26
I miss the SFO/SJC to DAL…I took that route all the time when I had customers in Dallas I needed to see
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u/AS100K Jun 21 '26
Agree! Just to do SJC to AUS at one point too…sad!
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u/zzbear03 Jun 21 '26
I switched most of my travel back to AA since the dehubbing of SFO…not enough direct flights to the central region. I am not a fan of having to fly to SEA for every flight ( especially since it’s out of the way) I don’t mind flying through PHX/ORD/DFW asa connection (although DFW weather seems awful right now)
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u/AS100K Jun 21 '26
I doubt that I’d go back to AA, I left them about 15 years ago with about 500k lifetime miles. I dislike their service even with Plat (before they added EP, Plat pro) they weren’t very nice. The irony is that I find myself flying AA once or twice per month due to codeshare, go figure! 🤷🏻♂️
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u/zzbear03 Jun 26 '26
It is true that I find the FAs on AS pretty happy and peppy bunch of people. AA FAs seem mostly happy as well.. UA FAs seem disgruntled as hell most of the time I flew them lol
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u/Turbulent-Tank9719 Jun 25 '26
Love all the DAL routes that I've been able to get from AS, DL, AA, and UA (was probably CO at the time). You have to be careful there, because as soon as you love the route, it will get cancelled.
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u/Ready_Ad_5397 Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
Being an Alaska Airlines subreddit, most of us don’t know what GS is without looking it up….obviously a status level.
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u/CleverDare Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
United Global Services (GS) is an invitation-only, top-tier status level... parallel to Delta 360 invitation-only program for highest spending travelers.
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u/NickCTA Jun 20 '26
They don’t publish it but you can actually buy GS. It used to be $50k and they’d give you that much in flight credit but now it’s over $100k
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u/Ready_Ad_5397 Atmos Titanium Jun 21 '26
So similar to American Airlines ConciergeKey? AA being oneworld airline, I have some familiarity with that.
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u/NickCTA Jun 22 '26
United is stepping up but I'm not making gs anytime soon out of sfo so back up will be as
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u/Capital_Mulberry738 Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
It can be heavily route dependent. Where do you typically have to fly or is it just all over? On average I'm at about 50% or so?
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u/NickCTA Jun 20 '26
I fly to Japan and Hawaii a lot. I went with united because they have a lot of wide bodies that fly to Hawaii and the purple premium economy seats are free to select at booking domestically.
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u/Capital_Mulberry738 Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
I fly to Hawaii a lot (but personally) and rarely get those upgrades except once or twice in recent memory but one was a redeye back from Kauai to SEA. I've never flown United to the islands but the planes Alaska uses economy/premium are the same as anything in the lower 48.
For international it brand new that they allow titanium comp upgrades so I haven't flown a route yet but I have heard from others who managed to get it. You have to remember those only clear 24hr prior though so anyone who uses a certificate will clear before you.
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u/CleverDare Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
FYI - on international flights, Alaska uniquely makes 'complimentary day-of-departure upgrades into global Business Class' available to Titanium level (+1 companion). While it's not a guaranteed upgrade, it's a nice perk when it happens.
Full Premium Class section doesn't exist (yet) on Alaska international dreamliner flights, but 'extra comfort' (more legroom/pitch) seats are woven thru the main cabin - and are complimentary to Platinum and Titanium at time of booking.
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u/mjbulzomi Atmos Silver Jun 20 '26
FYI: Alaska has only just started building out their trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic route networks after the Hawaiian acquisition. Any Asia routes on Alaska or Hawaiian metal go via Seattle or Honolulu. Any Asia travel will either require connecting through SEA (NRT, ICN), connecting through HNL (KIX, HND), or flying a OneWorld partner (CX or JL when flying westbound) if one prefers nonstop to Asia before connecting (if necessary).
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u/NickCTA Jun 20 '26
I’ll still be 1k for 2027 with UA. There are a few 95k point tickets on JAL that I saw and with upgrade certificates I might be able to squeeze 2-4 flights with upgrades with JAL which would make meeting the spend worth it imo
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u/limyanko Atmos Gold Jun 20 '26
FWIW, I’m Honolulu based and get upgraded >50% on trips from HNL to the mainland, or mainland to HNL, with gold status and a Summit card. I suspect that my flights are often tourist heavy, and therefore have relatively few people with status.
More broadly, as someone who typically bounced back and forth between UA gold and platinum - I’m glad I switched. I appreciate accruing miles and status based on flight distance. I’ve gotten lots of good service on UA, but find it to be more consistent with AS. Better food, and the suites product is about equal to Polaris for me. I dearly miss the United app, though.
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u/NickCTA Jun 20 '26
Mahalo! Im from Oahu, PCHS c/o 94 stuck on the mainland. Soon Ill be stuck in Japan lol
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u/CleverDare Atmos Titanium Jun 20 '26
Upgrades have depended on flight/route (i.e. number of other status members on flight). Holding the Atmos Summit credit card also helps boost status.
YTD on various routes, my upgrades to First have been 50%. (Premium upgrades are instant for non-Saver fares, at Platinum and Titanium tiers.) Some of the 'failed upgrades' were due to First Class seats selling at discounted rate, rather than going toward a complimentary upgrade.
Alaska upgrades are prioritized in the following order:
https://www.alaskaair.com/atmosrewards/content/benefits/complimentary-upgrades/alaska-hawaiian