Classic BAIT & SWITCH! WATCH OUT

Here’s a HUGE info tip for all your readers/followers:



Recently applied for the Alaska Airlines Signature Card for my wife online. She’d just passed the 5/24 rule and her inquiries dropped to 2, so thought it’d be a piece of cake, but …

First, some info: Her credit rating is 813. We own two houses outright, and our net worth is $1 million plus. We have no debt, and have been banking with BOA for years. My wife also earns $50,000 a year, and teaches for a school district.

So, you’d think all would be easy, right? Filled out the online application, and BOOM – “Congrats, you’ve been approved” - great, BUT – as I looked closer, approval was only for $1,000. Hmmm, so I started reading the fine print following the notice.

Ready? It said any approval with less than a $5,000 limit WOULD NOT receive the ‘Signature’ card. Rather, they would be sending the ‘Platinum Plus’ card instead. No bonuses offered under the ‘Signature’ card would be honored. SO, classic ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ by BOA. I’ve called to get the issue resolved, but as of yet BOA’s only answer was: We can’t disapprove without issuing a lower card …. Or something like that. Meanwhile, I’ll just need to cancel the card if I’m not satisfied. Oh, and the inquiry is now logged, and my wife’s credit was knocked slightly. It’s more the principle of the whole thing.

I signed up for an Alaska credit card through Alaska Airlines and Bank of America.
My anniversary date of my Alaska CC is December 26th and that is confirmed by Bank of America.

Alaska airlines markets their credit card with many perks, one of those perks is a companion fare round trip airline ticket discount code / coupon for about $121.00 ($99 + taxes and fees).
This is a big reason for me, and many others, in deciding on applying for an Alaska Airlines credit card.

The Alaska Airlines WEB site states that the companion fare discount code will be added in the cardholder account on an annual basis dependent on your enrollment anniversary date.

As I stated above Bank of America confirmed to me that my CC anniversary date is Dec. 26th.

Knowing that Dec 26th date, we have been planning a family trip to Hawaii in March 2018, where we would use the companion fare to book a second ticket for about $121.00 ($99 + taxes and fees).
We also had a couple free 1st class upgrade options we would be using that expire 12/31/17. Very exciting.

I waited until Dec 26th to start checking my account hoping that the companion fare was added each day. I finally contacted Alaska airlines to find out when to expect the companion fare, so I could plan accordingly for booking our trip.
I was told that I would receive the companion fare after my credit card statement closing in the middle of January.

This delay and issuing of the companion fare by Alaska Airlines has affected pricing for our trip and therefore the dates we will be able to take our trip and we no longer will have the ability to use, the then expired, free 1st class upgrades.

We all have relationships in this world, weather with our significant others, the businesses we deal with or if we are a business, our customers.
Usually if you're giving a gift for your anniversary, three weeks after your actual anniversary, things don't go very well.
Each of us decides how important the relationship is and how important that anniversary is.
It is apparent by their actions that Alaska Airline doesn't put too much importance on the relationship with their credit card customers and their anniversary date.

I just think other consumers need to be aware of where you stand with Alaska airlines before signing up for their credit card.

Is there a no annual fee Alaska card? I have a friend who insists there is no annual fee on her card.

i've had this credit card and to me there are much better options from bank of america, i cancelled this one...

just wanted to add that I applied for this recently, wasn't approved online instantly but got a call from Visa and all it was was to confirm identity and that you actually applied for the card yourself. Was approved no problem and wasn't bumped to another card. You do have to have a moderate income and credit rating but for a card with those kind of awesome benefits, that's to be expected. I have yet to use the miles or anything like that but based on the companion fare ALONE, this card will be worth it!

BEWARE: If you apply for the Visa Signature card, Bank of America can open a credit line on ANY tier of the Alaska Airlines cards. You will only receive the advertised bonus miles if you are approved for a fairly high credit limit that earns you "visa signature status". And a high credit score alone is not adequate to get to that status. They do not have a system in place that extends you a counter-offer if you are not approved for signature. You will simply receive a lesser card in the mail and you are stuck with it. Even if they are able to approve you for a higher limit and upgrade to signature after the fact, you still will not get any of the bonus miles advertised in their offer. Without the bonus miles and signature benefits, the Alaska Bank of America cards are really not worth the fees.

This is a great credit card! If you pay it off each month, the interest rate doesn't matter. The companion fare each year is a wonderful perk not to mention the mileage earnings and bonus incentives for signing up! This allows my husband and I to take an extra trip each year without breaking the bank.

I couldn't be more happy with this card. It has become my favorite. People complain about the high annual fee, but it is well worth, and inexpensive compared to American Express. The rewards are great, and multiply fast. My favorite part is the companion ticket I get every year. It makes our flights for our annual trip much more inexpensive and allows us to spend the money on other parts of our trips!

This mileage program stinks!!!!!!! I had almost 1million miles in 2002 and have only been able to use under 200,000. Every time I book, there are no seats. Back in 2010 I tried to book some flights to Turkey. No seats for my date. So I extended my search to a 6 week time span for my date to ANYWHERE in Europe only to be told there were no seats available at all. I can't begin to guess how many times I've tried to redeem my miles with no luck. Not to mention the many many hours trying to use my points. Latest attempt/refusal....that was today. The saga continues.
Needless to say I've switched my plan to capital one and thus far have had no issues. Also no problems with my American Express card of 30 years or my Wells Fargo card.....only with Alaskan Airlines. I strongly suggest not getting this plan.

I've had the Alaska Airlines credit card for several years. Although the yearly fee is high, there are benefits to the card that outweigh that. I like the yearly companion ticket as well as the miles that build up for any purchase made using the card. I recently discovered the Alaska Airlines mileage shopping website, where if you purchase items through select vendors, you receive bonus miles. I'm happy to report there are several stores I frequently use on-line, including QVC! I'm looking forward to accruing more miles; great benefit!