I'm here to talk about the frequent flyer program of Alaska Airlines and what a bait and switch it is.

I've been an Alaska FF member for 23 years (they actually kept track of that). When I joined it was to the promise of taking my bucket list trip (Australia), first-class (no blackout dates). So, my wife and I have been saving frequent flyer points for TWENTY THREE YEARS (think about that for a moment).

Last year we decided to take the plunge. We got cruise tickets and I went online to get my long-coveted first-class tickets, only to find there weren't any.

I talked to Alaska and they said I had waited too long (6 months prior to trip). So we postponed our trip for a year. I watched for the very first opening to purchase tickets (331 days in advance). When the window opened, I immediately swooped in. No FC tickets. I called them.

Oh, I'd gotten in too soon for FC tickets. So I complained. They told me that they only had to honor the FF cost for the ticket if the originating partner offered them those tickets. Which means they may (and often will) never have the ticket you want. By the time the complaint went through, there were no coach seats, either (BTW).

As I'm a wannabe lawyer, I did some research into applicable case law. The courts have repeatedly found that all of the airlines can make any change to their programs that they want at any time without grandfathering. So if a trip might cost 20,000 points one day, they could change it to ten times that amount the very next day and you have zero recourse. They can even terminate you and all your points for NO REASON...

Despite advertising their policies, they can do anything they want. This applies to ALL loyalty programs. I've had similar things happen to me in the hotel business. It's a scam.

I suggest if you are going to be a member of these "loyalty programs" then you do two things: 1) Never pay for the privilege (eg don't pay to have their "credit card" or pay higher prices because you get mileage points. $75*23=> TOO MUCH FOR NOTHING), 2) Never assume you are going to get what they promise... because in all likelihood you won't.

Please, this is first-hand advice from someone who has been loyal to one company/program for over twenty years. Heed it!

I wish Alaska would at least offer a second bank choice for their FF card, like American Express. The security is horrendous. I use the card in my business and they constantly decline transactions that I make repeatedly with the same vendors, even get declined at my local grocery store. And even though they do this, the card gets hacked almost once a year anyway which causes a lot of hassle having to change auto pays set up with this card.
They have no explanation or solution to the problem when you call to discuss it. I'm sure it's a poorly written algorithm that makes using the card almost unjustifiable. I'm tired of the issue and Alaska would do well to move away from BofA.

WARNING FROM A PREVIOUSLY LOYAL CUSTOMER: I received a $75 annual fee on the BofA Alaska Airlines card that I haven't made a purchase on in over a year. Because I keep a $0 balance, this annual fee went under my radar, and when I noticed it 30 days after it was due, BofA had already charged late fees on top this annual fee, and reported it to the credit card bureaus, lowering my credit score 80+ points.

In this instance, BoA did not have their customer's experience in mind. Fees on top of fees equates to insult to injury. There are too many other great competitor cards to deal with BofA's shady business practices.

Wow. BofA Service is the worst. At least other banks pretend to care. Not BofA. From the first day, the online banking and mobile app didn't work. They didn't care. There is no phone support. There are easier ways to earn miles.

WARNING: This card is through Bank of America. They have allowed fraud to occur on my card and do not care!! I submitted a dispute to B of A and contacted the merchant in question. The merchant acknowledged order issue and confirmed fraud. HOWEVER, B of A denied the dispute, said they "looked into it" and charged me anyways. I would not recommend this card because of B of A. I love Alaska Airlines, but Bank of America has got to be the WORST financial institution I have ever worked with.

Got approved for an Alaska Visa card. Great credit score. I printed out the "temporary" card information and began using it while waiting for my physical card. It took 4 hours to find a vacant motel room during the Senior Olympics and I used the credit card. I called after making my reservations to make sure they were good...no problem. My room was being held. My flight was delayed and I called again to let them know I was running late for checking in...only to be told I was cancelled because my credit card didn't go through! I had already placed $1300+/- on it and had a $5000 limit. Called the contact number which I obtained from the Alaska Airline Customer Service at SeaTac. Got tons of excuses. BofA wanted to confirm the transaction. Temp info is "not valid". The temp info was provided by Alaska Airlines and not BofA. You have the wrong expiration date. I was told the physical card takes 4-6 days. Yet the paperwork says 7-10 BUSINESS days. Nothing states how long the temp card is good for while waiting for the physical card. So, here I am, now with no housing in a sold location due to Olympics. They tell me they can "expediate" a card to me....but I have no where to expediate it to since I no longer have housing. I spent the next 6 hours trying to find some plus had to travel an extra 15 miles and much more to stay with a kind lady....arriving at 6am...just a few hours before we needed to meet the children we are adopting. Needless to say, we were exhausted. While looking for housing, other customers were more helpful... getting online to help me. The last thing three kids were are trying to adopt needed was another disappointment in their lives. Thanks to the kind lady that provided housing, we didn't have to disappoint them. But, Alaska Airlines or BofA, there is NO excuse for this. I'm not sure whose fault it is. BofA is blaming Alaska. Never once did I get a text, an email, or any other warning or notice that the card was, in effect, canceled. I asked that they pay the difference between motel costs....the next cheapest was over $180/nite. They refused, stating they don't do any compensation. This was the icing on the cake...after sitting for two hours in a hot plane on a delayed flight due to "lost paperwork". BEWARE. I canceled the card that night. The physical card has now arrived and is being destroyed.

Not happy with the Bank of America card customer service. Frequent problems, not getting card statements in the mail on mutilple occasions and yet they charge interest and fees. Cancelled both of our cards this year. Look elsewhere !!!

The "rewards" system for this credit card is a JOKE. The limits to what flights you can book are so limited, it's not even worth the companion fare option or the miles. And trying to upgrade using points? GOOD LUCK WITH THAT. Not a single ticket in first class can be booked if you want to upgrade. And for one flight I was trying to upgrade on, not a single ticket was booked, and they still wouldn't let me upgrade. And any money in your Alaska wallet to use for future use can't be used either. They just take your money and then treat you like you're asking for the moon if you want to use your money for anything than what you originally booked. Spending almost six figures on their credit card gets you nowhere b/c you can't use your points due to all these restrictions. Don't even bother with these snakes.

It started with 30000 bonus miles offer. They are not going to tell you that you are going to get 30000 bonus miles or not. That is the trick.
They didn’t gave me this offer and I came to know this after 3 months when I called Alaska airline coustomer care. They told me it’s not in our hand, you need to call BOA.
When I reached nearest branch, they told me it’s not in our hand. You need to speak with credit department.
When I spoke with them, they told me you have applied for Alaska visa signature card but you are eligible to get Alaska visa platinum card. So unfortunately we can give you those 30000 bonus miles.
So it is just trick to get more coustomer.
Don’t apply for this card by mistake.

I had this card for 25 years and my biggest issue with this card is customer service and the way they treat a card holder, especially when you need their customer support the most. On those rare occasions when I had to dispute a transaction (total of 3 times within the 25-year period), this card has always sided with the merchant, no matter how wrong, no matter how frodulant that merchant was, no matter how much supporting documentation I produced and no matter how black & white the issue was. I found dealing with their claims department to be an insulting experience because of utter stupidity of their staff, including supervisors. And so, after a quarter of a century of being a loyal member I canceled this card. During the process of cancelling it there was not even an attempt from the rep to find out why I was unhappy with their product or service. $75 in annual fees is excessive, given the low quality of support you receive.