my nastygram
Well, I got pissed off last night and wrote a letter. Here it is:
January 17, 2003
Alaska Airlines
P.O. Box 68900
Seattle, WA 98168
Attn: Edward W. White, Vice President Customer Service
Dear Mr. White:
We are each current Alaska Airlines MVPs and Alaska Airlines Visa Platinum cardholders. This evening we wished to purchase two roundtrip tickets from Anchorage to Las Vegas for a trip we wish to make in May. With our four Complimentary First Class Upgrades in hand, we called the MVP Reservations line. It was very distressing to be informed that we could NOT reserve first class seating with these Certificates, but must wait until we check in the day of departure and give over the Certificates ONLY IF there are first class seats open at that time. With the way the airline industry has been packing people in, making many more flights full ones, it is a virtual impossibility that there will be two first class seats open on every leg of our upcoming trip to Las Vegas. We could not believe our ears, and refused to believe the Alaska Airlines representative over the phone. To prove the representative wrong, we looked closely at the Upgrade and saw the words �First Class may be confirmed on day of departure at airport only�.
Additionally, we have First Class Upgrades that expired in 2002 that we had never used, but pulled out this evening and studied after the shock of discovering this galling change. There was no such clause on the 2002 Upgrades. The drastic narrowing of these regulations is extremely upsetting. Complimentary First Class Upgrades have always been and should continue to be for Alaska Airlines Visa Platinum cardholders like ourselves who make plans ahead of time. We want to fly first class on our upcoming trip to Las Vegas, and we feel cheated that we have to use our airline miles to be certain we get first class seats when we have certificates that clearly state �Complimentary First Class Upgrade�.
Also, in the past we have been given a choice of occupying open first class seats without even an Upgrade, simply because we are MVP�s. You now require a Complimentary First Class Upgrade for the something that had been a perk for us MVP�s for years. The Upgrades now are barely worth the paper they�re printed on.
We are very disappointed that you continue to make the regulations more restrictive yet don�t charge any less for the yearly credit card. We have been Alaska Airlines Visa Platinum cardholders for years and up until this point, supported the program. We are considering discontinuing our participation in both the MVP and Alaska Airlines Visa Platinum programs.
OK- that was it. I sent it by snail mail to AK Air and to the CEO of Bank of Americ* who issues the credit cards. I was super angry too at the bitch that answered the MVP helpline. She was such a (*&&^*^ that I hung up and called the regular number for reservations and got much better service. I'm not a difficult person. I don't demand special treatment and I pride myself on my politeness, but last night was just too much for me. On the upside, after I'd calmed down and written the nastygram above, hubby and I bought our tickets to Las Vegas. Too bad we had to use miles to upgrade to 1st class and couldn't use the certificates. I'm over that now, however. Oh, and hubby and I went to the wedding, but skipped out on the reception, after dropping off our gift.