Alaska Airlines Shutdowns (Transfers, No AF & Multiple Applications) – What You Need To Know

Recently a number of readers have informed me of account shut downs with Alaska Airlines (AS), I thought it was time to have a look at what is causing these shut downs and what you can do to prevent them. There are three main issues:

  • Flexible point transfers to Alaska Airlines
  • Multiple applications for Bank of America credit cards
  • Cancelling before paying the annual fee

Transfers To Alaska Airlines

You can transfer SPG and Diners Club points to Alaska Airlines. It seems that Alaska Airlines is currently trying to crack down on point re-sellers who are transferring these flexible points into Alaska Airlines to book flights. As long as you’re transferring into your own account (and it’s not a brand new account) then you shouldn’t have any issues with account shut downs.

If you transfer into somebody else’s account, or a brand new account then you risk shut down. Additionally if you book a ticket with miles and then your account is shut down, Alaska Airlines will request you pay the full revenue price to keep the ticket otherwise it will also be cancelled. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise as it’s clearly spelled out in the terms & conditions (emphasis mine):

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles, award tickets, upgrade certificates, and companion certificates may not be sold, purchased or bartered except as permitted on Points.com. Travel agents, travel arrangers and unauthorized brokers are not permitted to issue Mileage Plan tickets or to process or facilitate any other Mileage Plan transactions (including Mileage Plan account creation, account inquiries, and mileage or award ticket transfers) on behalf of others. If Alaska Airlines becomes aware that a member or a third party has misrepresented his/her identity in order to perform a Mileage Plan transaction, Alaska Airlines may, in its sole discretion, void the transaction. Miles or award tickets issued, transferred or obtained in violation of these Conditions of Membership are voidable, in Alaska Airlines’ sole discretion. The member and/or the traveler shall be liable for the full, unrestricted value of awards issued as a result of improper or fraudulent transfers or otherwise in violation of these Conditions of Membership. Alaska Airlines shall not be responsible for any inconvenience, damage or loss incurred by the member or the traveler if travel is interrupted or an award ticket is invalidated due to violation of these Conditions of Membership. Alaska Airlines reserves the right to deactivate the Mileage Plan account and/or remove the Miles from the account of any member who violates these terms until liability is fulfilled, and all other rights under applicable law to enforce these Conditions of Membership.

Data points: 1 and this whole thread

My recommendation: Don’t transfer to unless you’re also flying on the flight/they have the same last name as you.

Multiple Applications For Bank of America Cards

Bank of America combines multiple applications for credit cards on the same day into one hard pull. Recently a lot of bloggers have been posting success stories of applying for the same card in the same day (e.g Frequent Miler on Virgin Atlantic  & Million Mile Secrets with AS). There are some reports of shut downs for this behavior, I don’t think it’s as bad as some people are making out but there is definitely some risk of an audit and possible shut down.

Data points:

  • Audit: 1
  • Shutdown: 1

My recommendation: Don’t apply for multiple Bank of America Alaska Airlines credit cards on the same day. Keep in mind Bank of America has lots of different cards, so if you want to get multiple applications combined just apply for a few different cards.

Cancelling Before Paying The Annual Fee

Some people have been applying for cards, receiving the miles and then cancelling without paying the annual fee. It looks like both Bank of America & Alaska Airlines are willing to shut down accounts because of this.

Data points: 1

My recommendation: Avoid yourself some trouble and just pay the $75 annual fee, it’s a small price to pay.

Audit

Before your account is shut down, it’ll usually be temporarily frozen while an audit on your account is done. Being audited does not mean your account will 100% be shut down, it depends on what they find in your account. You will know that your account is under audit if you see the following message when logging into your AS account (hat tip to D93 on DDF):

The Mileage Plan account has some discrepancies. Contact Customer Care for assistance at 1-800-654-5669, Monday-Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. (PT)

If you successfully pass the audit, you’ll receive the following e-mail/warning (hat tip to Theodore on DDF):

 

Thank you again for your patience. Your Mileage Plan has been re-opened and
you currently have full access to your account. I would like to reiterate one
final time that this is a PERSONAL rewards program, and as such, you may use
your miles to book travel only for yourself, family members or non-family only
if you are traveling with them. Miles/tickets may not be
sold/traded/brokered/etc. Additionally, as your Signature Cards are still so
new it is worth noting that if award tickets are booked and it is discovered
that your annual fee(s) have not been paid, you will be billed for the full
purchase value of those tickets. If that bill is not paid within 30 days, it
will go to collections.

Thank you again and enjoy the rest of your week.

 

Final Thoughts

This hobby is an ultra marathon, not a 100m sprint. It’s not worth jeopardizing your standing with a useful airline and credit card issuer for a few quick points. Slow and steady wins this race, there is no real need to make multiple applications for the same card on the same day – it’s not something a “normal” consumer would do and it’s certainly not remotely profitable for the card issuer.

It seems that the bigger issues at the moment are currently not paying the annual fee and being suspected of selling miles. For me the most interesting part of all this is that it seems to be instigated by Alaska Airlines, this is understandable for the selling miles part (they want their loyalty customers to have access to award seats and by not allowing reselling there are more miles left unredeemed) but less so for multiple applications and the annual fee.

Usually credit card issuers pay for all of the miles upfront and the airline co branded partner also receives a bonus per new account sign up, so you would think that Alaska would be happy with all of these new cardholders. To me this makes it seem that Alaska airlines have an unusual partnership with Bank of America which is more likely to be a profit sharing arrangement rather than BofA pre-purchasing miles and lots of them. You can read more about this possibility here.

Additional Reading/Sources

A lot of information for this post has come from the following sources, if you’re interested in this issue I’d recommend reading these in full:

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11 Comments
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Larry
Larry (@guest_142793)
July 8, 2015 10:24

My wife and I each recently got the B of A Alaska card with no statement credit and no min spend requirement. Do you think a small amount of token spend is necessary to prevent a shutdown or a blockage of getting more Alaska and other B of A cards in 3 to 12 months. How much optional spend do you think is needed?

D93
D93 (@guest_141786)
July 4, 2015 18:05

Thanks for the HT!

Points With a Crew
Points With a Crew (@guest_141756)
July 4, 2015 10:12

Sheesh how low can some people go. You’re already getting a $100 statement credit to more than offset the $75 annual fee, but you want to take it even FURTHER and cancel before paying the $75??!!? Come on people!

John
John (@guest_141811)
July 4, 2015 23:17

Yep, typical behavior from Dan and his minions on DDF. Trying to suck every single penny they can.

Gabbai
Gabbai (@guest_142176)
July 6, 2015 14:20

You are quite gratuitously insulting and actually wrong. Dan often advises those who read his blog to play the game decently and honestly.

Charlie
Charlie (@guest_141674)
July 3, 2015 15:15

Thanks for the informative writeup. Also, love the ultra marathon reference 🙂

Barry
Barry (@guest_141345)
July 2, 2015 14:04

In regards to the AF. I wonder how the statement credit plays into that. Technically I’m paying the $75 AF, then getting a $100 statement credit

Paul
Paul (@guest_141305)
July 2, 2015 11:56

Recently applied for one personal version card and want to apply for a second. What is the least amount of time I can wait?

Kenny
Kenny (@guest_141279)
July 2, 2015 10:28

Thanks for posting. I did mull doing multiple apps in one day per one of the blog posts mentioned, but decided on going for a personal and business card (did both in one day) and stop there. Also I imagine booking tickets in the future for my girlfriend (w/ a different last name) and I. Do you think either of the above items would put me at a high risk for a shutdown?