The merger between Alaska Airlines and Virgin America continues to create new opportunities. The most recent announcement is that companion fares are now eligible to be redeemed on Virgin America flights. In this post, we will explain the process for booking companion tickets, give some useful tips, and talk about new possibilities that the Virgin America merger makes possible.
The Virgin America Premium Visa Signature card will be useful to anyone who often flies in the United States. Virgin America serves three cities in Mexico, but most of the airline’s routes are in the continental U.S. With the Premium card, you can get up to eight points per dollar on Virgin flights.
Lufthansa, the largest airline in Europe, also has the largest frequent flyer program in Europe, Miles & More. Since its inception in 1993, 13 airlines have joined Miles & More. Lufthansa and most of those airlines are members of the Star Alliance, giving the program a truly global scope.
Turkish Airlines, with its main hub at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, is the flag carrier of Turkey. It’s the fourth-biggest airline in the world, and it flies to 261 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Its U.S. destinations include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Every year Alaska Visa Signature cardholders get a present in the mail: a voucher for a $99 coach companion fare. This voucher is a nice bonus that helps offset the $75 annual fee. The physical voucher is more of a formality, since Alaska stores these electronically on the cardholders Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account.
British Airways Avios can be a difficult reward currency to maximize, with a distance-based award chart and massive fuel surcharges overseas. You can certainly get value out of short-haul awards on partner carriers, but what if you’re more interested in international travel?
The US Airways Companion Ticket is a great perk of the US Airways Premier World MasterCard issued by Barclays. Cardholders get the companion certificate after every card anniversary as an incentive to keep the account open. This perk will be discontinued in 2015 due to the carriers merger with American Airlines, but the merged airline is expected to offer a similar benefit when that happens.
