LCC Roundup #3-Airtran Airways

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What you need to know:
Website: www.airtran.com
Phone Number: 1-800-Airtran, Push Option 2 for faster service…
Main Airports Served:Hub: ATL(Atlanta). Focus Cities: BWI(Baltimore), MCO(Orlando).

Mileage program details:
Name:A+ Rewards
Website: www.aplusrewards.com
Earning Details: Earn 1 credit for each one-way coach class ticket, 1.5 credits for each one-way business class ticket.
Points Expiration: Credits expire 12 months after earned.
Redeeming:
-4 credits for a free one-way upgrade.
-8 credits for a free one-way coach ticket to anywhere that Airtran flies (even to the Bahamas!)
-16 credits for a free one-way business ticket to anywhere that Airtran flies.
-32 credits for a round-trip mileage earning coach ticket on any airline within the Continental US.
-50 credits for a round-trip mileage earning coach ticket on any airline from the Continental US to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, or Mexico.
-100 credits for a round-trip mileage earning coach ticket on any airline to anywhere in the world.
Award Ticket Expiration: Ticket must be issued within 1 year of redeeming points. Travel is valid for 1 year after issue of award ticket.
Award Ticket Change: 1 free change is allowed for either the dates, cities, and the name of the passenger, additional changes are $50.
Capacity Controlled: Coach Award-Yes, Business Award-No
Blackout Dates: Yes
Elite Status: Is offered to anyone who is elite on any other airline, and for flying 20 one-ways in 90 days, or 50 one-ways in 1 year. Elite status never expires!
Elite Status Benefits:
-Automatic upgrades from select fares.
-Free space available upgrades at the gate.
-Guaranteed ability to buy a seat even on a sold-out flight
-Transfer credits to any other member.
-Advance seat assignments on all fares.
-Dedicated check-in lines and security entrances.
-Priority boarding.
-Change and cancellation fees waived on select fares.
-Purchase upgrades from lower fares in advance of all other customers.
Upgrades: Available for $35-$70 in advance for elite members, or at the ticket counter for everyone else.
Notable: Airtran’s coach award availability has been very poor this year due to the recent Wendy’s soda cup promo
A+ Rewards Ctowngrade: 3.0 stars/5 stars.
Pros: Has a decent elite/upgrade program. Once achieved, Elite status never expires. Allows one-way ticket awards. Lots of redemption options, starting at just 4 credits. Easy to redeem business awards.
Cons: Points expire after just 12 months, No online award ticket redemption, poor coach award availability.

Co-Branded Credit Card:
Airtran’s Visa gets you 6 credits at signup. The signup bonus can only be earned one time. Earn 2 points for each $1 spent on Airtran, 1 point per $1 for everything else, 1000 points=1 credit, i.e. Spend $8000, get a free one-way ticket. Earn 1 point for each $1,000 in balance transferred, up to $10,000, the fee is 3%, up to a maximum of $50. Annual fee: $39.
Credit Card Grade: 2.0 stars/5 stars.
Application Linky

What you may not know:
-Airtran offers the best student airfare deal out there, called X-fares: Previous post on x-fares linky
-Airtran offers Free XM Satellite Radio at every seat, so you’ll never miss a baseball game while flying!
-Standby is free on any other flight the same day.
-Airtran is one of the only airlines to offer one-way award tickets.
-Airtran only operates the Boeing 717 (2×2 in business, 2×3 in coach, capacity-117) and 737 aircraft (2×2 in business, 3×3 in coach, capacity-137)
-Airtran is the world’s largest Boeing-717 operator.
-Changes to your flight cost $50 plus the difference in fare, cancellation of a non-refundable flight costs $50, the remainder may be used for 1 year.
-Airtran’s best fares can be found during their systemwide sales that occur at least once every month.
-Airtran’s international service includes the Bahamas, and will soon include Cancun.
-Regular passengers receive assigned seats at check-in. Elite, corporate, and full-fare passengers receive assigned seating at the time of booking.
-You can become a lifetime elite member on Airtran by faxing in your elite status information on any other airline! Previous post on Airtran elite status linky
-Airtran has been profitable for 7 straight years.
-Although Airtran tickets can be bought at 3rd party sites such as Orbitz, they are often significantly cheaper by booking them directly from airtran.com

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