Quick flight home
from San Francisco this week turned into travel weather chaos 
but I learned a few things that helped me navigate the changes more quickly. 
I was notified of the changes for my Alaska Airlines flight through email, but there was a serious lag. I was actually sent a free $50 airport voucher for food and drinks BEFORE I found out my flight was delayed. That's when I decided to check the board to confirm the delay and saw my flight was actually cancelled. Hmmmm.
The app and flightaware.com still showed the flight delayed.
The Alaska Lounge rep told me to head to the Alaska service center, but the line was 50 deep so I hopped on the app.
The app immediately offered me several alternative flights to cities within 70 miles of my intended destination. I could check the flight board at the airport to see if those alternative flights were still taking off and I was able to rebook myself on an American Airlines flight leaving in an hour. Alaska even refunded 8,000 points when I booked the new flight.
That American Airlines flight ended up getting delayed as well, but I still departed that night instead of spending the night in San Francisco.
While I was changing flights, I was trying to help a woman in the service center line, but she had not downloaded the app and didn't have her confirmation code or loyalty number so we were not having much success. The Alaska rep ended up rebooking her on a flight leaving the next day and she was forced to pay for a hotel near the SFO airport. Sidenote, she had also checked her bag and could not get it back. Bummer.
I had access to both the Alaska Lounge with the Atmos Summit credit card lounge passes and The Club at SFO through Priority Pass with my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.
I was disappointed with the food at the Alaska Lounge though the Whiskey Sour welcome drink was pretty tasty!
There was a waiting list for The Club at SFO so I spent the $50 voucher from Alaska on a sandwich, yogurt and protein bar from one of the restaurants. Since I still had a balance available, I bought some chocolate and pretzels. The credit showed up instantly on my credit card.
Then I got off the waitlist at The Club and my flight got delayed again so I went in and found a quiet place to work.
So lessons learned from this experience:
Always download the app for the airline you are traveling with. I was able to rebook myself from a cancelled Alaska flight to an American flight on the app and skip waiting in the huge line. The Alaska rep was surprised! She could only rebook on Alaska flights and Alaska refunded my miles thru the appCheck your credit card benefits, Atmos Summit sent me a $50 voucher to use in the airport during the delayLounge access is awesome
a welcome drink and free food makes the delay much easier Be flexible. I ended up flying to LA and renting a car for $32 instead of spending the night in a hotelAnother reason not to check bags. My carryon stayed with me. The flight cancellation notice from Alaska Airlines eventually came through and cited Air Traffic Control Restrictions as the reason for cancellation. Since I did have to rent a car and pay for a half tank of gas, I filed a claim with Alaska Airlines. Stayed posted to see if I get reimbursed. If I had paid for my flight or just the taxes with my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, I could have filed a claim with Chase under trip delay reimbursement. But since I used my Atmos Summit credit card to pay the $6 taxes for this flight, I was awarded the $50 trip delay voucher to use in the airport.
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