As a general rule, people who travel often care mostly about two things. First, they care about minimizing inconveniences like having to stand in long lines or paying to check a bag, and second, they care about getting upgraded to first class .

Alaska will exit the San Diego-to-Cancun market and the Orange County, California-to-Bozeman, Montana, route, effective immediately. Both of these flights were originally supposed to return for the winter season, but Alaska told TPG that they are "removed ... from our schedules going forward."

Frequent fliers with Alaska Airlines can go further for less with the carrier’s latest promotion. The Global Gateways program lets customers redeem miles toward international destinations at up to a 50% discount.