Originally Posted by
SayAgainPlease
How long does it take spouses to get in the system? If my wife wants to catch a flight two weeks into my training should I expect her to have the benefits in swing or would I be better off buying her a ticket now?
The nonrev benefits on UA and DL are almost immediate. Note that you must pay for DL benefits ($100/yr even for yourself). However, remember that it's nonrev... And united is virtually always oversold. So wherever your wife is going, make sure you've got a backup plan. The one thing you don't want to do is plan on using nonrev benefits when you must be somewhere on a specific day.
AA benefits indeed take 6 months from hire. I can't remember the details on Alaska benefits but I believe they only apply to Skywest operated Alaska flights, which is a pretty small route network. Fortunately UA and DL fly almost everywhere.