i am totally in love with southwest - here's why!

[loriandmatt]

so my in laws recently announced they are relocating to Melborne Florida. not at WDW's door, but close enough. so i go start looking into joining a frequent flier program for the airlines that i know i would generally fly. southwest, airtran and United. now i had joined the Rapid Rewards program for southwest over a year ago and also joined the airtran APlus one and the united one....but lost my membership info. went all over their websites trying to recover that info, no luck. they keep it rather secure. i get why, but there should be some method of recovering it. so i call all 3 airlines and try to get someone to help me either recover that info or create a new account. (had not aquired points on any of them so far)

Airtran and United was a nightmare. i still don't have that straightened out, but i don't think i am going to bother. southwest was spectactular. some the best over the phone customer service i have ever gotten. helped me thru my Rapid Rewards account issue, then started asking questions and offering helpful info to acquire points faster and how to get the lowest fares.

i had booked my flights via a web only rate at $118 each person each way. i noticed that dropped to $99. rep talked me thru how to change that and how the credit would work. he also noted that to keep checking....if it dropped again, there is no limit as to how many times you can change your ressie. i could change it each time i see it drop and keep banking the credit in the difference in price. no change fees. SWEET!!!

he also offered the info that any flights up to 2 years from the current date could be applied to my RR account for credits. talked me thru that process too.

they sold me. i am totally crushing on Southwest right now. they have my business.

 

[bumbershoot]

I had to call SW the other day to retrieve DS's RR number as well. Very simple!

 

[pamjb]

That is exactly why I Southwest, too.

 

[twinklebug]

I have to call them about getting credit for my kid's flights. Their last names were hyphenated on some flights and not on others so the system doesn't recognize them as the same people.

It's good to know that the reps are so nice. It might make this easier.

 

[dopeynme]

We love SW, too! I had to cancel a flight for my mom, just called up and had the credit for a year from purchase date. It worked out so easily. I vowed then and there, they are the only airline for me. (Plus no nickel-and-diming to reserve seats, check bag, etc).

LOVE SW!!!!!!

 

[simzac]

I love SW for the special paint schemes.

 

[juliemcalister]

How many RR credits does it take to purchase a ticket? I looked on the SW website and couldn't find an answer. If it makes a difference, I would be flying from Dallas to Orlando.

Thanks!

 

[twinklebug]

How many RR credits does it take to purchase a ticket? I looked on the SW website and couldn't find an answer. If it makes a difference, I would be flying from Dallas to Orlando.

Thanks!

I'm going to say 16 seems to be the magic number... unless they changed something. I have 14! Only two to go before Aug when mine start to expire. Hoping for a Ding!

 

[jerseygal]

16 reward credits to be earned within 2 a 2 yr period...Then you get a free roundtrip ticket..

I think you must use the free ticket within 1 yr from when you earn the ticket!

Sounds like a great program if you are a frequent flyer or use your credit card with high enough volume....

Like the fact that I just read that there is no change fee if the fare drops!
That is a GREAT FEATURE!

 

[aeronboy]

What you see is what you get. Sign in, show up, get in your line and pick your seat. Simple, No gotcha's.

 

[uva185]

I think the major downside to their program is you can only use 2 years worth of flight credits for a free ticket while the legacy airlines let you save up miles indefinitely as long as you earn or redeem miles once per 18-24 months. Credit card spend aside, unless you fly 8 roundtrips in 2 years you will never earn a free Southwest flight.

Then you must calculate how quickly you can earn a free ticket.

On Southwest you need 16 one-way flight (or 8 roundtrips) to earn a free ticket.

On most legacy carriers you need 25,000 miles.

So for someone flying short routes (ie PHL-MLB) its faster to earn rewards on Southwest (provided you make 8 roundtrips in 2 years) while on a legacy carrier it would take you 14 roundtrips (but there is no time constraint.)

However for long haul flyers the math changes. You would only need 5 roundtrips on a legacy airline if you only flew transcontinental flights.

 

[Donut23]

so my in laws recently announced they are relocating to Melborne Florida. not at WDW's door, but close enough. so i go start looking into joining a frequent flier program for the airlines that i know i would generally fly. southwest, airtran and United. now i had joined the Rapid Rewards program for southwest over a year ago and also joined the airtran APlus one and the united one....but lost my membership info. went all over their websites trying to recover that info, no luck. they keep it rather secure. i get why, but there should be some method of recovering it. so i call all 3 airlines and try to get someone to help me either recover that info or create a new account. (had not aquired points on any of them so far)

Airtran and United was a nightmare. i still don't have that straightened out, but i don't think i am going to bother. southwest was spectactular. some the best over the phone customer service i have ever gotten. helped me thru my Rapid Rewards account issue, then started asking questions and offering helpful info to acquire points faster and how to get the lowest fares.

i had booked my flights via a web only rate at $118 each person each way. i noticed that dropped to $99. rep talked me thru how to change that and how the credit would work. he also noted that to keep checking....if it dropped again, there is no limit as to how many times you can change your ressie. i could change it each time i see it drop and keep banking the credit in the difference in price. no change fees. SWEET!!!

he also offered the info that any flights up to 2 years from the current date could be applied to my RR account for credits. talked me thru that process too.

they sold me. i am totally crushing on Southwest right now. they have my business.

I am a longtime SW fan. It's easy to work free trips with your Rapid Rewards points.

We pay just about everything with our AMEX card - points can be transferred to pay for Rapid Reward points.

Southwest has a very tempting credit card offer - and you will earn reward points with this card as well.

I travel for work and Holiday Inn and Hertz offer Southwest RR points.

It's a GREAT airline and their free flights are a very good thing too!

Welcome to the family!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Airtran and United was a nightmare. i still don't have that straightened out, but i don't think i am going to bother.

Interesting. Can't speak for either of those airlines (although, despite deleting cookies and history from my computer recently, my AirTran account information is still stored in my computer and shows up when I log into their site); but I know Delta has an easily-locatable separate phone number for their SkyMiles members. I'm sure I could call that number right now - yes, at 5 AM - and if not get my account number, at least get a membership card mailed to me... along with the news that if I don't use my 1,549 miles by October, they'll expire . It would make sense that AirTran's and especially United's websites would provide direct phone numbers for their respective frequent fliers as well.

 

[disneynan]

I am a longtime SW fan. It's easy to work free trips with your Rapid Rewards points.

We pay just about everything with our AMEX card - points can be transferred to pay for Rapid Reward points.

Southwest has a very tempting credit card offer - and you will earn reward points with this card as well.

I travel for work and Holiday Inn and Hertz offer Southwest RR points.

It's a GREAT airline and their free flights are a very good thing too!

Welcome to the family!

I was just looking at the Amex rewards web site and did not see Southwest listed. Only Continental, Delta and a bunch of airlines that I never heard of (foreign). Have you used your rewards points on SW recently? We have a lot of Amex points and I would love to turn them into airfare if possible.

Could you share any details as far as how many points are needed?

 

[a1tinkfans]

so my in laws recently announced they are relocating to Melborne Florida. not at WDW's door, but close enough. so i go start looking into joining a frequent flier program for the airlines that i know i would generally fly. southwest, airtran and United. now i had joined the Rapid Rewards program for southwest over a year ago and also joined the airtran APlus one and the united one....but lost my membership info. went all over their websites trying to recover that info, no luck. they keep it rather secure. i get why, but there should be some method of recovering it. so i call all 3 airlines and try to get someone to help me either recover that info or create a new account. (had not aquired points on any of them so far)

Airtran and United was a nightmare. i still don't have that straightened out, but i don't think i am going to bother. southwest was spectactular. some the best over the phone customer service i have ever gotten. helped me thru my Rapid Rewards account issue, then started asking questions and offering helpful info to acquire points faster and how to get the lowest fares.

i had booked my flights via a web only rate at $118 each person each way. i noticed that dropped to $99. rep talked me thru how to change that and how the credit would work. he also noted that to keep checking....if it dropped again, there is no limit as to how many times you can change your ressie. i could change it each time i see it drop and keep banking the credit in the difference in price. no change fees. SWEET!!!

he also offered the info that any flights up to 2 years from the current date could be applied to my RR account for credits. talked me thru that process too.

they sold me. i am totally crushing on Southwest right now. they have my business.

I LOVE sw. And by the way, their cc though it is $59 a year, gives you and AUTOMATIC FREE round trip tix anywhere.....
The dh and I both have it, use the card and love their cservice. We fly them exclusively.
Now DELTA on the other hand....use THOSE miles to get FREE rooms at hotels, like Hyatt MCO in the Delta Marketplace area of their website once you log into their FF program.
I have tried to use those delta miles a bazillion times to no avail, but that Marketplace, WOoHOo great!
Glad it worked out for you!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I was just looking at the Amex rewards web site and did not see Southwest listed. Only Continental, Delta and a bunch of airlines that I never heard of (foreign). Have you used your rewards points on SW recently? We have a lot of Amex points and I would love to turn them into airfare if possible.

Could you share any details as far as how many points are needed?

Unfortunately as of July 1st AX no longer transfers points to Southwest....it use to be for every 1,500 AX points transfered you received 1 RR credit

 

[Elmo007]

We love SW, too! I had to cancel a flight for my mom, just called up and had the credit for a year from purchase date. It worked out so easily. I vowed then and there, they are the only airline for me. (Plus no nickel-and-diming to reserve seats, check bag, etc).

LOVE SW!!!!!!

The only picky thing SW does is that they dont let you fly standby without upgrading to full fare.

One time I was flying ISP to BWI and got to the airport super early. The early flight to BWI was boarding and had empty seats. I asked to get on that one rather than wait an hour or two and they wanted to charge me. It still makes no sense to me.

Beyond that SW rocks ! (Followed by Jetblue and Virgin America)