Southwest RR + miles from Southwest premiere card

[StephandDick]

That was fast!

 

[fanoftigger]

Rapid Rewards points are great - I've been converting Marriott Rewards points into RR points for years in order to get Companion Pass status (and I've been an A-List holder for years). However, starting on April 17th, the Rapid Rewards program will be undergoing a presumably massive devaluation... nobody knows the full details, since Southwest isn't publishing them, but RR points will no longer have a fixed value. I love SWA, and I fly them exclusively for business travel and personal travel when possible, but this devaluation is really stings. I had ~175,000 points in my RR account, but I cashed them all in for a few upcoming trips that we *might* take (there are six of us total, but one is on a companion pass).

So, if possible, try to book your travel before April 17 if using RR points -

It figures they will make our points be worth even less before I can book our Nov flights!

Will be interesting to see what they've come up with this time. We don't fly often anymore. I guess if they devalue them too much, we'll end up driving. My DH won't be happy about that!

 

[disfanforlife]

It figures they will make our points be worth even less before I can book our Nov flights!

Will be interesting to see what they've come up with this time. We don't fly often anymore. I guess if they devalue them too much, we'll end up driving. My DH won't be happy about that!

Yeah, I will be booking for November which I read opens up mid May. So atleast we will know ahead of time what it looks like the points will be worth. If it's too bad maybe I won't be trying to get that second card for my DH anyways.

 

[nalajms]

My CC statement closed the other day and my 50K in points posted the next day

Same here! Points from my Plus card posted the next day on SW. Waiting for the Premier's statement end date. I also transferred some Marriott rewards points, took 1 day to post. I was very surprised because it said "up to 6 weeks".

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I received the 50K point e-mail offer on March 27 and it expires April 27.
I applied for the card online today and was approved.

While DH & I have earned some RR points for previous travel I've never used RR points before.
My RR account currently has 5,430 points and my DH's RR account has 3,262 points. I haven't set-up a RR account for DD (17) yet.

When I get the 50K RR points how can I use them? I always book our family's flights and since most of the points will be in my account can I apply those points to everyone's tickets? Can I/Should I transfer DH's points to my account? Or can you do partial application of points?

TIA!
Debbie

 

[Team Bunch]

I was just approved by e mail today. When we received the offer it said it was for the 50,000 points. The approval email does not mention the 50000 points at all. Should I be nervous?

Also we don't use credit cards so after our Disney trip I plan on canceling the card. Anyone ever do this and apply again in two years and get the 50000 points again?

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

As long as you applied under the 50,000 offer link/code you'll be fine. I won't provide advice on canceling the card, but the two year rule with Chase would start once you receive the 50,000 points, not when you were approved for the card. So depending on your spend, this could be one to three months from now.

 

[nalajms]

When I get the 50K RR points how can I use them? I always book our family's flights and since most of the points will be in my account can I apply those points to everyone's tickets? Can I/Should I transfer DH's points to my account? Or can you do partial application of points?

I wouldn't transfer DH's points unless it's free. Just leave them there until he has enough for a 1-way. You can book everyone's tickets with your points. Since DD doesn't have a RR, I'd book all her tickets with the points you're getting. Because booking one points will not accumulate points for the flight. It's similar to booking regularly. You pick paying with dollars or points. I've noticed that even if you book 2 people in 1 transaction, they end up with different reservations. Also, if you buy EB, it's a separate cost. And each ticket will have a few dollars for taxes.

 

[AriesAriel]

We got the offer back in December, charged all of our Christmas on the card and had the 50,000 points by Jan. It paid for our airfare to Orlando in May.

I was hoping to earn enough points this year to get a companion pass next year, but that may not happen with their announcement on April 17.

Guessing I should book the kids flight to my aunt in Dallas soon!

 

[AriesAriel]

One thing to note is that right now Sam's Club is 3pts/$1 on Rapid Rewards. So if you plan to buy gift cards for the trip and have the SW Visa, you could earn a lot!

 

[disfanforlife]

Is there a certain time of year that the 50,000 offer comes out? My DH got an email for one and was approved in February, I didn't realize thst he should have applied for both cards at once. Now, we are waiting and hoping another offer comes out so we might be able to get the companion pass for me.

 

[kjetjl]

My husband and I recently got the Premier card with the 50,000 point bonus. I hadn't read about the flight points changing April 17 so I quickly charged to get to the $2000 mark just a few days before the statement closed. The charge posted to the statement and those points posted to my RR account but not the bonus. I am bummed because we wanted to book the flight before April 17 because we had figured everything out based on the current point system. Now if the points go up too much, we won't have enough. Just a bit frustrated right now. And hoping that we have enough of a point cushion to cover any increase....

 

[HeatherL1985]

I applied for the Southwest Premier and Plus cards at the beginning of January. I completed the $2,000 spending on each card before my first statement closure in February and received my 50,000 approximately 5 days after the first billing period closed. I paid off both cards, completed a couple partner rewards and bought and transferred enough Choice Hotel points to hit the 110,000 point mark. This got me a free companion pass. I booked my flights for the whole family using points for myself and my son and my husband will fly free. I'm hoping the points don't devalue too drastically. I imagine you will still be able to find a good deal on the less desirable flight times/days but the popular flights will valued so high in points to push for cash transactions.

 

[disfanforlife]

I think you are right. I am wondering what the more popular flights and times will be.

 

[4under4]

I was just approved by e mail today. When we received the offer it said it was for the 50,000 points. The approval email does not mention the 50000 points at all. Should I be nervous?

Also we don't use credit cards so after our Disney trip I plan on canceling the card. Anyone ever do this and apply again in two years and get the 50000 points again?

It will ding your credit if you cancel the card fast (and creditors are starting to look at that sort of habit more and more these days... it indicates you aren't a good long term customer). You might be better cutting the card but leaving it "open" for at least a couple years. At any time, you can apply under the other person's name (i.e. if this card has DH as primary, then next time make you primary). DH & I each have 3 of the same card under our names (SS#) which allowed us to maximize the benefits. Neither of us use these cards often, just enough to make sure they don't get shut down for "inactivity", but we sure got a lot of perks when we opened them! Also, be aware that RR points don't expire as long as the premier card is active, but if you cancel the premier card then points are [currently] on a 24 month expiration. This could change of course, but it is one of the things I like about the premier card.

 

[disfanforlife]

I called to cancel my card since my husband just opened his. I have had it for about 2 years. The agent told me that I would not be eligible to receive the bonus points again - that you can only get them once. I am not sure whether that is true or not because I have heard others that said they did this and got the points more than once. The agent did offer me some bonus points to keep the account open - so I did.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

You do not have to have a premier card, or any SW credit card open, in order to keep your points from expiring. Points in your RR will expire in 24 months if there is no earning activity in your account. To keep them active, you can easily purchase something through the rapid rewards shopping portal using any credit card or even gift cards. I rarely use my SW card when making purchases via the RR shopping portal; so many other cards offer better long term spending rewards, especially with the devaluation coming. The SW cards are about the sign up bonus and companion pass. If executed properly, one can obtain the bonuses every two years under current Chase policy.

 

[Team Bunch]

Thanks for the great info. I know I'm being lazy, and I could look elsewhere, but what is the companion pass?

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

Thanks for the great info. I know I'm being lazy, and I could look elsewhere, but what is the companion pass?

If you earn 110,000 points during a calendar year, you will qualify for a companion pass. With the pass, you can name any person (the name can be changed up to 3 times) as your "companion" which means they can fly WITH you for free whenever you fly. They can't fly without you. The pass is good for the remainder of the calenar year when it is earned and for the entire calendar year that follows. Most people earn the companion pass by obtaining a SW Plus and Premier card when the 50,000 bonus points are offered, thereby leaving them with only 10,000 more points to earn. To maximize its benefit, it's best to apply for the cards late in a calendar year and get your 110,000 points earned as close to January 1 as possible. Just be careful they don't post in December or they will count for the previous year.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I was just approved by e mail today. When we received the offer it said it was for the 50,000 points. The approval email does not mention the 50000 points at all. Should I be nervous?

Also we don't use credit cards so after our Disney trip I plan on canceling the card. Anyone ever do this and apply again in two years and get the 50000 points again?

If you don't plan on using the card and don't want to pay the annual fee, you could always contact Chase and ask about switching it to a different card without a fee (like the Freedom).