Attention: SWA Rapid Rewards Experts...? about Companion Pass and cancelling flights

[Shea&Van]

Hey ya'll!!

I'm new to the whole Chase Credit Card Rapid Rewards thing and I'm looking for some advice.

On Monday, my husband and I booked travel from BWI to Jamaica for November using his RR points. I think with the fees and EBCI our "out of pocket" fee was $240 or so.

I just applied for the Chase RR Plus card (already had the regular Chase RR card) and was instantly approved. With the bonus of 50k points, I should have enough now to get a companion pass (if the bonus does count toward the companion pass - I know that doesn't always happen).

If all goes the way I hope, I'll reach the companion pass level after spending the first $2k (which I will do immediately as I'm getting ready to pay off our cruise with our tax refund).

So my question is this...is there any way I can call SWA and ask them to switch my reservation from BWI-Jamaica to my account and refund the points to my husband. Then, take the reservation and put it under my name since I will have the companion pass and he can fly for "free?" Or, will I have to cancel out his reservation entirely and re-book from scratch once I get the companion pass? If I go this route (starting from scratch), what happens to the fees (including EBCI) we already paid? Do they get refunded?

Hindsight is 20-20 and had I known they were re-introducting the 50k bonus I probably would have waited to book. But, I'm such a nervous nellie, I just was worried since I already had the regular Chase RR card I wouldn't be approved for the the plus. I'm always very anxious when applying for credit (even though our credit is very good), I don't want my credit score to suffer opening new accounts without really thinking it through...

Any advice on how to handle this predictament would be greatly appreciated. Of course, I have no idea if the bonus miles will count toward the companion pass, but I'm hoping it will. If they elect not to count it, this will not really matter.

Thanks in advance for any advice/insight. I'm brand-new to all this point stuff, but I'm looking forward to learning how I can maximize this benefit.

Take care and have a happy day!!

 

[Shea&Van]

Anyone?

 

[ktate82]

I think you will have to cancel your husband's reservation. The fees will be refunded in travel funds (only to be used through southwest, like store credit) to each person. You can then book once you have your companion pass (or you can book yours now and when you earn the companion pass, book his). When you go to pay the fees and such, there is a place to apply travel funds. You will put in your name and past reservation number and that should pull the funds. The EBCI is not refundable however, so you will loose that.

 

[Shea&Van]

Thanks so much ktate82! This is exactly what I was thinking, but it's nice to have someone else thinking the same thing. Hopefully, all will work out!

Thanks again for taking the time to reply and enjoy your upcoming cruise! We will be taking our first one in under 10 months...still a long time

 

[ToddyLu]

I also think you have a year in which to use the travel funds. They start counting from date purchased not travel date. So I would have to consider that before canceling. We only fly once or twice a year and I would be afraid I couldn't use my refund in time...and I would loose our $25 for EBCI.

 

[ktate82]

Thanks so much ktate82! This is exactly what I was thinking, but it's nice to have someone else thinking the same thing. Hopefully, all will work out!

Thanks again for taking the time to reply and enjoy your upcoming cruise! We will be taking our first one in under 10 months...still a long time

We took our first cruise (no kids) in Feb this year and promptly booked another one for this fall before we start our Disney trip. It was amazing! And those 10 months will fly by (not as fast as the cruise though).

We have a companion pass for southwest that we used last year and this year. It has saved a lot of money and points thus prompting more trips.

 

[LisaS]

On Monday, my husband and I booked travel from BWI to Jamaica for November using his RR points. I think with the fees and EBCI our "out of pocket" fee was $240 or so.

$240 seems high if all of your travel was paid for with points, unless there are special fees for travel outside the USA. EBCI would be $12.50 per person each way. On domestic flights your Security Fee is $2.50 per segment. So what else were you charged to get you up to $240?

Re: EBCI, technically that is non-refundable but given what you are trying to do, I would not cancel any flights without speaking to someone at Southwest first. When my DH qualified for a Companion Pass, we had already booked our flights. By calling Southwest, they were able to cancel my flight (which had EBCI attached to it), rebook me on the same flight as DH's companion, and move my EBCI to my new reservation. They cannot do this for you if you have already cancelled your flight.

The Security fees that you paid are refundable. You have to call Southwest with the confirmation number(s) for your cancelled flights and they will credit them back to the credit card used for the reservation. Otherwise they are credited to your account as Travel Funds, due to expire one year from your original purchase date.

 

[Shea&Van]

Thank you for responding and for the insight!

Here's what it says on our confirmation e-mail (re: extra fees):

Base Fare $0
U.S. Security Fee $5.00
U.S. Customs User Fee $11.00
U.S. APHIS User Fee $10.00
U.S. Immigration User Fee $14.00
Jamaica Passenger Levy $40.00
Jamaica Tourism Enhancement Fee $40.00
Jamaica Passenger Service & Security Fee $22.02
Jamaica Airport Improvement Fee $10.00
Jamaica Passenger Facility Charge $6.00
Jamaica Passenger Aviation Service Charge 16.00
Jamaica Travel Tax $32.72
Total Air Cost $206.74

We did add EBCI, so I guess our total is $256.74...those "little" fees do definitely add up!

Those flights are currently priced at $709.44 (for two people), so we "saved" $452.70 by using our RR points.

If I can get the companion pass and work that into the equation, I will (hopefully) be able to save even more.

Fingers crossed!

Have a happy week ya'll!

 

[hsmamato2]

Call swa, they are super helpful..... Also a note, op,do you have the swa cc? I am confused.....the cc is different from a rapid rewards acct. you get the points dropped into your acct. by the chase swa company.....separate accts.... The points you use come from your rr acct.
...also,do you mean you personally now have 2 cards in your name,linked to your rr? B/c they both have to be in your name/acct to make cp in one year...also,be aware its the spend for new card+another 6k...and the points get deposited in your acct. after your statement closing date (even if you spend/pay it earlier) have fun...its a great deal!

 

[hsmamato2]

Oh...and wow...i had no idea flying to jamaica added all those fees!

 

[Shea&Van]

Yeah, after re-reading my e-mail, it IS surprising to see all those extra Jamaica fees. But, I'm trying to focus my energy to visualize the cool cocktails I'll be enjoying on the sandy beach in just 158 days

And, yes, I do have two SWA CCs that I'm hoping will allow me to grab the companion pass (I know that doesn't always happen, so I'm crossing my fingers). I'll post back when I see my points point for my next statement. Both CCs are tied to my current RR account, so here's hoping!

Thanks again for reading and posting your feedback. It is always so helpful!! Look forward to contacting SWA soon to figure everything out if I'm able to score the pass!

Happy Day Everyone!

 

[hsmamato2]

Oh, that's great! I was double checking, based on your post.... yes indeed, you CAN get that cp with 2 cards, plus a little extra spend... there are all kinds of good ideas out there for doing that,places to use that cc(paying in full of course) to hit that- be sure that ALL your spending for that cp is in one calendar year.