Buying Southwest points. What am I missing?

[eeyoresmom]

I fly a few times a year and almost exclusively SW. I do purchase up to a few hundred points when needed to complete a purchase. I got an email today for an addtional 35 percent points if I purchased, transferred or gifted points. When I did the math the cost of a flight even with the "free" points was about 60-70 percent higher than if I just bought the flight outright!

 

[supersnoop]

I fly a few times a year and almost exclusively SW. I do purchase up to a few hundred points when needed to complete a purchase. I got an email today for an addtional 35 percent points if I purchased, transferred or gifted points. When I did the math the cost of a flight even with the "free" points was about 60-70 percent higher than if I just bought the flight outright!

Points don't save you money. That's just the way it works.

 

[MikL99]

Yea points don't save you money however you can only use points OR money. You can't split it. So if you were going to use your points to buy your flights you have to make sure you have enough points for the full purchase. One way to do that is buy one way with points and the other way with cash. Make sense?

 

[eeyoresmom]

Yeah. I get that it makes sense for small purchases but its marketed in a way that makes people assume they are getting a deal. Not so.

 

[Angrose]

The advantage to paying with points is that if you have to cancel a flight you just get your points back. If you book with money then you have to use the credit within a year. Sometimes it's worth it to me to have that flexibility.

 

[Paddy Pat]

I fly a few times a year and almost exclusively SW. I do purchase up to a few hundred points when needed to complete a purchase. I got an email today for an addtional 35 percent points if I purchased, transferred or gifted points. When I did the math the cost of a flight even with the "free" points was about 60-70 percent higher than if I just bought the flight outright!

You are right... I fly SW quite a bit myself. I get points from the flights and also by shopping through the rewards website. I never buy them, even when they are giving 35% more points. Its a marketing concept where people feel they are getting a bargain.

 

[eeyoresmom]

It's crazy. I priced out a flight using cash and it was $307. To buy the points for the exact flight (WITH the 35% free), it was over $500! Nuts

 

[kristenrice]

I have a flight that is about 1500 more points than what I have. If I pay cash outright for it, it would cost me $200. I can buy 2000 points for only $60 so in my case, it will save me about $140.

Like a PP mentioned, when you "purchase" a flight with points, it is 100% refundable without restriction as long as you cancel at last 10 minutes before departure. That makes those points a little more valuable because they just go back into your account without an expiration.

 

[supersnoop]

I can buy 2000 points for only $60 so in my case, it will save me about $140

That's only true if your existing points have no value. Are those points worth more or less than $140?

 

[kristenrice]

That's only true if your existing points have no value. Are those points worth more or less than $140?

I guess I would say that if my existing points are not enough to cover a ticket, then yes, currently they have no value. If I have to choose between buying a ticket for $200 and buying 2000 points to acquire the same ticket and spending only $60, then I would argue that buying the points would save money. Maybe my logic is distorted but that's the way I see it.

 

[pjlla]

They count on people (like me) who don't always do the math (like you). It is a marketing thing. That being said, sometimes it is worthwhile. DH had a bunch of SWA RR Points that he wasn't going to use.... but I needed some. I was able to "gift" them from DH's account to my account PLUS get a few extras when they had a bonus-buy time. That was worth it for me because the majority of the Points were free.... I just had to pay to transfer them. PLUS I was saving for a specific trip and with that transfer I was able to fly two from Boston to San Diego with ZERO (other) money out of pocket. So worth it for me this time. But I understand what you are saying...............P

 

[DisMommyTX]

I have never bought points. Last year when I thought I might need more points, I got the Chase Sapphire and Freedom cards. No annual fee first year, great sign-up bonuses and they earn Ultimate Rewards points. After posting to UR, these points can be transferred instantly to Southwest or most other programs. I transfer a couple thousand whenever I need them, but leave the rest as Chase Ultimate Rewards points for flexibility.

 

[Marionnette]

They count on people (like me) who don't always do the math (like you). It is a marketing thing. That being said, sometimes it is worthwhile. DH had a bunch of SWA RR Points that he wasn't going to use.... but I needed some. I was able to "gift" them from DH's account to my account PLUS get a few extras when they had a bonus-buy time. That was worth it for me because the majority of the Points were free.... I just had to pay to transfer them. PLUS I was saving for a specific trip and with that transfer I was able to fly two from Boston to San Diego with ZERO (other) money out of pocket. So worth it for me this time. But I understand what you are saying...............P

Your husband didn't need to gift his RR points to you. He could have booked travel for you, using the points right out of his own RR account. The only time that gifting would make sense would be if the giver didn't have enough points to book a flight and neither did the recipient.

 

[pjlla]

That was exactly the case.... he didn't have enough RR Points and neither did I (I was booking two tickets... one for me and one for DD). But his RR Points (plus the bonus) and what I pushed to earn in the last few months put me over the top! It was perfect!

He rarely flys SWA, but I fly it about once or twice a year plus the RR credit card is in my name so it goes to my account. I didn't feel badly taking his points because they probably would have expired before they were used................P

 

[NotUrsula]

Where points become REALLY valuable is in situations where you are buying flights for other people, especially when they are people who have a tendency to change plans that the last minute. As others have pointed out, a points cancellation rolls right back into your account with no restrictions on who can use them, which isn't the case with refunded cash value.

Example of when using points is invaluable: say you would like to bring along a child's friend, and because you are a generous parent, you pay for the ticket. Kid screws up and gets grounded sometime before the trip, and parents regretfully call you and say that they are very sorry, but Susie will not be allowed to go after all. If you just cancel the reservation you are out the cash because no one but Susie can use those funds, but if you bought it on points you lose nothing. (This is also something to think about if you invite older folks such as grandparents, who may have health problems that could cause them to back out at the last minute.)

(And yes, I know that it's possible to re-use a child's ticket because TSA doesn't ask for ID on kids, but it's a bit risky, because TSO's have a sneaky habit of asking the child his or her name at security. If Annie is supposed to be Susie and forgets, you're going to be up the creek.)