Do you ever book with SW points just in case?

[bjscheel]

We are probably going to go to WDW next summer. I usually don't make the decision on dates until March when I know about how many snow days will have to be added on to the end of the school year. We've been taking vacations in June because DD15 never wanted to miss school in middle school.

I've been looking at fares on SW already though, kind of waiting to see when more of June opens up, and seeing what kind of fares are possible. I found fares for only 4740 pts each way at decent times (most of the flights at that fare arrive in Orlando at midnight). They are April 30-May 6.

Those dates might be cooler temps and lower crowds than early to mid June. DD15's high school experience this year has been way more relaxed than she expected and she keeps telling me she can miss school for a trip.

While that remains to be decided whether we will take the kids out of school, would you go ahead and book it with points, knowing your plans are really undecided? There is pretty much no downside, right?

I have booked with points once before and made changes to it and loved the flexibility. It still just feels really weird.

 

[bjscheel]

Ah shoot, never mind. It'll be track season. By the time that gets over, it will be close to the end of the school year, and on the off chance she qualifies for State, we won't want to be gone near the end of May anyway. We are stuck with June.

 

[elaine amj]

It doesn't hurt to make the reservations though...

I've been using Southwest since last year and I absolutely love love love the easy cancellation on points. I book trips on a whim now and if it works out, its great. If not, I cancel and move on. Recent we were planning a trip for December and I couldn't decide between Tucson and Phoenix. I started off deciding on Tucson first and booked. Several weeks later, DH said he would prefer Phoenix. So I booked that. I hung on to the Tucson trip for a couple of extra weeks in case DH changed his mind again. Last night, I finally cancelled the Tucson flight (groaning a tiny bit because I prefer Tucson LOL!).

This really gets me flying more because it's so easy. The number 1 reason I adore Southwest. My kids aren't as in favor of the stress of not having assigned seats. But the flexibility to me as a planner is nothing short of amazing. I can treat it almost like a hotel reservation now - what an incredible novelty.

Because of this, we work hard to rack up Southwest points - and I had said for years we were unlikely to ever fly anything but Delta because we can get nonstop on Delta - everything other carrier is pretty much connecting flights.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

?......

This really gets me flying more because it's so easy. The number 1 reason I adore Southwest. My kids aren't as in favor of the stress of not having assigned seats. But the flexibility to me as a planner is nothing short of amazing. I can treat it almost like a hotel reservation now - what an incredible novelty.

Because of this, we work hard to rack up Southwest points - and I had said for years we were unlikely to ever fly anything but Delta because we can get nonstop on Delta - everything other carrier is pretty much connecting flights.

FYI, you can book flights on other airlines and have frequent flyer miles redeposited without penalty, depending on your status and their program. For example, I am a 1K on United and I can cancel and change flights booked with miles without a fee. Also, if I book a flight using my award miles for someone else, they get my status for the flight (3 free checked bags, early boarding, free economy plus seats and free domestic upgrades).

 

[bjscheel]

But the flexibility to me as a planner is nothing short of amazing. I can treat it almost like a hotel reservation now - what an incredible novelty.

It is pretty amazing when you've been used to flights being pretty much set in stone. So I guess now I will just keep watching for more June dates and not be shy about jumping on good rates and deciding later if the dates work.

 

[elaine amj]

FYI, you can book flights on other airlines and have frequent flyer miles redeposited without penalty, depending on your status and their program. For example, I am a 1K on United and I can cancel and change flights booked with miles without a fee. Also, if I book a flight using my award miles for someone else, they get my status for the flight (3 free checked bags, early boarding, free economy plus seats and free domestic upgrades).

Ooooo I never knew this and I read a lot of frequent flyer blogs. Prob never paid attention because I have been very loyal to Delta and now Southwest. I will for sure keep this in mind and consider United in the fiture. Not sure i can hit 1K status though. Have never even managed to hit status with Delta. I loooove the perks though and it could be worth working towards.