Make the most of your Southwest Rewards trick

[rubybpc]

I was one of the blessed ones to sign up and get the 50k. Both DH and I signed up for separate cards so in total we have 100k free rewards from SWA! I was trying to book 6 RT flights instead of 4 with those points but they are soooo expensive. Even though we have 100k rewards we are just barely making 4 round trip tickets to MCO for our Christmas trip this year. With flights being so expensive with SWA I looked into Airtran (their flights are cheaper) since they partnered up I though they might fly bag free too, they DON'T. then I ran into something VERY VERY interesting. It's a bit complicated but I believe it's worth the hassle!! I had to read this like 10 billion times just to fully understand what was going on.

**The only way to benefit from this is if your RT flight is costing MORE than 19,200 Rapid Rewards Points because these credits or vouchers have a cap on ALL flights of 19,200 points. Also, make sure there is availability for these types of vouchers as only select seats are available for these credits BEFORE making the swap of RRP.

Instantly transfer like this:
1,200 Rapid Rewards points converts to 1 A+ credit

1 A+ credit to 1 Rapid Rewards credit

1 A+ credit converts to 1 Rapid Rewards credit

16 A+ credits can be used to fly two oneways on Airtran, and 16 Rapid Rewards credits can be used to fly two oneways on Southwest.

So what does all this mean, and how can we exploit it. Because there are unlimited transfers between the programs, it means that we can use 19,200 (1,200 * 16) Rapid Rewards points for two free oneway trips on either airline.



http://milevalue.com/how-to-exploit-the-southwest-airtran-merger/

I hope that made sense.

 

[musicmantrs]

It is useful, the only warning is that black out dates and seat restrictions apply to those old style credits. They also expire a year after you convert to them. I had some old program legs on my account after the switch and traded in some points to get the free flight and I almost wasn't able to use them within the year. Luckily we were able to find a non-blackout date for the return flight from Disney.

 

[rubybpc]

Yep! Make sure before you make the switch. If it fits your schedule then your good.

 

[budbeerlady]

And if someone does book on Southwest with their RR points you can rebook to a lower points flight if they do change. We have done that in the past with points, booked at 11,000 and weeks later they were on sale for 7,400 rebooked and got the points back.

 

[rubybpc]

Well, it basically only benefits outrageous flight prices. So I doubt they will come down that much if they are so high. Once u change them to credits you can't change them back to points.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Be VERY careful if you switch! I switched some points to credits because I had a bunch of credits and I wanted to top them off and use the free RT flight. But as a PP mentioned, these seats are very limited (using the old credits). In the time I switched, one of the one way flights 'sold out' of these types of seats. I had to readjust my schedule. That's not fun when you are coordinating 4 people's airline tickets.

Additionally, if you book with points rather than the credits, as another poster mentioned - you can EASILY rebook at the lower point amount and IMMEDIATELY get the points credited to your account. You can do this as many times as you want since SW does not charge you any additional fees to switch your flight.

 

[imsayin]

Additionally, if you book with points rather than the credits, as another poster mentioned - you can EASILY rebook at the lower point amount and IMMEDIATELY get the points credited to your account. You can do this as many times as you want since SW does not charge you any additional fees to switch your flight.

And it is better to book your flight as 2 one-way tickets. If the price/points decrease on one leg but increase on the other, you can just rebook the part that benefits you.

 

[swilshire]

And it is better to book your flight as 2 one-way tickets. If the price/points decrease on one leg but increase on the other, you can just rebook the part that benefits you.

Not necessary. Even if you book roundtrip, you can change one direction only if it goes down. You don't have to make any changes to the one that went up.

Sheila

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I am so confused. How do you know if there is availability before you do is?

 

[rubybpc]

You must call CS

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I already booked my flights for Christmas but this would be so much better. However, I have the companion pass for my daughter so would I be able to still utilize it if I booked flights this way? And if I am able to book flight this way, I would just cancel the flights I already booked with points and they would go back into my rr account? Thanks!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

And are all of these transfers immediate? Or do you have to wait?

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Never mind my dates are sold out but that is awesome! Good find op!

 

[rubybpc]

Yeah, Christmas flights are hard to find.