Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[aokeefe]

FYI - date has been updated for the next batch of flights

"We are currently accepting air reservations through January 5, 2022. On September 16, 2021 we will open our schedule for sale through April 18, 2022. This date is subject to change! Please check back frequently."

Thanks for the update- was just about to check. I was hoping for an August release (I'm a teacher) and just my luck it doesn't cover April vacation entirely. Oh well- I will be excited to at least book one way!

 

[Tink3815]

Just spoke with a Southwest Rep on the Rapid Rewards customer Service line. She confirmed that buying points counts as a purchase and you do not need to receive the email. 3500 points are 105.00, but you will receive 5250 points for the purchase plus 3500 you bought.. Must be to done before midnight. The bonus points will take 6 to 8 weeks to post.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

ICYMI - Southwest extended their schedule yesterday for flights through January 5, 2022.

They also provided their next release date today: It will be 9/16/21 for travel through April 18th, 2022. Given how far out this is, I'd also say that this date could move up, so I'll keep everybody posted!

Also, Here is my usual Historical Southwest Release Dates (for planning purposes) comment.

Release Date | Travel Through
next release: 9/16/21 | April 18, 2022
6/10/21 | January 5, 2022
4/1/21 | November 5, 2021
12/10/20 | August 16, 2021
8/13/20 | April 11th, 2021
5/28/20 | January 4th, 2021
3/12/20 | October 30th, 2020
12/11/19 | August 10th, 2020
10/30/19 | June 6th, 2020
9/26/19 | April 13th, 2020
8/15/19 | March 6th, 2020
5/30/19 | January 5th, 2020

Yesterday's release occurred at 7:15am Eastern. Here is a list of recent release times:

6/10/21 | 7:15am
4/1/21 | 9:10am
12/10/20 | 7:15am
8/13/20 | 9:15am
5/28/20 | 9:06am
3/12/20 | 9:40am
12/11/19 | 9:10am
10/30/19 | 7:15am
9/26/19 | 7:30am
8/15/19 | 10:41am
5/30/19 | 9:20am

 

[pooch]

Just spoke with a Southwest Rep on the Rapid Rewards customer Service line. She confirmed that buying points counts as a purchase and you do not need to receive the email. 3500 points are 105.00, but you will receive 5250 points for the purchase plus 3500 you bought.. Must be to done before midnight. The bonus points will take 6 to 8 weeks to post.

Buying points is almost NEVER a good choice. 3500 points are only worth $55-60 against a flight. Spending that same $100 on a gift card gives you full value for your purchase.
For example -
You buy 3500 points for $105, the 50 points per dollar is capped at $100 so your bonus is 5000 for a total of 8500 points which is worth about $135/140 when you redeem them. Plus you can’t use them to pay the fees/taxes.

I buy a $100 gift card and get the same 5000 bonus. I get the full $100 to apply to a flight plus the 5000 bonus is worth another $80. So my total for the $100 I spent is $180 and I can use the GC to pay the taxes & fees.
Your $105 got you $35-40. My $100 got me $80.

In any case, the points post just like any other purchase on your SWA card, a few days after your billing cycle closes.

 

[Tink3815]

Buying points is almost NEVER a good choice. 3500 points are only worth $55-60 against a flight. Spending that same $100 on a gift card gives you full value for your purchase.
For example -
You buy 3500 points for $105, the 50 points per dollar is capped at $100 so your bonus is 5000 for a total of 8500 points which is worth about $135/140 when you redeem them. Plus you can’t use them to pay the fees/taxes.

I buy a $100 gift card and get the same 5000 bonus. I get the full $100 to apply to a flight plus the 5000 bonus is worth another $80. So my total for the $100 I spent is $180 and I can use the GC to pay the taxes & fees.
Your $105 got you $35-40. My $100 got me $80.

In any case, the points post just like any other purchase on your SWA card, a few days after your billing cycle closes.

The flexibility of having points in my account is better for me . I can book different flight time options and cancel at the last minute based on weather.The points go back in my account and the tax fees go back on my credit card. No playing with credits that need to be used in a year. Alos, I don't appreciate people who use capital letters in their posts. It's rude.

 

[pooch]

No rudeness intended. My apologies if I offended you. Caps were for emphasis. The purchase of SWA points is a much discussed topic here. I meant no disrespect just wanted to show the difference.

 

[EACarlson]

The flexibility of having points in my account is better for me . I can book different flight time options and cancel at the last minute based on weather.The points go back in my account and the tax fees go back on my credit card. No playing with credits that need to be used in a year. Alos, I don't appreciate people who use capital letters in their posts. It's rude.

So it's rude for a poster to use capital letters to put emphasis on a word in their post, but you have no problems violating the program agreement by booking multiple flights that you don't intend to take? Forcing other customers to pay more for flights and cancelling at the last minute means that the seat is probably going out empty, costing the airline money.

 

[FCDub]

That escalated quickly.

 

[Lsdolphin]

The flexibility of having points in my account is better for me . I can book different flight time options and cancel at the last minute based on weather.The points go back in my account and the tax fees go back on my credit card. No playing with credits that need to be used in a year. Alos, I don't appreciate people who use capital letters in their posts. It's rude.

I thought booking multiple flight for same day was not allowed.

 

[pooch]

That escalated quickly.

Also not my intention.

 

[FCDub]

Also not my intention.

I didn’t think you were rude, for the record

 

[crazymomof4]

Also not my intention.

I appreciated your explanation because I have one of those brains that freezes up when presented with numbers (In my defense, I'm smart in other things), so I need someone to break things down like you did. Posts like that help people make an informed decision, which (big picture) is what makes DISboards so great.

 

[jkelly86]

I opted for a gift card yesterday because I was thinking this will count towards a revenue flight when I use it for myself (is this a correct assumption?) I try not to use points for myself unless I need a lot of flexibility with a particular flight. I use CP and points for the rest of my family, as needed. I really have appreciated the advice and differing perspectives on this thread. It has helped me figure out what works best for our family. It also helped us to get very close to A-list status, which is really exciting and new for us! I never even considered trying for A-list before reading this thread. I hope it will happen for us by January 1st!

 

[LadybugsMum]

There’s already been a schedule change for RDU to MCO in the first 3 days of Dec: the early evening direct flight has disappeared. I’m really hoping the early morning direct flight doesn’t change.

 

[sandam1]

The flexibility of having points in my account is better for me .

Ditto! I have booked my flights exclusively with points for the past 3-4 years. I've lost track of how many times I've gotten points returned when a price goes down or changed flights when plans go haywire. And I'm much more likely to pull the trigger on buying a flight early when I know that how it easy to change this if need be so, in the end, I know that I'm getting the lowest price possible.

Buying points is almost NEVER a good choice. 3500 points are only worth $55-60 against a flight. Spending that same $100 on a gift card gives you full value for your purchase.

However, the first time that you have to let a flight credit expire because you can't use it, any potential "savings" is likely gone. How many people got stuck or risked getting stuck in the past year? Also, I often book flights for my traveling companions and, if their flight goes down in price or they can't go for some reason, I get my points back rather than them getting a flight credit that only they can use.

Note: I never buy points at full cost. I always wait for them to offer me some sort of deal (last spring I was getting insane deals of 40-70% additional points) which makes the math closer to even.

 

[katallo]

We booked good flight times for the Fall. I'm seeing people mention having to reschedule flights. If this becomes necessary do you receive an email or should we watch for the red banner on our confirmation? Thanks

 

[MarBee]

We booked good flight times for the Fall. I'm seeing people mention having to reschedule flights. If this becomes necessary do you receive an email or should we watch for the red banner on our confirmation? Thanks

You’re SUPPOSED to receive an email; however, I found that I received one close to 50% of the time. Other times I found out just by randomly checking, and also found out a bunch through this forum

 

[katallo]

Thanks so much. I'll try to log into our account once a week and look for red banners! Are they usually on reservation details?

 

[Tink3815]

I thought booking multiple flight for same day was not allowed.

You are correct, you can not . My original post stated " I can book different flight time options ". I will choose a long weekend in Jan - Feb -March. If the predicted the weather is cold and rainy, I cancel 5 days out and go the next month. The flexibility of points allows me to do this. The previous poster is making assumptions on when I book and cancel
Below is the policy for Southwest from the contract of carriage.
Multiple reservations departing the same city on the same day is prohibited under the Contract of Carriage.

This year, I ended up using all 3 reservations. The predicted weather was great and the escape from NY weather and covid regulations to a more normal FL was wonderful.

 

[Tink3815]

Ditto! I have booked my flights exclusively with points for the past 3-4 years. I've lost track of how many times I've gotten points returned when a price goes down or changed flights when plans go haywire. And I'm much more likely to pull the trigger on buying a flight early when I know that how it easy to change this if need be so, in the end, I know that I'm getting the lowest price possible.



However, the first time that you have to let a flight credit expire because you can't use it, any potential "savings" is likely gone. How many people got stuck or risked getting stuck in the past year? Also, I often book flights for my traveling companions and, if their flight goes down in price or they can't go for some reason, I get my points back rather than them getting a flight credit that only they can use.

Note: I never buy points at full cost. I always wait for them to offer me some sort of deal (last spring I was getting insane deals of 40-70% additional points) which makes the math closer to even.

Totally agree with your assessment on flight credits. If you sign up for emails through your RR account, they notify you of the sales. Last month I got 70% off purchases over 10,000.