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

[scrappinginontario]

I booked August out of Buffalo and was happy to see low rates compared to other times. $127 one direction and $86 the other which is a price we haven't seen in a long, long time. Both direct also which is nice.

Booked using points as once again not sure we'll ever be able to travel again. I was fairly confident our Jan trip was going to happen but things are deteriorating her daily so it's in jeopardy...again.

 

[catsinawindow]

Poor options out of PHL to MCO for July as well. Prices were pretty typical, but not a single direct flight on my travel dates! Generally there have been 2 nonstops per weekday and more on weekends. I booked the best available option on RR points for now and will cross my fingers that they release some nonstops in the future that I can switch to!

 

[dez1978]

quick question. Is tampa a better airport than MCO? Like easier/quicker? We are flying into MCO but then spending the last part of our trip at clearwater beach so Tampa would be closer (right?) They have a flight that would work perfectly for us.

 

[ultimatefans]

I booked August out of Buffalo and was happy to see low rates compared to other times. $127 one direction and $86 the other which is a price we haven't seen in a long, long time. Both direct also which is nice.

Booked using points as once again not sure we'll ever be able to travel again. I was fairly confident our Jan trip was going to happen but things are deteriorating her daily so it's in jeopardy...again.

I have an $86 fare booked out of Buffalo in May that I grabbed last week and was soooo thrilled to get that price! I agree, it's been a long time since we've seen that.

Really hoping your January trip can *finally* happen!

 

[cmarsh31]

August out of ALB was cheap, even for August. Got them before school started!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I have an $86 fare booked out of Buffalo in May that I grabbed last week and was soooo thrilled to get that price! I agree, it's been a long time since we've seen that.

Really hoping your January trip can *finally* happen!

Thank you!

Glad you were able to book an $86 fare also!!

 

[disny_luvr]

Quick question before I book my summer flights. If I book our flights using points, do I have to use points to purchase EBCI? If we need to cancel and I do use points to purchase EBCI, do those points go back into my account or do I lose them?

TIA!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Poor options out of PHL to MCO for July as well. Prices were pretty typical, but not a single direct flight on my travel dates! Generally there have been 2 nonstops per weekday and more on weekends. I booked the best available option on RR points for now and will cross my fingers that they release some nonstops in the future that I can switch to!

I was shocked by the lack of direct flights PHL to MCO as well. To the point that I'm wondering if everything isn't loaded yet (my dates are late August).

 

[barb969]

Quick question before I book my summer flights. If I book our flights using points, do I have to use points to purchase EBCI? If we need to cancel and I do use points to purchase EBCI, do those points go back into my account or do I lose them?

TIA!

You can’t pay with points for EBCI.

 

[disny_luvr]

You can’t pay with points for EBCI.

Great, thank you!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Great, thank you!

You will also want to know that if you cancel your flights, EBCI will not be refunded to you so purchase with caution during these uncertain times.

 

[catsinawindow]

I was shocked by the lack of direct flights PHL to MCO as well. To the point that I'm wondering if everything isn't loaded yet (my dates are late August).

I wondered the same...in the meantime, I decided to book flights out of BWI as there are a bunch of nonstop flights between BWI and MCO. It's an extra 1.5 hour drive for us, but we'll more than makeup the time by having a nonstop flight. Plus avoiding the headache of catching the next plane, luggage being transferred, etc. Might be worth looking into.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I wondered the same...in the meantime, I decided to book flights out of BWI as there are a bunch of nonstop flights between BWI and MCO. It's an extra 1.5 hour drive for us, but we'll more than makeup the time by having a nonstop flight. Plus avoiding the headache of catching the next plane, luggage being transferred, etc. Might be worth looking into.

Yup, I was looking at BWI options, too. We're only 20ish minutes from PHL depending on traffic, so BWI would be a bummer, but we're considering it. My kids have had issues with motion sickness on airplanes, so we were trying to avoid double take off and landing.

 

[dez1978]

You can't combine points with any other method of payment correct?

 

[LadybugsMum]

Yup, I was looking at BWI options, too. We're only 20ish minutes from PHL depending on traffic, so BWI would be a bummer, but we're considering it. My kids have had issues with motion sickness on airplanes, so we were trying to avoid double take off and landing.

Dramamine is great for motion sickness. I've been using it since I was a young child and now use it with my kids.

 

[dez1978]

I'm 25k points shy of what I need to book flights one way. If I buy those it's $412. I have a 10% cb offer on my SW card ($30 max I think) so that would get me 30 back. plus 2x points for using my SW card. So $382 after the 10% plus 825 points right? Does that seem like a decent price? Cash price is 158 pp.

 

[PCFriar80]

You can't combine points with any other method of payment correct?

From the SWA website:
Can I combine points and cash for a reservation?
No. But keep in mind, you can book a one-way reservation using points and book your return using cash or any other accepted form of payment or vice-versa.

 

[disny_luvr]

You will also want to know that if you cancel your flights, EBCI will not be refunded to you so purchase with caution during these uncertain times.

Yes, that happened to us back in 2020, unfortunately.

 

[barb969]

&

You will also want to know that if you cancel your flights, EBCI will not be refunded to you so purchase with caution during these uncertain times.

If you need to cancel a flight with EBCI, don’t cancel. Rebook the flight for a future date and have the EBCI transferred. I call SW for tHis. You can rebook several times Upto a year after you made the first ressie. I think it has to between the same airports. My DH wa going to a family reunion in May 2020. I got his flight to MCO with EBCI in Feb. Of course the reunion was canceled. I rebooked him on a later date. Reunion canceled again. We had ressies for WDW, rebooked again. We decided not go in Dec. We had WDW ressies in Jan. So I rebooked again. Still transferring the EBCI. I had myself convinced I would lose the cost of EBCI Since we decided not to go in Jan. A little pixie dust landed and SW canceled the flight and I got my money back. I felt bad for those who had their flight canceled. Thank goodness I used points so I didn’t have to deal with travel funds.

 

[EACarlson]

I'm 25k points shy of what I need to book flights one way. If I buy those it's $412. I have a 10% cb offer on my SW card ($30 max I think) so that would get me 30 back. plus 2x points for using my SW card. So $382 after the 10% plus 825 points right? Does that seem like a decent price? Cash price is 158 pp.

$382 for 25k points is 1.53 cpp so within the realm of RR point valuations of 1.3-1.6 cpp. As far as whether it's a better deal to pay cash or points depends on many factors. Including how many tickets you're talking about here, and the likelihood of this trip being cancelled. If you have to cancel and the bookings are made in points, you get all the points back. If the booking is made in cash it becomes travel funds tied to each specific traveler named.