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

[pooch]

Oh, I was thinking they wanted to book with points.

 

[eticketplease]

Oh, I was thinking they wanted to book with points.

I'm not sure which way they wanted to book only that they were booking 5 tickets.
They would have to have a bunch of points already to book based on the flights I'm trying for.
If they were booking Choice Preferred / Choice Extra those are refundable so if they got the 100k points they could refund and rebook with points then.

We will be making SW for 5 adults next Tuesday when May dates open.
We want to apply for SW credit card. Should we wait until Tuesday or do it now to speed up the process next Tuesday.
Thank you in advance

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

But they said they were buying tickets Tuesday. I’m not sure why you’d apply for the card & not wait for the bonus points .

Depending on the route, 100k RR might not be enough for 5 adults round trip. In that case, if you have the card open, book one way on cash with the card to works towards the minimum spend while generating bonus RRs at the same time. Then, you can use that bonus to book the way back.

If flights dropped and that 100k was enough for round trip, then I'd be holding off, putting other spend on the card, and booking fully on points. Having the card open and in hand by Tuesday allows the most flexibility there.

ETA: I know the original poster says they were booking on opening day, in which case they can't use the points from this card. I'm just suggesting maybe they *shouldn't* book then in order to be able to use them. At the very least, if they know they're paying cash for these flights, they definitely want the card open to earn the 2x 3x or 4x at the same time that they're working towards minimum spend.

 

[pooch]

Boy it’s a whole new SWA world. I booked 7 nonstop RTs on SWA last year for a total of less than 60,000 points and just under $80 cash. My current RT next month is 9500. I’m afraid to look at next year

 

[eticketplease]

Boy it’s a whole new SWA world. I booked 7 nonstop RTs on SWA last year for a total of less than 60,000 points and just under $80 cash. My current RT next month is 9500. I’m afraid to look at next year

Yes it is ridiculous. For a party of 4 RT to MCO it was going to be 320K

 

[pooch]

OMG!! Where are you flying from?

Just checked a couple of random flights in Jan & Feb & looks like about 20,000 each: my flights have typically started there & gone down close to 50% by the time we fly.

 

[eticketplease]

OMG!! Where are you flying from?

Just checked a couple of random flights in Jan & Feb & looks like about 20,000 each: my flights have typically started there & gone down close to 50% by the time we fly.

I'm in the midwest but I just checked BWI, one of their main airports, and it was 114,500 each for our dates which equals out to 458K for 4 RT tickets.

I couldn't believe BWI was more. Although one of the flights they actually had Choice to choose from. If they didn't have that the cost would have been up 5,500 each or 480K Round trip for our party of 4!!!

 

[pooch]

Ok that is insane. They can’t possibly be selling anything at that price!

 

[eticketplease]

Ok that is insane. They can’t possibly be selling anything at that price!

The one on the way back no:

The one with Choice from MCO to BWI had 4 gone in Extra Legroom, 4 in preferred (Wonder if these are always marked off 7B, 7C & 13D, 13E) and standard seats it was 6, the entire row 29 so that totals 14 seats for the plane.

It was a different story for the way down.
This direction only offered the refundable fares from BWI down to MCO.
4 gone in Extra Legroom, 4 in preferred (Same 4) and 68 of the 84 in standard seating were sold.

 

[Tink3815]

Last day to buy Southwest points at a 50% discount is tomorrow. A Sept 7500 basic point fare is 109.00 if you pay cash. You can buy 8000 discounted points for $120.00.

If you book the basic fare on points and later cancel the points amount goes back into your RR account and 5.60 goes back to the credit card, you used.

If you book the basic fare for cash and later cancel you get an expiring credit that will expire in 6 months.

If I am going to use Southwest, I would rather use the points method

 

[focusondisney]

The one on the way back no:

The one with Choice from MCO to BWI had 4 gone in Extra Legroom, 4 in preferred (Wonder if these are always marked off 7B, 7C & 13D, 13E) and standard seats it was 6, the entire row 29 so that totals 14 seats for the plane.

It was a different story for the way down.
This direction only offered the refundable fares from BWI down to MCO.
4 gone in Extra Legroom, 4 in preferred (Same 4) and 68 of the 84 in standard seating were sold.

Remember that only people who booked picking seats. We have no idea how many Basic fares that didn’t get seat selection are sold.

 

[eticketplease]

Just went to check my flights for spring break to see if I could get any credit back to my card.

Well that was a resounding NO!!

$246 more for the same Choice Preferred seat and $296 more for Choice Extra.

Since I haven't seen basic or choice fares for that matter I'm assuming everyone has chosen a seat which means only 23 seats have been sold leaving 152 left.

I just don't understand what in the world they are doing.

 

[eticketplease]

Remember that only people who booked picking seats. We have no idea how many Basic fares that didn’t get seat selection are sold.

Good point but on my flights only the top two fares have been offered so far which all include seat selection.

 

[mamamary]

I have a quick question if anyone can help. My daughter and son-in-law cannot go on their Aruba trip next month. My daughter bought the two sets of round-trip tickets with her points plus she had to buy more points to cover the fare. One set of tickets is basic and the next set of tickets is choice. Since they cannot go on their trip if she cancels do the points just go back into her rapid rewards account? Does she lose out on anything? I’m so confused.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I have a quick question if anyone can help. My daughter and son-in-law cannot go on their Aruba trip next month. My daughter bought the two sets of round-trip tickets with her points plus she had to buy more points to cover the fare. One set of tickets is basic and the next set of tickets is choice. Since they cannot go on their trip if she cancels do the points just go back into her rapid rewards account? Does she lose out on anything? I’m so confused.

Yes, when you cancel a points reservation, they points just go back to the account they came out of.

The taxes and fees are refundable to the original form of payment (make sure they pick this as the system will default to giving a credit even though a refund is an option).

When you say she bought the points, I'm assuming that she bought the points as one transaction and then used them to buy a full points fare as a separate transaction. If this is actually a Cash Plus Points booking, I'm *think* the cash portion becomes an expiring flight credit and the points go back to the account, but double check me because I've never actually booked this fare type.

 

[mamamary]

Yes, when you cancel a points reservation, they points just go back to the account they came out of.

The taxes and fees are refundable to the original form of payment (make sure they pick this as the system will default to giving a credit even though a refund is an option).

When you say she bought the points, I'm assuming that she bought the points as one transaction and then used them to buy a full points fare as a separate transaction. If this is actually a Cash Plus Points booking, I'm *think* the cash portion becomes an expiring flight credit and the points go back to the account, but double check me because I've never actually booked this fare type.

Hmmm. I know she had some points but not enough for these tickets. She said she bought I believe $500 worth of points. I told her to just call SW as I’ve never had to do this either. Thx for helping.

 

[pooch]

If she bought points, the entire amount is refunded to her SWA account. IMHO using points is the best way to purchase flights (if possible) because points are completely refundable at all fare levels.

 

[leebee]

Companion pass... Just to make sure I am understanding this.

Current offer is 100,000 points by meeting the spend (I think it's $4K in 5 months). If I get the card now, the spend deadline would be Jan 2026, which is when the 100K points would post to my account (I'd make sure not to meet the spend before that). On Jan 1 2026 (or by the end of the month), there will be 10K boost points added to my account. That puts me at 110,000 points thru this card. I'd need another $25K points during 2026 to qualify for companion pass for 2026 and 2027. Is this right?

 

[eticketplease]

Companion pass... Just to make sure I am understanding this.

Current offer is 100,000 points by meeting the spend (I think it's $4K in 5 months). If I get the card now, the spend deadline would be Jan 2026, which is when the 100K points would post to my account. On Jan 1 2026 (or by the end of the month), there will be 10K boost points added to my account. That puts me at 110,000 points thru this card. I'd need another $25K points during 2026 to qualify for companion pass for 2026 and 2027. Is this right?

For the most part that is correct.

The 100,000 points will hit on the statement you finish the required spend so if you meet the spend for XMAS Gifts and your statement hits in December then the bonus points would hit for 2025 year but if the statement date is in January the points would be posted for your 2026 year.

If you open the card today 8/22/2025 that would give you until 1/22/2026 to meet the spend.
You want to try and delay as much spend as you can until January which would give you 22 days to spend the $4,000.
If you spend any amount before January it will not count for the 2026/2027 Companion Pass.

Between 1/1/26 - 1/31/26 you will receive 10,000 Points that are only good for the Companion Pass (CP).
On January 10th you place a $4,000 purchase at the base 1x earning rate brings your total CP Point balance to 14,000.
When your statement hits you will receive the bonus 100,000 points bringing your CP Point balance to 114,000.
Based on this example you would now need 21,000 more points.

You do not have to spend $21,000 on the card to get there although you certainly could.
Flights booked with cash (whether you used the card or not) would give you points.
If you booked the flights with the SW CC you would earn 2x-4x depending on which card you have
You can also earn mile instead of shopping through rakuten or other cashback portals by using the southwest portal at rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com
The other approved partners are listed at https://mobile.southwest.com/rapid-rewards/partners/
By going through those partners and using your SW CC you would be able to double dip and spend less.

Alternatively you could also open a business card as well and meet its spending requirements which would give you 60,000 or 80,000 points depending on the card.

In the below example $6,075 was spent with the Priority Card ($229 Fee) to earn the Companion pass by 4/7/2026 that would be good for the rest of 2026 and 2027.

You would also have 126,946 points to book your flight (Remember the 10K from the CC aren't useable for booking) and then you would just need to pay taxes for you and your companion.

 

[leebee]

So if I use the card at all in 2025, that will count towards the points but NOT towards the companion pass. Thing to do then would be to get the card and make a small purchase on it now, then hold off on the bulk of purchases until January... or not make any charges at all on it in 2025. I know I can buy gift cards for the grocery store and such to meet the $4K but it seems like a lot of juggling. Still... free airfare...