Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

[PebblesMK]

Can the first purchase be anything or any amount? Also, are the yearly fees due right away, or at the end of the year?

 

[Marionnette]

Can the first purchase be anything or any amount? Also, are the yearly fees due right away, or at the end of the year?

There is no threshold amount for that first purchase. The annual fee is assessed right away and will appear on your first statement. It is considered to be a fee and not a purchase, so it doesn't qualify as your first purchase.

 

[mommymeg]

I literraly JUST booked our flights to Orlando for September using my Rapid Reward points. We are a party of 5 which required 59390 points and I only had 50230 points on my account, so i first purchased an additional 10000 points for $250, then redeemed my points for 5 round trip tickets. So in a nutshell, all 5 of us are flying roundtrip for $250. I applied for the card in February, made my first purchase right away (less than $20 at a pharmacy) paid off the balance before the first statement even hit the door. The annual fee didn't show up until my 2nd statement, and the rewards points showed up shortly thereafter. This was too good of a deal to pass up, even in a family like ours who make it a point to never ever use credit cards. We will most likely cancel the card before the annual renewal comes up, but it might be worth holding on to for any future travel.

 

[PebblesMom]

Do the points expire? I think I might do this now, but we will not be going until next year, so I don't want to do it if the points will expire before then!

 

[Mouse7116]

Thanks for all the information! I think we'll look into this more tonight (as we always over analyze everything ). Of course we just booked our flights (like yesterday) for our upcoming trip because the fares dropped $8 and I'm afraid that they are going to start going up....

 

[Marionnette]

Do the points expire? I think I might do this now, but we will not be going until next year, so I don't want to do it if the points will expire before then!

Points do not have an expiration date and will remain active and valid as long as you have at least one qualifying earning activity every 24 months. But Southwest could change the terms of their program at any time. A "qualifying earning activity" can be anything that adds points to your Rapid Rewards account - like dining at a restaurant on their RR Dining list, making a purchase thru one of their partners like a hotel or car rental, or shopping through their online portal (similar to shopping through online rewards programs like ebates or Mypoints).

 

[Dictator]

I do not believe they limit the amount of points that can be used on a flight like a voucher. I've used these points to book flights at months out and at weeks out and I wasn't blacked out. I was skeptical when I signed up for the card last year but it worked out great. DH just got his in the mail a couple weeks go.

For the points you're right. If the offer includes "two free flights" they ARE vouchers. They do expire in a year, and the seats are hard to come by.

 

[tkitty]

Seriously??? Was it that easy??? I am a Chase cardholder with a Disney Visa so my application was basically "on file" with Chase .. I just had to update a couple of boxes .. hit submit .. and automatically had a confirmation screen pop up that the card was approved and will be mailed within 2 weeks. Does that seriously mean I'll be approved for the 50,000 points after my first purchase??

If that is true ... our trip is in Sept .. we would use the points for Universal Studios / dining gift cards / Walmart etc .. is it safe to assume that by getting the card mid-May .. making a purchase right away .. possibly changing the "billing date" to an earlier date and paying off the first purchase right away that we could have the necessary cards in our hands to redeem in Sept??

This was my scenario also! It was super easy and my points were ther on my first bill.

I ended up getting 4 one-way from PHX to MCO for about 49,000pts. Airfare has been so high, almost twice what we paid 3 years ago so I'll have to pay for the return trip.
My DH tried to apply too but he didn't have enough of a credit history because everything ends up in my name. oops.

 

[PebblesMom]

Points do not have an expiration date and will remain active and valid as long as you have at least one qualifying earning activity every 24 months. But Southwest could change the terms of their program at any time. A "qualifying earning activity" can be anything that adds points to your Rapid Rewards account - like dining at a restaurant on their RR Dining list, making a purchase thru one of their partners like a hotel or car rental, or shopping through their online portal (similar to shopping through online rewards programs like ebates or Mypoints).

Thank You! This deal is great!!!!

 

[Marionnette]

For the points you're right. If the offer includes "two free flights" they ARE vouchers. They do expire in a year, and the seats are hard to come by.

Take a look at the link that everyone is talking about. http://www.mychasecreditcards.com/southwest/2ffpromobox
It's for "50,000 bonus points after your first purchase - that's over $800 in Wanna Get Away?® Fares that can be redeemed for 2 FREE ROUNDTRIP FLIGHTS!"


I'm know that you're talking about the old Rapid Rewards program. They don't do vouchers anymore. You should read up on the changes to the program.

 

[JayhawkFans]

Does anybody know if they have any restrictions about cancelling the card after just one year? I know you are hit with the "annual fee" on your first or second billing cycle .. but what if you want to cancel after 8 months .. are you hit with a charge?

 

[hsmamato2]

It's not a "free voucher". They are Rapid Reward points and they are good for ANY fare. There are no "sold out" seats nor are there any blackout dates.

Southwest ROCKS!!!!!

 

[disney4us2002]

Does anyone know how to link the RR visa card to my already-existing RR account? How do I get the 50,000 points?

 

[swilshire]

Does anyone know how to link the RR visa card to my already-existing RR account? How do I get the 50,000 points?

If I remember correctly, you give your SW RR number when you apply for the card. Failing that, I guess you could call them to add it.

Sheila

 

[sissy_ib]

If I remember correctly, you give your SW RR number when you apply for the card. Failing that, I guess you could call them to add it.

Sheila

When I applied it had me put in my RR number. I cant wait to get my card!!

 

[SaraJayne]

For the points you're right. If the offer includes "two free flights" they ARE vouchers. They do expire in a year, and the seats are hard to come by.

They are not vouchers. It's points that can be used toward flights.

 

[hfehr1s]

The good thing is that if you book and your price goes down, you can re-book the same flight and have the extra points returned to your RR account immediately. I just did it this morning and had 2600 points returned to my account!

How do you go about rebooking this? Can it be done via the website? I just noticed our fares went down by about 2300 points and was curious how to go about getting the credit back.

TIA!

 

[Marionnette]

You will need the confirmation number(s) for your flight. Plus you will also need the names associated with each confirmation.

• Go to the southwest.com website
• Click on "Travel Tools" in the upper right corner
• Choose "Change Air Reservation" from the drop down menu
• Enter the confirmation number and names in the appropriate boxes and click continue
• Choose which flights to change. You will be "changing" your flight even if you are choosing the exact same flight for a lower fare
• Confirm that you wish to change the flight when the pop up window comes up
• Make any changes to the date on the next page. If you still intend to fly the same day, just click "select new flights"
• Choose your new fare from the available fares on the next page and click continue
• Confirm your changes on the next page. You should see a "credit" in the calculations if you are purchasing a lower fare
• Enter the appropriate information on the next page and click "I want to make these changes"
• Print your confirmation page You should also get an email confirming your changes.

.

 

[snowy76]

Does anyone know how to link the RR visa card to my already-existing RR account? How do I get the 50,000 points?

Slightly different question from me... I was already approved for the card but I don't even have an RR number yet! I should've just signed up for RR first - and then when I remembered I needed to do that, I'd already submitted the CC application online.

Will they assign me a RR number as a new card customer, or should I apply for a RR number separately and have it added to the cc account?

 

[disney4us2002]

Slightly different question from me... I was already approved for the card but I don't even have an RR number yet! I should've just signed up for RR first - and then when I remembered I needed to do that, I'd already submitted the CC application online.

Will they assign me a RR number as a new card customer, or should I apply for a RR number separately and have it added to the cc account?

Yeah, that's why I asked too. I applied for the card and then applied for RR. I also should have done it in reverse. I guess I'll call Southwest and ask how to add my RR to my card or vice versa.