Southwest Airlines? Using rewards and gift cards???

[kool_kat]

Hi All,

I'm a Southwest newbie. Anyways, I signed up for the SW credit card where I will earn 50,000 miles after spending $2,000. Looking at Southwest's website it looks like I can get the tickets I need for our trip but will have to pay various fees/taxes that amount to about 150 a ticket. My question is can I use a Southwest gift card to cover these costs in conjunction with reward miles?

If so, I'll convert some of my target gift cards that I haven't converted yet to Disney gift cards to Southwest gift cards.

Thanks in advance!

 

[moesy4]

Where are you flying from? I have never had to spend more than a few bucks on additional fees when using airline miles, particularly southwest. i think somewhere in the range of 15 bucks.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Us too. It's usually $5-10 each way for taxes and mandatory fees.
I once had a LUV voucher that covered the cost of a ticket but they would not allow it to cover the taxes/fees.
OP I would call sw directly to confirm before cashing in other rewards then possibly being disappointed that they can't be used.
Also if you didn't already receive your 50k bonus, meaning you're not ready to book right now, it's all an assumption. Ticket prices often go up and down which means the cost in points vary too. What you see today may not be the same when you come back in a month ready to book.

 

[supersnoop]

You cannot use a gift card for EBCI.

 

[kool_kat]

Thanks all for your responses. This is actually for a flight to Jamaica not DW, so the fees are outrageous. I'm just trying to plan ahead. My husband desperately wants to do a Sandals Jamaica trip in May with all his friends and I'm trying to figure out a way to pay for it. Luckily, I've saved over 1k on our Disney cruise in March by using gift cards so that definitely helps.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I keep forgetting SW flies internationally since taking over Airtran. In that case the US and the foreign govts usually both add their share of customs/immigration fees.

Have a great trip!

 

[kamik86]

Thanks all for your responses. This is actually for a flight to Jamaica not DW, so the fees are outrageous. I'm just trying to plan ahead. My husband desperately wants to do a Sandals Jamaica trip in May with all his friends and I'm trying to figure out a way to pay for it. Luckily, I've saved over 1k on our Disney cruise in March by using gift cards so that definitely helps.

Oh that makes more sense, international will have those high fees. Don't know if you can use a giftcard or not... never tried since flying domestically the fees are only around $25 for us both.