SW flights with points ........to book or not to book?

[LisaRay]

Hello, I got the SW card with the bonus points but because I took so long picking out our new appliances which is how we were spending the $2,000 required I ended up not getting my points until a week after they opened up flights.
My DD and her husband have already book their flights down and we are traveling together for the 1st part of the trip.
The problem is in this past week since they opened the flights our flight down has gone up from 7,000 to 11,000 points. The flights home are still in the 7,000 range. So I can't decide what to do. I don't have enough right now to book all 3 flights like I would have if I could have done it last week! (ARGH!) so I'm not sure if I should just book the flight home since it's much lower and at least i'll have those locked in at that point amount and then just wait for the other fares to maybe drop back down? Or do I try and buy points? I would need 5000 points though and really don't want to spend that much to buy them.

Also the days we are looking at flying are Black Friday (day after thanksgiving) which is the one that went up and coming back home on the Saturday after (Dec 3rd.) I thought in the past that Thanksgiving day and that Friday after were low travel days with lower prices.

We flew last year with my DH's points that he had acquired on SW from work trips and we flew in mid Nov. and didn't book till late july/early aug. and I had watched them go up and down before finally booking.
I know these have only been released a short time but i'm worried they will only keep going up! Just looking for opinions since my only experience with traveling SW is last year. (husband does it for work but they book that and I never see the price amounts etc.)
Sorry so long! thanks!

 

[pigletto]

Absolutely book the return flight now. I can't really advise you on the more expensive flights down as I don't know if they might go back down. But there is no benefit in waiting to book those return flights. As you've seen, they can go up in an instant. Get them now at the point cost you want. Good Luck.

 

[denily]

We were in the same position. Waiting on points to clear, which will be available to use after next month's statement. However, I watched our November flights go up in $ and points, so I decided to just book what I could with the points and pay cash for the rest. I was able to pay for two of us round trip on points and two with $.
I'm glad I did though, because over the last few days the cost has gone up substantially, especially our flight home. It has tripled in price since 5/19...

 

[LisaRay]

I know its just so aggravating that if hadn't have taken my time spending the $2,000 I would have had them one week sooner and I could have booked all 3 with points no problem. I feel like with my luck as soon as I buy with cash they will drop and I could have used the points.
I also like that when I book with points it allows me to make changes etc with no fees.
I will say back when I was taking my time making my $2,000 purchase for some reason I thought the flights didn't open until the 1st week of June. (no idea where I got that! lol )

 

[keishashadow]

there's a promo now re points

buy 5,000, get 50% more = $7,500 for approx $138.

i'd buy the points & book

if the rate drops, adjust and you'll still have the points.

make sure to use the card within 2 years to keep the points active.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Sorry, but you're upset that you spent too much time researching and vetting a $2000 purchase to ensure it's the right purchase for your home and life? That's what it sounds like you're saying... that you wish you'd just bought any old thing just so you'd get the points.

I'm sure that's not what you mean, however. I'm just trying to put this into perspective. You took exactly as much time as you needed to make an important purchase for your home. The consequence is you missed using points that are still usable and will still be there. The timing isn't ideal for sure, but don't regret making a smart and informed choice on your purchase because of it.

I'd use the points on the return flight or for just one person and buy the other flights. And I'd enjoy my appliances every day from now until I take those flights.

 

[LisaRay]

FigmentSpark........ I don't know how to copy/quote sorry. LOL but I spent way to much time looking at appliances we knew we were buying them before we even found out about or applied for the SW card and basically I just narrowed it down to two different items and couldn't pick between them because one review would be good and one bad and then I fell into the rabbit hole of reviews of appliances which if you've ever read them basically it just becomes frustrating! So I took a mental break from it (decisions aren't my strong suit) and then went back two weeks later and bought what I was going to get all along. So that's why I said if I would have just done it sooner it wouldn't have been a problem. I also only missed the release date/points depositing by 3-4 days.
And I really did think they weren't releasing flights till the 1st week of June and I truly have no clue where that thought came from. Maybe I dreamt it LOL!

 

[cassie58]

Buy your return flights now, and wait on the others. There is a lot of time, and they have many sales between now and then, so keep watching. If your return flights drop at all in the meantime, you can get the credit to put towards the other. They usually have a big sale at the beginning of June as people on here have mentioned, so watch for that. We have gotten better prices as dates have gotten closer in the past. My cousins are flying down at the end of Sept. and booked their flight down first because it was a decent price and at the right time. It has now dropped twice, and is down to $90. I saw a flight back to one of their airports the other day for $69, and one the other airport for $87. So they could use the credit from the first two drops to buy the way back - since you can always change for free, even if they weren't sure about which day and time they want to come back, I suggested they book one with the great prices now, since they might not go lower.

 

[FigmentSpark]

(Quote - click the Quote and Reply beside Like)

I know what you're saying and I've been there myself. Even though you chose what you thought you would, there was a chance you might have made a different decision. Seriously, you confidently made your decision later, but you would have wondered and possibly regretted if you hadn't given yourself that time. You can never go wrong making informed decisions for important purchases, even if the discount or perk isn't quite as good. Just think of it that way. And you see, if you'd bought right away, you said you didn't even know about the SW card. You might not have gotten any perks at all.

You could just keep your points (or do they expire) until you can get a better deal with them, but then you'll have to pay for this flight. Either way, lock in those return flights.

 

[ColinBlair]

The flights will be on sale either next week or the week after. Here are links showing the prices from last years sale so that you can get an idea of how the prices change and how it affects where you fly out of.

Here are the prices from last year before June sale happened:
https://web.archive.org/web/2014052...ick-n-save-sale.html?clk=HOMEHEROCNSSAL140519
And here are the prices from last years sale in June:
https://web.archive.org/web/2014060...nationwide-sale.html?clk=HOMEHEROWOWSAL140603

 

[LisaRay]

The flights will be on sale either next week or the week after. Here are links showing the prices from last years sale so that you can get an idea of how the prices change and how it affects where you fly out of.

Here are the prices from last year before June sale happened:
https://web.archive.org/web/2014052...ick-n-save-sale.html?clk=HOMEHEROCNSSAL140519
And here are the prices from last years sale in June:
https://web.archive.org/web/2014060...nationwide-sale.html?clk=HOMEHEROWOWSAL140603

Thanks very much for this info.
I went ahead and booked what I had points to book but I still have one flight that I only have about half of the points for. I may have to break down and buy the points but I hate to do it because I really have seen some great SW sales in the past. Just like last summer when I watched them go up and down throughout the summer. They have only been out a week so far and of course have only gone up but I just keep thinking since it's so early I would think there would be a sale sometime in the near future.
For ast Novembers trip we got ours for around 6,000 points and now the one I still need is at 11,000 points.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Is it cheaper to buy points than to just but the ticket?