SW Points booking ?

[tlenzendorf]

Hey all-here is my situation. I need to book 5 RT flights. I have 55,600 points which will get me 3.5 RT flights. When I go to book can I pick 5 RT flights, use the points and pay the price difference? Or will I have to book 3 RT tickets and then 1 one-way ticket with points and then book 1.5 RT tickets with a credit card?

My concern with the second way is that we will have multiple reservation numbers. I hope that makes sense!

Thanks

 

[madatmama]

I am new to figuring out the points system myself but I am pretty sure I read you can buy points. I assumed this was to assist in situations such as yours? Anyone?

 

[tlenzendorf]

With that thought I have a follow up then. Are point purchases reasonably priced or is it best to book separately?

 

[twoodson]

Hey all-here is my situation. I need to book 5 RT flights. I have 55,600 points which will get me 3.5 RT flights. When I go to book can I pick 5 RT flights, use the points and pay the price difference? Or will I have to book 3 RT tickets and then 1 one-way ticket with points and then book 1.5 RT tickets with a credit card?

My concern with the second way is that we will have multiple reservation numbers. I hope that makes sense!

Thanks

My experience with points booking on SWA is that everyone gets a different confirmation number which is annoying for check-in. I believe this is standard for points reservations based on other posts I have read.

I don't believe there is a way to pay the difference to cover your the remainder for your tickets; however, I must admit I have never tried this approach.

Regarding buying points - it takes 60 points per $1 for Wanna Get Away fares. So, the points are worth about $0.0167 per point. It costs $0.0275 per point to buy additional points. In my opinion, it only makes sense to buy points when you just need a "few" more to cover a ticket.

Hope this helps.

 

[tlenzendorf]

That definitely helps, thank you! So I will be using points, buying SW gift cards from Target with my red card and putting the rest on the charge.

 

[twoodson]

A couple other things to keep in mind, that you may already know, about points reservations on SWA:

1. There are no penalties for cancelling the reservation - you get all of the points and the fee. (You do have to cancel prior to scheduled departure. I cannot remember exactly how long prior to departure.)

2. If the fare drops, you can "change" your flight and get back the point difference.

When I have to use both cash and points for tickets, I use cash for my ticket. My reasoning is that I will more likely be able to use the credit versus our kids should the trip be cancelled for some reason.