Using Southwest Points -- Baby Steps Please!

[VillainFavs]

This is probably going to seem obvious to many, so please bear with me! We're not frequent flyers, but have finally accumulated enough Southwest points to cover our trip one way for each of us and it would be great to keep costs down! I've always just booked four round-trip tickets for my family so this is all new!

* Obviously we each have a different Rapid Flyer (or whatever it's called) number. Am I able to book four one-way tickets on one reservation and input four different account numbers? Or am I going to have to do everyone separately?

* Then I'll need to book four one-way tickets for the trip home. Is there any downside to having two one-way tickets for everyone instead of round-trip?

* Will having the two one-way tickets have any impact on DME?

Thanks for helping me with what are probably dumb questions!

 

[PCFriar80]

This is probably going to seem obvious to many, so please bear with me! We're not frequent flyers, but have finally accumulated enough Southwest points to cover our trip one way for each of us and it would be great to keep costs down! I've always just booked four round-trip tickets for my family so this is all new!

* Obviously we each have a different Rapid Flyer (or whatever it's called) number. Am I able to book four one-way tickets on one reservation and input four different account numbers? Or am I going to have to do everyone separately?

* Then I'll need to book four one-way tickets for the trip home. Is there any downside to having two one-way tickets for everyone instead of round-trip?

* Will having the two one-way tickets have any impact on DME?

Thanks for helping me with what are probably dumb questions!

1. If all of the rapid rewards points were all under your account then yes, you could book multiple passengers under one reservation using your account. Since the points are spread over each individual who is flying, then you'll need to book those individually using each person's rewards for their flight.
2. There is no downside to booking the four one-way tickets home. In fact, a lot of travelers do this in order to give flexibility for a particular reservation if the fare goes down or you choose a different time.
3. No impact to DME. All they need is airline, flight number and arrival time for inbound and departure time for outbound.

Not dumb questions and good luck!

 

[georgina]

Have they changed then? It's been a while since I tried, but previously you had to book separate reservations when using points, even if they came out of the same account.

 

[PCFriar80]

Have they changed then? It's been a while since I tried, but previously you had to book separate reservations when using points, even if they came out of the same account.

From the Southwest site:

Can I book travel with points for other Passengers (not me)?

Yes. The Rapid Rewards Member who owns the account from which the points will be used will need to make the reservation for the person traveling. Simply get the destination, travel dates, and flight times from the person who will be using your points and log in to your account via Southwest.com to book the reward travel.

 

[VillainFavs]

So did I mess up when we signed up for the rewards years ago? I'm trying to remember, but I thought when I bought four tickets for my family, they each had to have their own rewards number?? Could I have been accumulating points all in one account all this time?

 

[PCFriar80]

So did I mess up when we signed up for the rewards years ago? I'm trying to remember, but I thought when I bought four tickets for my family, they each had to have their own rewards number?? Could I have been accumulating points all in one account all this time?

No, you can't accumulate points in one account for multiple people. You did right. Each passenger needs their own account to accumulate their miles. The point of my previous post is to demonstrate that a lot of frequent flyers can and do accumulate enough points to use for others.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If the points are under separate RR acct numbers you will have to book everyone separately. If you do not get the EBCI you will have to check in 4 people separately. So have 4 devices cued up to check everyone in at the same time or risk having 4 different boarding numbers that will be spaced pretty far apart if you are only using one device to check every one in because will take 5-8 minutes a piece to complete each check in. Having one way tickets does not impact DME. DME does not care how you booked your tickets. They only need to know the flight number you are fly in on and out on. They do not need your reservation number.
I book one way tickets all the time you will be fine.