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Re: Point devaluation?

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@gsking wrote:

@bwallet wrote:

I'm sure that this was done primarily for accounting purposes. Points represent a liability on their books. If they devalue points, they instantly improve their balance sheet.


Primarily?   Would there be a secondary reason to instantly take 6% back that you have to your loyal customers?   Other than to piss them off? 

 

Maybe give us 6 months notice so we can use the points.   This would help fill the flights back up to normal levels,  and do a BETTER job of decreasing existing liabilities. 


I agree with this - if someone was thinking "hey we sure have a lot of points piling up" if they could give some notice about it people would be happy to get some of them spent. I'm moderate myself compared to some stories that I've seen on here. 

 

But I have learned this lesson before with other businesses that the best thing to do with points is to use them, they can realistically only go down in value and for smaller businesses they may close on you while you sit on a pile of points. (Restaurants especially.)

 

I'm glad I didn't convert any travel funds to points though, that would be a bad feeling.

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Point devaluation?

SWFlyer007
Aviator C

🙄  Wow, this is something I didn't even have any idea happened.  Once again, the intent of why there is this forum is to allow people to be informed.  But in this case, not knowing would have been better for me, I wouldn't have noticed that it cost more points to go somewhere.  Not a huge amount, but if anyone wants to play with the figures just for fun, I have 413, 764 points.  What were they worth prior to and after this sad change.  

 

I totally agree with the person who said, maybe a heads up would have been the respectable thing to do.   Glad I booked a month ago a trip to South Padre Island for 7 of us, 5 of them with points. 

Re: Point devaluation?

savesc
Explorer C

You just lost 6% of your value. 

 

Another way to understand this - you need to fly 6% more and add those points to your total to break even.

or

6% reduction in money for flights

 

Anyway you look at it - Southwest just stole 6% of all the outstanding liability they have to provide flights they are needing to fly to pay their customers back.

Re: Point devaluation?

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@savesc And if they had just raised all their prices 6% would you or anyone else have said a thing? No.

Just think of it as a 6% cash discount.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Point devaluation?

gsking
Aviator C

Your analogies aren't quite correct.   Yes,  raising prices for airline tickets would have been typical inflation.   We'd all have to pay more for future flights.  But there would be no loss in instantaneous value. 

 

This is more like a company reducing your stock portfolio by 6%.  You've already invested in the company.   Had you cashed out last week,  you'd have more money than today.   ONLY existing investments have been devalued.  They just grabbed 6% from their best investors and moved it to their side of the ledger. 

 

If they'd have raised prices 6%, we'd all have to share in the pain.   And when any other asset like a house goes up in value, you get to sell it for MORE, not less. 

 

Is this an asset like stocks or a house?  Obviously not.   But when a company incentivizes me with tangible assets,  and then further offers me the opportunity to "buy in" more by converting TF to points,  and then secretly takes 6% of them from me,  I call it deceitful.   

Re: Point devaluation?

savesc
Explorer C

-6% devaluation of your points value on Mornings With Maria this morning. Southwest in this process has made flying that much more expensive - with the stroke of a pen and no notice?

 

We have to hear about this on the news - no communication? Stunning that in light of hte last year, this airline takes advantage of us and essentially steals our awards.

 

Future credibility and trust in Southwest is destroyed. Obviously those that get hurt the mnost are those that fly the most - so what does Southwest do??? They penalize and punish their most valuable and important customers.

 

Some stupid bean counter got the Board to go along with this. Trash values for your most important and frequent fliers. What an incredibly moronic business decision.

 

TRUST IS LOST. SOUTHWEST DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ITS CUSTOMERS - GREED 

Re: Point devaluation?

dfwskier
Aviator A

@savesc wrote:

-6% devaluation of your points value on Mornings With Maria this morning. Southwest in this process has made flying that much more expensive - with the stroke of a pen and no notice?

 

 The price of cars goes up

The price of homes goes up

The price of utilities goes up

The price of dog food goes up

The cost of dry cleaning goes up

The price of property taxes goes up

 

Why would you think that the price of airline tickets paid with points should be any different than everything else?

 

Oh, all of the others listed above, except property taxes, also go up in price without advance notice.

 

 

Re: Point devaluation?

rlevans113
Explorer C

I am just not happy with the points devaluation and the creep in points required for a flight. You have a unique airline, but it seems you are headed to be just like all the rest... don't do it.