Problem with SWA rewards points

[bsurkein]

I am new to the community and apologize if I am not posting this in the right place (but I'm extremely frustrated and need to vent).  My problem is apparently a common and well-known issue.  I recently bought reward points with the intention of using them for a particular flight reservation.  The amount - 60,000 points, discounted by 45% from the regular price.  What a deal !  From the airline that prides itself for 'low prices and great customer service'!  Sounded to me like a no-brainer; until I found out the flights I wanted to book would still be more expensive if bought them with the discounted points rather than dollars.  And of course, SWA quickly replied to my request for a refund by reminding me that purchased rewards points are NON-REFUNDABLE.  

It is hard to believe that SWA could be so arrogant and tone deaf, considering its recent major screw-ups such as its scheduling nightmare during the last holiday Xmas season.

SWA honesty and integrity?  Not so much...

[mrlucky200abc]

I looked into this promotion once.  I didn't buy because it didn't seem like 45% off to me.  Points are worth about .014 cents each. so 60000 points should be worth around $840 so 45% off you should have paid around $462 for the points to have a true 45% off.  I would buy points all day long if that were the case but my guess is that this isn't the case.  

As far as Southwest having integrity I must say I really like the airline a lot. Their points are so easy to use and most of the time deals are really deals.  Maybe not in this case but I would say not give up on Southwest yet.  

[dfwskier]

It is a well known fact that buying points is not a winning game.Regardless of discount, purchased points always cost more per point than the value you get in using the points.

It's easy enough to determine what the cost is per point. It's equally easy to determine the value of each point when buying a ticket. You compare the two and make a decision.

Let the buyer beware.

[bsurkein]

Thank all of you for your replies.  My problem is simple naivete. For some silly reason I thought that SWA is different; that it is better than this sort of SCAM.  I have used SWA for many years, always with good experiences. I had never purchased reward points before; but I have used reward points accumulated from using an SWA sponsored credit card. In those cases I considered the points to be a free perk for using a particular CC. It never dawned me that SWA would operate with less than honesty and integrity in all phases of its business; that it would sell a product (reward points in this case) that had less value than the cash money used to pay for them.  So, I didn't read the fine print.  Yes, I know - NO REFUNDS - is very clearly posted on the website.  I just didn't think I would ever want or expect a refund.

Shame on me.

[DancingDavidE]

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@bsurkein wrote:

Thank all of you for your replies.  My problem is simple naivete. For some silly reason I thought that SWA is different; that it is better than this sort of SCAM.  I have used SWA for many years, always with good experiences. I had never purchased reward points before; but I have used reward points accumulated from using an SWA sponsored credit card. In those cases I considered the points to be a free perk for using a particular CC. It never dawned me that SWA would operate with less than honesty and integrity in all phases of its business; that it would sell a product (reward points in this case) that had less value than the cash money used to pay for them.  So, I didn't read the fine print.  Yes, I know - NO REFUNDS - is very clearly posted on the website.  I just didn't think I would ever want or expect a refund.

Shame on me.

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It's a third party that runs this program but I can see your confusion. The service is still useful if you have a block of points and need a little bit more to enable the use of the points you already have. 

I'm not sure who would benefit from those major large point purchases though compared to paying for flights up front.

[ClaraRolfson]

Thank you for answering, I appreciate it. I am new here and that is why I don't know much.