Rapid Rewards Companion Pass

[honestcitizen]

Got an email from Rapid Rewards on Dec. 5 stating pack your bags for two, you are 97% on your way to companion pass status.  A couple of days later I paid my son's college tuition of over $7,000 so I thought yeah I made it. Then on Dec. 29, got an email detailing my year and that I had 119,333 points.  So now I'm trying to book a trip for myself and my wife and I'm told by custormer service that they never sent me an email on Dec. 29.  That what I am saying is not true and that they will not honor the companion pass because I didn't make enough points.  They told me I could not speak to a supervisor or anyone else in charge that I had to email them.  So I did. I got an email that someone would be in contact within 48hrs.  It's been 3 days and no reply.  Has anyone else had this issue?  I thought Southwest was a great company, but now I'm having my doubts. 

[franktravel]

Hi 

Anything you charged to your credit card after your Dec due date will post in your Rapid Rewards account for 2017 not 2016. UGH!

Good Luck for 2018 Companion Pass!

[honestcitizen]

Anything I charged on my card in December should count for December.  Even on my statement the charges are dated December.  If the policy clearly shows points earned between 1/1/16 and 12/31/16 then I expect the Companion Pass to be honored.  Do you work for Southwest?

[franktravel]

Rapid Rewards terms and conditoins are prity spectific:

"Points earned during a billing cycle on a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card from Chase are not available for redemption or qualification for Companion Pass status until they are posted on your billing statement and posted to your Rapid Rewards Account.  Only points posted on your billing statements and posted to your Rapid Rewards Account during the same calendar year are available for qualification for Companion Pass status."

More info @ http://swa.is/1y96Ou4

[honestcitizen]

Very misleading, seems like a way for Southwest to get out of honoring the Companion Pass.  This is not a problem with Chase.  It is a problem within the Southwest Rapid Rewards system.  They are a different entity from Chase and should not rely on what date Chase posts information.  They should go by the dates the purchases were made.  Because all during the year, Southwest Rapid Rewards is adding points to my account.  Why is December so different.  In looking back at previous members posts who have had this same issue it seems they all have problems with the December points.   I've never had problems with my capital one card or bank of America card.  Why is Southwest so difficult?  Why so much fine print?

[LindseyD]

Hi @honestcitizen,

Every Rapid Rewards Member receives 12 statements per year. In December, the Points earned after the December statement will be credited to the following January. Essentially, Members receive a headstart at the beginning of the calendar year from that rollover, and Members have the next 11 statements to achieve Tier Status. 

We've worked hard to create a program that is friendly and easy to use, and we are always grateful for feedback (good and bad). Thank you for sharing your perspective on the Community.

[lkdamon69]

I had the same issue but I understand that is the rules with the Southwest Chase Credit Card. I even called to verify on 12/29/16 because I was 3,616 pts short of earning the companion pass.

What I do have a problem with is when I called, someone from Southwest informed me that any $29.99 purchases made on 1-800-flowers.com before 12/31/2016 will earn 1,000 points and count towards 2016 qualifying points.

So I made four purchases before 12/31/2016, and the 4,000 pts showed up in my account on 1/10/2017.

I emailed customer service and it took them a week to tell me "After reviewing your account, we regret that you were unable to complete the requirements in time to qualify as you were 3,616 Points shy of earning a Companion Pass."

I took a chance by spending over $120 and hoping Southwest would honor the points for 2016.  Looking back now, I never would have made those four purchases.

This is where I truly have a problem with Southwest for not honoring those points for 2016.  (SR #2149873334738)

[LindseyD]

Hi @honestcitizen,

Customer Relations usually experiences a high volume of winter-weather related inquiries during this time of year, which may slow down the average response time. I would expect that you'll receive a response to your question by the end of the work week. 

[honestcitizen]

Difficult to wait for a call since I can't always be looking at my phone.  It would be a good business practice for Southwest to have people in charge that can answer questions or make decisions when people call in originally.  I will wait for the call, but what are my options if I am still not satisfied? I feel that when Southwest set a goal of 110,000 points for a companion pass, and I surpassed that goal with 119,333 in the calendar year between 1/1/16 and 12/31/16 the companion pass should have been honored.  Especially since I have the emails from Rapid Rewards to prove this.  The emails have my RR#, my name, and show my progress.  I keep these emails every month. This seems like a pretty easy fix. I'm not sure why Southwest is making excuses and why is it so difficult to speak to someone.