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Companion Pass Extension

Garyfeldman1953
Explorer C

https://www.nola.com/news/business/article_894b53cc-0253-11eb-920d-fb4fc3cfb61e.html

 

You communicate this to the public yet deny a reasonable Companion Pass extension to the end of 2021. We will lose over 9 months of travel in 2020 due to higher risk safety concerns. Shameful. I expect more from Southwest Airlines.

14 REPLIES 14

Re: Companion Pass Extension

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Not really new news, there's a discussion over here:

https://community.southwest.com/t5/Rapid-Rewards/Companion-pass-extension-not-really-an-extension/m-...

 

Hopefully something will change, stay tuned.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Companion Pass Extension

gsking
Aviator C

"Reasonable" is subjective.  "Shameful" is quite pejorative.  And "we" is rather presumptive.

 

When the 6 month extension was announced, we were only a couple months into this.  That seems more than reasonable to me. 

 

Not to mention, SWA is STILL FLYING.  They are maintaining every destination that lets them land.  If YOU choose not to go, that's your choice.  Some of "us" are taking advantage of the reduced demand (and pricing) to actually increase our CP usage. 

 

The company is losing millions of dollars a month trying to keep its customers serviced and employees employed, it has already extended the best perk in the industry for six months, and you find their behavior "shameful".  I guess we have different definitions of what constitutes "shameful" behavior. 

 

If you are in  a high-risk group, I have sympathy for your "loss of value".  But I also realize SWA is in NO way using this to their advantage or otherwise making out like bandits on this to warrant such indictments. 

 

But like you said...you expect more of them.  I guess that is literally true.  My expectations are a bit more pragmatic, I guess.  Do I hope they extend the extension?  Well, their generous bonus points offers just garnered me a pass for 2021, so I suppose it's moot.  Unless I get a free year on top of that.  But I won't be greedy.


Stay healthy.   

Re: Companion Pass Extension

tony_tonya
Explorer B

just spoke to a customer service rep at 1-855-234-4654 Option 5. I asked about the companion pass. I just recently qualified for a companion pass for 2021. On the app it says " Designate one lucky person of your choice to fly with you anytime for a year". Companion passes were extended to everyone who had one in 2020 until June of 2021. To me anyone who qualifies for a companion pass in 2021 should get the pass for 1 year having it expire June of 2022. If they do not do this they are rewarding many people who may of gotten a companion pass in 2020 due to signing up for a card and getting bonus points. I feel that I have spent a lot of money on my southwest card, and have continued to fly Southwest during Covid. The customer service Rep agreed with me and said her department records all concerns like this and forwards it to the CEO. She also told me that if more people would call with the same concern that we would have a better chance of them making the exception to our 2021 Companion passes. I don't think we are asking for anything free here. I feel that by spending that much money and flying southwest we should get our pass for a year like the site states. I encourage others to call in with the same concern

Re: Companion Pass Extension

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@tony_tonya wrote:

just spoke to a customer service rep at 1-855-234-4654 Option 5. I asked about the companion pass. I just recently qualified for a companion pass for 2021. On the app it says " Designate one lucky person of your choice to fly with you anytime for a year". Companion passes were extended to everyone who had one in 2020 until June of 2021. To me anyone who qualifies for a companion pass in 2021 should get the pass for 1 year having it expire June of 2022. If they do not do this they are rewarding many people who may of gotten a companion pass in 2020 due to signing up for a card and getting bonus points. I feel that I have spent a lot of money on my southwest card, and have continued to fly Southwest during Covid. The customer service Rep agreed with me and said her department records all concerns like this and forwards it to the CEO. She also told me that if more people would call with the same concern that we would have a better chance of them making the exception to our 2021 Companion passes. I don't think we are asking for anything free here. I feel that by spending that much money and flying southwest we should get our pass for a year like the site states. I encourage others to call in with the same concern


If you qualified for the pass in 2020 you have it for the remaining months of 2020 AND all of 2021, that's at least 14+ months.  If the pandemic is still going or gets worse it is possible Southwest could offer another extension, but there's no reason for them to make that decision now.  Decisions to extend into 2022 would most likely be made when we are well into 2021 and the current pandemic/business environment is clearer.  If someone qualifies for CP in 2021 then they would have CP for the remainder of 2021 AND all of 2022 (this is standard timing of CP expiration).

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Companion Pass Extension

dfwskier
Aviator A

It seems to me that if you just qualified for CP, you re getting exactly what Southwest said you would get: CP for the balance of 2020 and all of 2021. 

 

Lots of people are flying now - over a  million a day across all airlines.

Re: Companion Pass Extension

tony_tonya
Explorer B

How so?   My current companion pass expires June of 2021.  When I qualified for my next one it says it is good for one year.  So should my year start when my last one expires in June of 2021.

Re: Companion Pass Extension

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Your 2020 CP expiration was extended from Dec 31 to June 31, 2021. If you also earned CP in 2020 then the extension doesn't matter and your CP expires Dec 31, 2021. 

I think you have a misunderstanding of how long a pass is good for. Except for the one time extension Southwest provided, Companion Passes always expire on Dec 31. Passes are good for the remainder of the year in which it is earned AND the entire calendar year following. A CP is not just "good for one year" unless you earn it on Dec 31.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

 

 

Re: Companion Pass Extension

shelbyusn
Frequent Flyer C

I hope Companion Pass dead line is extended, I am so close.

I am a Sailor

Re: Companion Pass Extension

dfwskier
Aviator A

@shelbyusn wrote:

I hope Companion Pass dead line is extended, I am so close.


I presume you mean an  extension of the earning period beyond YE 2020. I've never heard of that type of thing happening.

 

You have time to earn a lot of points before the end of the year:

 

1) Buy Christmas gifts / other things thru Southwest Shopping

2) Snag some of those 5000 or 10000 point hotel deals

3) Business Select or Anytime travel