Southwest Airlines Community

There is a new blog post about the subscription service - check it out here:    https://community.southwest.com/t5/Blog/Now-Launching-Rapid-Rewards-Points-Subscription-Plan/ba-p/119155   Southwest Airlines has recently strengthened our existing partnership with Points.com to introduce the Rapid Rewards® Points Subscription Plan. Southwest is one of the first carriers to leverage the latest addition to Points.com’s product and services offering, Subscription, which enables Members to easily build towards their reward goals. The introduction of this new option is a first for our Rapid Rewards program.   Members can choose between three different subscription plans enabling them to build a balance of either 30k, 40k or, 80k points over 12 months. Once Members choose a plan, their Rapid Rewards points will then automatically be deposited into their account monthly, with quarterly bonus points awarded along the way.   The Rapid Rewards program is designed around a simple concept—make earning reward flights faster and easier. That is why Southwest is excited to offer this added flexibility to our Rapid Rewards program as well as to add a new way for our Members to reach their travel goals with the Rapid Rewards Points Subscription Plan.   With Rapid Rewards, Members qualify for unlimited reward seats for every available seat, no blackout dates, and points do not expire. Members can access their account by going to My Account> Rapid Rewards> Rapid Rewards points and more.   To enroll in Rapid Rewards, visit Southwest.com/RapidRewards. For more information on how Points.com can help loyalty programs unlock their full potential, visit Points.com.    ------------   --Jessica ... View more

If I'm reading this correctly, in April 2020 you booked a flight for October 2020, but you cancelled in October 2020 due to the ongoing COVID restrictions.   If this is the case, your travel funds would have expired one year from the date you booked, and if you booked in April 2020, that would be April 2021, and it sounds like that is what happened.   Had you canceled any time before September 7, your travel funds would have an expiration into 2022, but September 7 was the deadline for the extension.    --Jessica ... View more

It's hard to know what happened without more information on what funds you tried to use and when, but it's possible that some of your funds were not used/cancelled during the extension window between March - September 2020, were not given the September 7, 2022 extension, and have expired.   Southwest does not charge any change or cancel fees.    --Jessica ... View more

@bwallet - yeah, the whole credit card thing isn't something I'm into, although I've considered getting a SWA credit card off and on. I rarely think the promos are worth what you have to spend to get the points. I just think it's funny that buying points or using the subscription program is a huge "rip off", but signing up for a credit card and paying thousands of dollars to get points that way is considered OK. In comparison, I'd rather just buy the points or heck, get the subscription! Even the 80,000 point subscription, once you pay for the whole year, costs less than $1,500. If you were to buy 80,000 points on the site right now, they're offering a 75% bonus on point purchases over 15,000 and 80,000 points costs about $1200. I don't get it. You're paying double or triple that with the credit card offers, at least. Oh well. That's a world I'm not getting sucked into - I just paid off all my credit card debt thankfully, so I don't need to take on any more 😅   --Jessica ... View more

I don't know, I just saw someone post about a CC offer for 30,000 points and they had to spend $5,000 on the card to get the points. Compare that with the subscription program. With the subscription, you are paying less than $1,000 to get 30,000 points. If I had to pick between getting a credit card (and potentially getting into debt using it) or signing up for a subscription program to get points, I'd sign up for the subscription program.   --Jessica ... View more

I don't agree with "never" buying points though. In the past I've purchased points in small amounts, for example when I need just a few thousand to get a free flight with a points purchase. To me that's worth it and I don't feel like it's a waste of money - I saved more money with the points purchase getting a free flight than I would have buying the flight at regular retail.    Still, I'm not saying the subscription program is something I'd ever use. I don't need to burn that amount of money on points 😂 but others may not feel the same way. People will use the subscription program who have money to burn for the convenience of getting a decent amount of points throughout the year - for doing nothing. Think of the SWA credit card agreements many sign up for to get 40,000 bonus points or whatever it is - you often have to spend thousands of dollars on the credit card to get those points. This is much more convenient than that (and it won't mess with your credit). I'll be interested to see who buys into it.     --Jessica ... View more

I've never heard of this Points subscription program until now. It sounds like a new program Southwest is offering.    On the Buy, Gift, and Transfer points page there is an option for a "Points Subscription" - https://www.southwest.com/rapidrewards/points-center?clk=GSUBNAV-RR-BUYPOINTS    When you click Point Subscription, you can view the plans, but you have to be logged into your account to view the plans: https://www.southwest.com/account/rapidrewards/points/buy-promo-2?clk=5799092&cbid=5799092    There's a 30,000 point plan, a 40,000 point plan, and a 80,000 point plan. These plans are better than just buying points directly, so you would save money on the plan vs buying 30,000 points outright. For the 30,000 plan, you're paying $51.56 a month, for the 40,000, $64.16 a month, for the 80,000, $119.16 a month.   Doing the math, you're paying $618.72 for 30,000 points using the subscription program. If you were to buy the points directly and not on this subscription program, you'd be paying over $900 for the same amount of points, according to the Buy Points page.    So if you needed to buy a lot of points for whatever reason, the Subscription program would save you money vs the normal way of buying points.    I think the only caveat is that on the subscription program, you are awarded the points throughout the year, while if you bought 30,000 points directly, you would get them all at once.    --Jessica ... View more

That's great! I agree with you, and I am glad your experiences with Southwest have been so positive that you are willing to share them!   --Jessica ... View more

@fak wrote: I've had a similar issue.  Covid is no more over than it was 6-12 months ago. Plus who was thinking about traveling prior to September 20 when the funds expired.   Me 😅 And I'm not a middle age white man either 🤣 I first flew in August 2020, again in October, again in December, again a week ago. No problems with any of the flights, and if I can be totally honest, the flights in 2020 were more enjoyable than most because less people were around! Last week though, things were more or less back to "normal" - the airports were very crowded, which I was happy to see.    COVID is more or less over now, in the sense that we have come to terms that we need to learn to live with it like we've learned to live with any other contagious virus - cold, flu, etc. We have a vaccine now,  so there's no more excuses; enough with the theatrics, it's long past time that we stopped treating COVID like a death sentence (it's not), that flying is dangerous (it's not), and stop living in fear, and get back to living.   --Jessica ... View more

No, because point value wasn't "greatly diminished". They decreased in value by 6%. While unfortunate, it's not the end of the world in my book. For points to be "greatly diminished" they would have to decrease in value by a lot more than 6%. Try 50% or more - then I'd be upset. But 6%? That's not enough to get me riled up. You can easily gain the "difference" by completing a few surveys using Rewards for Opinions, and there are many other ways to gain points with Southwest Rapid Rewards so it won't feel like any kind of loss.    --Jessica ... View more

What! I love the BNA airport! Nashville is the best. BNA was actually one of the very first places I heard live music again in 2020, thanks to Tootsie's Lounge. You should have walked over to Concourse C and eaten there - that's where Tootsie's Lounge is, and it's the best!   https://flynashville.com/bna_shop/tootsies-orchid-lounge-c    Earlier in 2020, the only thing open around that area was the food court Burger King ... it's gotten much better. Still, I'd take an overpriced salad or sandwich any day over nothing! There were months where nothing was open at all ...    --Jessica ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: @jksobonya Since you're not checking a bag this layover is pretty straightforward, you just wait.  You certainly have the option to leave the terminal, or even the whole airport if you wanted, but you don't have to.  You can also take the airport train to the other terminals without going through security again.  7 hours in Denver is plenty of time to catch the train and head into downtown where there is plenty to do.  Taking a cab or an uber will cost a bit more, but be a little faster since the train doesn't run all that often.   --TheMiddleSeat Good to know - thanks! 🙂    --Jessica ... View more

lol, someone really has a bone to pick if they make their literal message board screen name "mad a lister" in all caps 🤣   That aside, pretty much everyone who preboards has a "valid reason" to do so. Here's what Southwest has to say about it in their Boarding the Plane FAQ:   https://www.southwest.com/faq/boarding-the-plane   Preboarding is available for Customers who have a specific seating need to accommodate their disability and/or need assistance in boarding the aircraft or stowing an assistive device. If a Customer with a disability simply needs a little extra time to board, we will permit the Customer to board before Family Boarding, between the “A” and “B” groups. Those Customers who need extra time to board will receive a new boarding pass with an extra time designation. The designation serves as notification to our Operations (boarding) Agent that the Customer should be permitted to board before Family Boarding. We will allow one travel companion to act as an “attendant” and preboard with a Customer with a disability. In most cases, the Customer requires assistance from only one other person, and any additional family members or friends are asked to board with their assigned group. Customers should request preboarding from our Customer Service Agent at the ticket counter or departure gate. Our Agents are trained to ask fact-finding questions to determine if the Customer meets the qualifications described above. Those Customers who qualify for preboarding will receive a new boarding pass with a preboarding designation. The designation serves as notification to our Operations (Boarding) Agent that the Customer should be permitted to preboard. It's important to keep in mind that Customers who preboard may not occupy an exit seat. Note: Customers who are preboarding because of a need for a specific seat onboard the aircraft should speak with the Operations (Boarding) Agent prior to the start of preboarding to alert the Agent to the seating need.   -------   Fun fact: on one of my flights last week an entire family with several grown adults (and maybe some adult kids, definitely 18+) and a few small children all tried to board during Family Boarding. The gate agent told them that Family Boarding was only for children under 6 and two adults max, and wouldn't budge. The family was ticked off and made a scene, yelling and storming off, saying they would report the agent, etc. They ended up being one of the last to board, and I'm pretty sure we left several minutes late because of them taking their grand ol' time. One of the adults was trying to go down the aisle with a half open suitcase and stuff literally spilling out of it. I'm not kidding! It was a sight to see.    --Jessica ... View more

Bumping this back up because TUL flights continue to give me grief 😅   I've been planning another PHL > TUL trip for May - Fri-Sun. My Friday flight moved from a departure of 8AM to 6AM (nothing I can do about that), and my Sunday flight got moved up an entire day to Saturday, because they cut flights entirely on Sunday.    Here's the thing - there are "options" to get from Tulsa to Philly by booking one ways (or multi-city). They may not be totally convenient, but they exist.    I ended up canceling the Saturday flight entirely and I booked 2 one ways for Sunday. TUL > DEN and DEN > PHL. There's a 7 hour layover 😂 but I don't care lol. So here's my question: once I land in DEN do I have to "leave" the SWA terminal and re-enter the DEN airport and go through TSA? I won't be checking a bag. I wasn't sure how this worked with two separate reservations on the same day, and if I needed to go through security so they can verify my reservation details, or if I'll be fine staying in Southwest terminal at the gates. As long as I'm checked in, is that all I need?    --Jessica ... View more

@Btea wrote: The flight attendants seem really mad that they have to actually serve anyone. They  seemed to have forgotten what their purpose is. They like to say "safety", but they make a joke of the safety announcements and don't attend to people's needs as they board. They really are the worst but since the flights are cheap, I will ignore their incompetence.  I flew less than a week ago and I disagree completely. Southwest is known for having fun flight attendants though - I'm guessing you did not fly in the era of the "singing flight attendants" 😁   --Jessica ... View more

@parkerb wrote: I now have to pay $95 ONE WAY to have my dog stored in a bag and under the seat in front of me? That is the price of most flights!  Ha, I'd love to fly where you do if the flights are only $95 😂 Flights are much more expensive out of Philly, for the most part.    --Jessica ... View more

Southwest stopped "blocking" middle seats back in December. For what it's worth, I've flown last August, October, December, and last week. Back in August/October the planes were barely 1/2 full. I had whole rows to myself at times. December things were a little better, and last week it almost felt like a normal flight again. Still not 100% full, but very close to it.    There's no need to be socially distant while flying, especially when wearing a mask the whole time. It's been proven that COVID (or any germ, really) transmission on planes is virtually non-existent.    And for the record, Delta and American aren't blocking seats anymore either.    As for the "cattle line", since you are an avid Southwest flier you know how the A, B, C lineup goes, so that shouldn't be a reason to stop flying. In the early days of COVID last year Southwest made you board 10 people at a time, but that's been relaxed as well, as it should. If you're talking about deplaning, well, that's another discussion. Some people like getting up and getting into the aisles to get their stuff so they can get off the plane faster and not hold people up. To me it's not the big deal that people make it out to be.     --Jessica ... View more

I am fairly certain when a bag is measured, it is by the actual bag portion and not the wheels. Either way, as long as your bag is the recommended size and under the weight requirements, there will not be any issues.    --Jessica ... View more

...your first vacation in almost 20 years?   If this is true, then I would have checked your reservation details long before arriving at the airport on the day of your trip to confirm that everything was still in order. Southwest has been changing reservations constantly as demand increases/decreases depending on the destination. 99% of the time they send an e-mail with any changes that they have to make. There is a 1% chance that a change is made without acknowledgement, but this is rare. And *especially* if this happened on your way home as well, why didn't you check before your last day to confirm that everything was in order for the return part of your trip?   This doesn't add up, I'm sorry. If a big trip 20 years in the making was this important, trip details should have been reviewed prior to your trip taking place, not during it.    --Jessica ... View more

I love not having assigned seating, personally. It's always an adventure getting a seat and I like being able to choose a window or aisle and I'm not locked into any one type of seat category. I *would* say though that the only potential disservice with Southwest seating is that Southwest does not have any type of "first class" seating like practically every other airline does. There are pros and cons to this. I can't afford first class anyway 😂 so it doesn't really matter to me, but for those who are used to a "first class" section of the plane with extra benefits that typically come with first class service, one might be dissatisfied with Southwest's offerings. Yes, Southwest does have Business Select, but I don't think that compares to a real first class experience.    --Jessica ... View more

Changes are happening all the time due to increasing or decreasing demand due to the pandemic. You should get e-mails acknowledging changes but it doesn't always happen 100% of the time in my experience. One of my flights was moved up an entire day due to flight cuts on the route; I was e-mailed about the outbound flight but not the return due to the cut. It's just something that we need to deal with until we return to pre-pandemic flight levels. I recommend constantly monitoring your flights for changes so you are not caught unaware.    --Jessica ... View more

@AndSoItGoes wrote: Thank you jksobonya for that additional information. Of course, the catch is that even if they move you from a Max to another plane a few days out, they can swap a Max for that plane at the last minute. Hopefully someone at Southwest will know on which routes the Max has been deployed. I don't think it's that simple, unfortunately. I am sure the MAX planes are spread out across the country - I doubt they are all in one portion of the country, for example.   --Jessica ... View more

Heh, I'd bet that you are more likely to die in a car crash a few miles from your home than dying of either a MAX crash *or* COVID-19 ... but what do I know 😉    --Jessica ... View more

The way you have described is the only way I know of to check your aircraft and see if you are scheduled to fly on a MAX or not. Southwest has info on MAX news and updates here:   https://www.southwest.com/737-max/   And you might find this helpful:   If you or your travelers don't want to fly on a 737 MAX:   Through May 31, 2021, Customers booked on a 737 MAX 8 may contact Southwest, within 3 days of the Customer’s original scheduled departure date, to request a change to a flight onboard our 737-700 or 737-800 aircraft, subject to seat availability. Southwest will not charge a fare difference for the requested flight change so long as the new itinerary also operates within 3 days of the original scheduled departure date and operates between the same origin and destination cities; otherwise, any applicable fare differences will be charged. Please be aware the flight a Customer changes to may, ultimately, depart on a 737 MAX 8, as aircraft type always remains subject to change per Southwest’s Contract of Carriage. If a Customer chooses not to travel, they may cancel their ticket and the funds will follow the ticketing rules for their reservation: Refundable tickets may be refunded back to their original form of payment. Nonrefundable tickets will be converted to reusable travel funds for the originally ticketed Customer, in accordance with Southwest’s travel fund policies. --Jessica ... View more

It's funny what some people try to "get away with" during a flight. I think all airlines - not just Southwest - have dealt with unruly customers over the mask policy over the past year, and I'm not sure it's fair to compare mask wearing with any other policy that customers may try to get around. Rules are in place for a reason, and the primary reason is passenger safety.    --Jessica ... View more

lol - as much as I may agree to do away with masks, the rules are in place to protect everyone until legitimate risks have subsided. I do think that mask restrictions will eventually be lifted as more people are vaccinated and/or become immune to the virus because they've already had it.   But I think that Southwest and airlines in general have suffered enough. I am just happy that SWA is still in business after all of this.    --Jessica ... View more