I think all airlines would very much prefer that loyalty programs didn't exist in the first place. 😉 It would certainly reduce accounting complexity and lead to greater pricing transperency. But that's the model they've created, and has become the industry standard. And while management ensures their loyalty program represents a significant asset to the company (primarily through revenue generation from point/mile sales to credit card-issuing banks), it's clear by the consistent redemption devaluations of these programs that all carriers are trying to reduce the drain on profitability they represent. Southwest is no different. With regards to the liability miles/points represent on a carrier's financials, it's way more complicated than you may think. Here's a great reference: Are frequent flyer miles a liability for FFPs? While different carriers account for their programs differently, it's worth noting that Delta's miles never expire. I don't think it's necessarily inappropriate for Southwest to expire points, and I think 24 months is a reasonable timeframe. I do however find advertising language that specificallys says, "Points don't expire" to be hugely misleading. And I do think Southwest should make greater efforts to warn customers in advance of upcoming expiration. From a customer satisfaction viewpoint there's no reason not to. They are either screwing up and missing an important customer retention opportunity, or -- if they are actively choosing not to do so -- have made a management decision that the monetary benefit of the breakage outweights that value.
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