Brian,
My one concern in this transition are the left over credits earned before the switch. I currently have 3.25 credits...and will likely have around 8-11 when the transition happens. If SW feels that 1200 is an appropriate conversion in that we will have to earn 1200 points to finish off a free flight, why not also offer people the option to convert remaining credits to 1200 points each?
As for the new program itself...I am not going to hold it against SW for creating a system that rewards people more for their dollars spent. While the new system will not be as useful to me as the old one...I think it is still better (more useful to me) than any FF program offered by the legacy carriers (though having never used a Legacy's FF program before, I will have to investigate). What does bother me though is how long it will likely take me to finish off my last free flight under the old system. I only buy WGA fares for personal travel. Usually from $60-$150 one way from STL-AUS or HOU. Since those routes usually run around $120 its going to take me over 16 flights to finish off the my 16 credits. I am fine that SW is making the switch...I just wish they either would give the option of converting already earned credits to 1200 points or that they would have given more than the less than 2 months notice for people trying to earn that last credit.
Also while I'll continue to fly SW under the new program (and keep the SW Chase Visa)... I may stray to other airlines when their fare is cheaper. And if any airline (including SW)starts a non-stop STL-AUS route.
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