01-19-2022
11:35 PM
01-19-2022
11:35 PM
@rich1954 wrote:
The points guy claims RR points are worth 1.5 cents a point.
The points guy is a bit incorrect here. Bloggers often are. 😉 It's not untrue, but it's also not the full story.
Southwest charges 83 points per $1 of base fare. This means the literal value of a point is 1.2 cents.
But, as I mentioned above, since points bookings don't incur all of the taxes & fees charged on cash ones, the realized point value can fluctuate. You get better value on flights with lower fares since the taxes & fees represent a larger portion of the cash fare, which you don't pay on a points booking. Some people realize points values of as high as 1.8 cents per point. (Even higher if you factor in the Companion Pass, which some bloggers do, but which isn't particularly useful for anything other than allowing a high points value claim.)
Back in the good old days, savvy travelers often realized points values above 2 cents. Sigh.
Since realized point value can fluctuate depending on the specific fare, it's better to use the fixed value when making comparisons over time. For example, when Southwest makes changes to the Rapid Rewards program, which historically tend to be implemented about every 2 years. These changes reduce the value of RR points.
Note: We're overdue for a program change likely held back due to the pandemic, and April has historically been devaluation month. 😕
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