Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

My take too. Points are just more flexible to use. Worth the small difference in conversion not to have to keep track of travel funds.

What's so weird is The Points Guy indicates that by converting funds into points you are gaining slightly in value. I don't see it that way, but I have to defer to the experts. See his excerpt below. My valuation is I took the dollar value of my travel funds and divided it by the points offered which netted a value of .0012. I then looked at what I had purchased in points against the dollar value of the airfare and it was .0015.

(Edit: Fangorn has straightened me out. While my valuation is correct, my math logic is backwards. It is a very good value conversion.)

". . . it boils down to the conversion ratio. And based on the tickets we’ve analyzed, it appears to be fixed at just under 1.3 cents per point. TPG Valuation for Rapid Rewards is 1.5 cents per point, so you’re gaining some value when converting funds to points."
 
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As these are unusual time’s,I’m wondering if southwest has ever done this before ? I just got the email about converting my travel funds into points. It seems like a win win for us as points don’t expire. I’m wondering if there is a down side for us or if they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.
 
As these are unusual time’s,I’m wondering if southwest has ever done this before ? I just got the email about converting my travel funds into points. It seems like a win win for us as points don’t expire. I’m wondering if there is a down side for us or if they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.
I don’t think they’ve ever done this before. Seems like amazing customer service to me!
 
Don’t know but it has certainly worked out for me. I had $145 left from $600 worth of LUV vouchers that were set to expire 2/8/21 (Issued prior to the pandemic). I was able to buy a fictitious ticket for almost exactly the balance of the voucher which, when cancelled, got the extended expiration date of 9/7/22. Now I just converted it to 11,262 points to be used by anyone and never expire!
 


What's so weird is The Points Guy indicates that by converting funds into points you are gaining slightly in value. I don't see it that way, but I have to defer to the experts. See his excerpt below. My valuation is I took the dollar value of my travel funds and divided it by the points offered which netted a value of .0012. I then looked at what I had purchased in points against the dollar value of the airfare and it was .0015.

". . . it boils down to the conversion ratio. And based on the tickets we’ve analyzed, it appears to be fixed at just under 1.3 cents per point. TPG Valuation for Rapid Rewards is 1.5 cents per point, so you’re gaining some value when converting funds to points."

You're looking at it somewhat backwards. Your numbers (1.5 and 1.3) are correct, but...

In the case of the 1.5 cents/point, that's what you're PAYING per point. In the conversation, they are GIVING you points at a rate of 1.3 cents/point - meaning they are giving you more points for the same $$.

Example: I found a flight for $73. The points cost for that flight is 4524. It so happens that I have two travel funds in my account - one for $44 and another for $29 - for a total of $73. The conversion points are 3432 and 2262 respectively. Total of 5694 points.

So, I could use the travel funds for the flight and call it even, or convert them to points, pay for the flight with those points and come away with an extra 1170 points in my account.

I'm pleasantly surprised by this rate and take it as just another feather in SW's cap in how they treat their customers.

Steve
 
Just as a reminder, RR points can expire.

While points don't have specific explanation dates attached to them, if there is no activity on a RR account for 24 months, any points in that account will be forfeit.

Of course, it's really simple to avoid that. Just purchase something through SWA shopping using the account. That purchase will reset the clock. This is what I do for my granddaughter's account to keep her points alive, even though she only travels every 4 years or so.

Steve
 
You're looking at it somewhat backwards. Your numbers (1.5 and 1.3) are correct, but...

In the case of the 1.5 cents/point, that's what you're PAYING per point. In the conversation, they are GIVING you points at a rate of 1.3 cents/point - meaning they are giving you more points for the same $$.

Steve

You are right - I was looking at it backa**wards. :crazy2: Thanks for correcting my math reasoning. Now I can't convert my travel funds fast enough. :teeth:
 


I was totally going to do the travel funds/points conversion thing, but I see that even though I purchased all 4 of our tickets and their travel funds are in my account, that it looks like I can only convert my travel funds to points -- that my husband and kids would need their own RR account.

Am I able to convert travel funds from tickets I purchased for other people into my Rapid Rewards Account?
No. Each person will need to convert his/her travel fund to points within his/her own Rapid Rewards Account.


I'm not going through that hassle...I will just hold onto the funds, I suppose -- we'll definitely fly before 9/7/22.
 
Just as a reminder, RR points can expire.

While points don't have specific explanation dates attached to them, if there is no activity on a RR account for 24 months, any points in that account will be forfeit.

Of course, it's really simple to avoid that. Just purchase something through SWA shopping using the account. That purchase will reset the clock. This is what I do for my granddaughter's account to keep her points alive, even though she only travels every 4 years or so.

Steve
This policy changed in 2019. You no longer need activity every 24 months. You just need to keep the account open.
 
Not happy. From our original booking our flights have changed 4 times. Most were only a difference of an hour. The e mail today was a change of 3 hours and it is no longer a direct flight. A 3 hour lay over. We are cancelling anyway. Hope with the last change we get a refund instead of travel credit.
 
I too was not happy with my non stop moving to lay overs in each direction. Moved my trip from September to November and back to non stops. Crossing my fingers they don’t change too.
 
Just as a reminder, RR points can expire.

While points don't have specific explanation dates attached to them, if there is no activity on a RR account for 24 months, any points in that account will be forfeit.

Of course, it's really simple to avoid that. Just purchase something through SWA shopping using the account. That purchase will reset the clock. This is what I do for my granddaughter's account to keep her points alive, even though she only travels every 4 years or so.

Steve
Do you know if purchase of flights that end up canceled count? Will need to cancel b/c of Covid
 
While it is true that a ticket has to purchased with points from 1 aacount, you can transfer points between accounts.
2000 points can be transferred for $20. 2000 points are worth about $30, so you would come out alittle ahead when transferring points. Info about this is on SW website. Click rapid rewards at the top.
 
Who will be booking Southwest flights tomorrow morning, when the schedule will be extended for travel 01/05/2021 - 04/11/2021? Are you confident that you will actually visit WDW during that time, or will you book flights, knowing that cancellation or change/postponement will be available?
 
I will be on line bright and early! Not going to WDW (going there in November) but we have a cruise booked out of Tampa 3/20 - 3/27, and I am making plans as if its gonna sail. I can dream can't I?
 
Who will be booking Southwest flights tomorrow morning, when the schedule will be extended for travel 01/05/2021 - 04/11/2021? Are you confident that you will actually visit WDW during that time, or will you book flights, knowing that cancellation or change/postponement will be available?
I’ll only book SW for now bc of their policies for cancelling and how well they’ve been handling Covid in comparison to other airlines. I’m hoping to get an April trip in to Disney, but if things are the way they are now, I’ll cancel.
 
Who will be booking Southwest flights tomorrow morning, when the schedule will be extended for travel 01/05/2021 - 04/11/2021? Are you confident that you will actually visit WDW during that time, or will you book flights, knowing that cancellation or change/postponement will be available?
We are booking flights for spring break to Disneyland. Obviously have no idea if they’ll even be open, but we book with points so no big deal if we have to cancel.
 
I would like to book tomorrow for spring. I would be using covid related cancellation credit. If I had to cancel does anyone know when credit would expire? Would it be one year from tomorrow?
 

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