Southwest Airlines no longer a partner effective July 1, 2010
Jan 5, 2010, 8:10 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,689
Southwest Airlines no longer a partner effective July 1, 2010
Found this on the Southwest Airlines forum. I think it deserves a cross post exception. Credit goes to OP Paramont
<<Effective July 1, 2010 American Express Membership RewardsŪ points will no longer be eligible for transfer into Southwest Airlines Rapid RewardsŪ credits. Please make any transfers prior to June 30, 2010.">>
<<Effective July 1, 2010 American Express Membership RewardsŪ points will no longer be eligible for transfer into Southwest Airlines Rapid RewardsŪ credits. Please make any transfers prior to June 30, 2010.">>
Last edited by Centurion; Jan 5, 2010 at 11:09 am Reason: remove coment on amex customer care
Jan 5, 2010, 8:53 am
#4
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,955
This is also mentioned on the Membership Rewards website...
http://www.membershiprewards.com/cat...lFreqFlyerProg
You can transfer Membership RewardsŪ points to the Southwest Rapid RewardsŪ program until June 30, 2010.
6 months notice is more than we would receive from most programs.
http://www.membershiprewards.com/cat...lFreqFlyerProg
You can transfer Membership RewardsŪ points to the Southwest Rapid RewardsŪ program until June 30, 2010.
6 months notice is more than we would receive from most programs.
Jan 5, 2010, 9:23 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 194
#%!%@..... I was saving up for the companion pass, I won't make that by July 2010.....that's one of the only ways to get 3-4% domestic from my gold charge card.....Time to downgrade the gold and shift my personal spend to Travelocity MC. I'll leave my business spend on the SPG BIZ until Travelocity Steps up and opens a business version of their card.
Me too. It was perfect for keeping RR credits from expiring....that was a great ROI on MR points.
Me too. It was perfect for keeping RR credits from expiring....that was a great ROI on MR points.
Jan 5, 2010, 11:12 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,689
You could always lose miles/points if the airline went under but I would think Southwest is one of the safest bets arround right now. Most flyertalkers seem to like to save MR points for First/Business International travel on other airlines. Although I have always been tempted to move enough points for a companion pass. I agree with others that seemslike a great ROI on MR points
Jan 5, 2010, 11:14 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Nashville, TN - BNA
Programs: Hilton Gold, WN RR
Posts: 1,818
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!
I was just saying on the DL forum that I've now decided to fly WN to the nearest city to my destination, rent a car, and drive the rest of the way (thanks to the DL bag fee hikes that have added $120/roundtrip to my fare. I carry scuba gear - there's no way around it.)
Why couldn't they just have devalued the program like everybody else?? MR>WN was one of the best deals around, nearly as good as WN's own Visa (which I also have, but prefer MR due to the flexibility.)
CRAPPITY. Gonna have to rethink things, maybe seriously.
I was just saying on the DL forum that I've now decided to fly WN to the nearest city to my destination, rent a car, and drive the rest of the way (thanks to the DL bag fee hikes that have added $120/roundtrip to my fare. I carry scuba gear - there's no way around it.)
Why couldn't they just have devalued the program like everybody else?? MR>WN was one of the best deals around, nearly as good as WN's own Visa (which I also have, but prefer MR due to the flexibility.)
CRAPPITY. Gonna have to rethink things, maybe seriously.
Jan 5, 2010, 11:23 am
#8
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,955
[SPECULATIVE REPLY] Perhaps because Southwest's VISA is issued by Chase, the bank that has so effectively walled off United Airlines from any other meaningful card relationship.
It will be interesting to see if Continental remains in Membership Rewards longterm.
It will be interesting to see if Continental remains in Membership Rewards longterm.
Jan 5, 2010, 11:36 am
#9
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Nashville, TN - BNA
Programs: Hilton Gold, WN RR
Posts: 1,818
This is just awful. WN Visa offers so few options - its only partners are hotels and car rentals, and not many at that. No daily point multipliers, no online mall, only 2:1 using WN Visa at WN....
Damn. Damn, damn, damn.
Chase also owns the Marriott card. Guess those folks should look for similar disappointments ahead...
Damn. Damn, damn, damn.
Chase also owns the Marriott card. Guess those folks should look for similar disappointments ahead...
Jan 5, 2010, 12:31 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: CT/ Germany - Ich spreche deutsch
Programs: UA 1K, Bonvoy LTTE, HH Dia, HY Expl
Posts: 4,657
Chase also offers the BA card in the US and BA recently joined AMEX MR. I'm sure other CC companies influence the specific airlines to some extend but there are exceptions.
Jan 5, 2010, 12:42 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: Plat:US,DL (ex KL,AF,LX,LY) Gold:BA,VS (ex CO,UA).Plat.SPG,HGP Diam.HH. ICHG Plat RA. Amex Centurion
Posts: 673
Not to mention that Merrill+ is issued by BofA, and their only "miles transfer" partner is, ironically, BA...
Jan 5, 2010, 12:48 pm
#12
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,955
Yes, BA has relationships with American Express, Bank of America, Chase and Diners Club. The difference, I think, is that BA is not dependent on its affinity card issuer for financing in the same way that the US based carriers are.
Jan 5, 2010, 9:46 pm
#14
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: Hyatt Passport Platinum, IHG Platinum and Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 57
This news is VERY disappointing. I will probably close (or at the very least downgrade to Green) my new premier rewards card when the annual fee comes due next year. I fly Southwest almost exclusively, and one of the main reasons I got the AMEX charge card was because it allowed me to accrue MR points that did not expire to transfer into my Rapid Rewards account when I needed those few extra Rapid Rewards credits for a free ticket. Rapid Reward credits earned using the Chase Southwest Visa card expire after two years. Oh well, it looks like I am back to using the Southwest Visa card after July 1.
Mar 25, 2010, 5:30 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,689
If you open a Rapid Rewards Account and start with zero credits how many Membership Reward points do you have to transfer to Southwest Airlines to recieve the SW Companion Pass that is good for 1 year? Also is the pass good for the calender year or 1 year from issue? Do most of you consider this a good value?