Hilton HHonors - What is more valuable half a SW rapid rewards credit or 500 airmiles on a Major?

Hi all.

I'm a newebie to Soutwest. Really just exploring them. No flights yet, but I signed upo for the Frequent lyer program.

In the fcontext iof Hilton honors , Which double dip choice is better. "half" a SW credit or 500 miles?

The SW credit is worth a bit more (1/32 of an unrestricted free ticket). Of course, if there is no way that you will total 16 credits over 12 months (after which unused credits expire), take the miles.

32 stays equals 16 credits (.5 x32)
50 stays equals 25,000 miles (500 x 50)
So it appears that SW would get you a ticket quicker.......HOWEVER:
If you don't fly very often or use the SW visa in conjunction with this, remember that after one year from the date earned, the individual credits fall off and don't count towards the rewards. All 16 credits must be earned in a 12 month period.
So, it is a personal thing on how many you think you will get. I take miles over SW unless I am close to a Rapid Reward Freebie and need the few credits to put me over the top.

Another angle...if you want to focus on HH points, look for another airline program that let's you transfer miles back into HH points 2:1. Thus 500 miles = 1000 HH points. If HHpoints are more of interest to you, this might be a better approach.

SW credits expire after ONE year? That's harsh...

I've never been a Rapid Rewards member in my life, but that seems like one really tough rule in what everyone says is a very friendly program.

Their reward tickets are the friendliest and it is just a trade off. There are NO restrictions......If they have an open seat, you have a seat. Even if it is only a few hours before leaving. No fees if your reservation is less than 7 or 14 days, etc. No fees for cancelling your reservation, no fees for changing the dates or times.....Now with all the fees the airlines are charging, it is even FRIENDLIER in my eyes than before. And where can you fly only four roundtrips (even short trips like Houston to Dallas) and wind up with a free reward ticket? (Due to online booking bonus). Even though I said 500 miles is worth more than 1/2 credit on SW, I still LOVE Southwest's way of rewarding customers.

[This message has been edited by fscher (edited 04-17-2003).]

What fscher says is quite true. It only takes 4 round-trips (2 to DAL) to get a free ticket.
The biggest drawback is that, unlike the majors, WN award tix are not available for check-in via kiosk. Stand online, even with no checked luggage, to swap the cert for a boarding pass.

I was thinking of redeeming the WN 75K award, until I realized that AA awards earn mileage credit. Challenge anyone??

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fscher:
32 stays equals 16 credits (.5 x32)
50 stays equals 25,000 miles (500 x 50)
So it appears that SW would get you a ticket quicker.......HOWEVER:
</font>

Obviously not a Continental flyer if they believe you can get a R/T ticket for 25,000 ?? - Try 90 stays to get to 45,000 miles - for the EASY PASS rate

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by xooz:
Another angle...if you want to focus on HH points, look for another airline program that let's you transfer miles back into HH points 2:1. Thus 500 miles = 1000 HH points. If HHpoints are more of interest to you, this might be a better approach.</font>

I have used this approach to round out orphan miles to 5000 in order to qualify for transfer back to Hilton, Twice on Delta (Mr. & Mrs.) and UAL - Twice (that one is gone now)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FC_Dave:
Obviously not a Continental flyer if they believe you can get a R/T ticket for 25,000 ?? - Try 90 stays to get to 45,000 miles - for the EASY PASS rate

</font>

I was just quoting a STANDARD, COACH reward since any seat on SW is = to coach. I am a CO flyer and have (not as often as I would like) redeemed the lower cost awards if available.