AirTran Airways A+ Rewards - AirTran-Southwest Reward Reciprocity

While I haven't seen any press releases or emails on this, it would seem reward point reciprocity is moving forward.

http://www.rewardsfarther.com/?ref=airtranpointconversion

Thanks to boudinboat and acwan93 for uncovering the link over on the WN forum.

this is fantastic news. now i can get to some international (carribean) desenations. I will have to read through this to see how good the redemption value is. I wonder if they will honor/allow the SW companion pass to be used on Airtran flights. How did you find this?

While I haven't seen any press releases or emails on this, it would seem reward point reciprocity is moving forward.

http://www.rewardsfarther.com/?ref=airtranpointconversion

Thanks to boudinboat and acwan93 for uncovering the link over on the WN forum.

1200 RR points= one A+ Rewards credit.

A video shows the process to transfer/convert in either direction.

Terms and conditions:

https://www.southwest.com/html/help/credit-transfer-terms-and-conditions.html

The FL website has not yet been completely updated to reflect the changes.

Q: Can I transfer my A+ Rewards credits into Rapid Rewards Points? Can I redeem A+ Rewards credits for Southwest flights?
A: At this time, A+ Rewards and Rapid Rewards will continue to operate independently until our systems are integrated. For now, A+ Rewards credits cannot be transferred into Rapid Rewards points or redeemed for Southwest flights. In time, we plan to provide options for Members to earn and/or redeem in both programs. Rest assured that additional details will be announced as they become available.


Thanks for posting here. This is big news!

Huge. I've been waiting for this. Now I can use my buku WN points to fly from DCA instead of schlepping it to BWI...

How did you find this?

I didn't discover the link myself. It was first shared here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/1332956-southwest-airtran-reward-points-merging.html#post18425963) in the WN forum of FT.

Thanks for posting here. This is big news!

You're welcome. Despite my disdain for WN, I still have love for my FL peeps on here. ;)

I'm reading from my phone so maybe I missed something but FL credits can only convert into "classic" WN credits instead of points?

I'm reading from my phone so maybe I missed something but FL credits can only convert into "classic" WN credits instead of points?

From terms and conditions:

AirTran A+ Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards
1 A+ Credit -> 1 Rapid Rewards Credit
* If the number of AirTran A+ Rewards Credits transferred to Rapid Rewards Credits reaches a threshold equal to 16 Rapid Rewards Credits, a new Rapid Rewards Standard Award will automatically be generated. It will be valid for one year from the date of issue.

Per a yellow bird, transfers will start "next" Monday. I don't know if that means the 23rd or the 30th.

I just transferred from WN to FL; the credits posted to my A+ Rewards account immediately.

Message displayed, following the online transaction:

Thanks! Your transfer should be immediate but, in some cases, could take up to 24 hours to update your account.
Please note that upon conversion, successfully transferred Credits with unique expiration dates may display as multiple entries (in date order, from oldest to newest) within the Rewards Activity Details page of your Rapid Rewards account or your A+ Rewards statement in your A+ Rewards account.


It's simple and very immediate! ^

I also received an email confirmation of the transaction from WN.

See the Southwest thread at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/1332956-southwest-airtran-reward-points-merging.html#post18430391

There are good opportunities to create and use Southwest Standard (capacity controlled) awards or AirTran awards from any mixture of new points, old Southwest credits, and current AirTran credits. I wonder if something this good can last...

I just transferred from WN to FL; the credits posted to my A+ Rewards account immediately.

Message displayed, following the online transaction:



It's simple and very immediate! ^

I also received an email confirmation of the transaction from WN.

Good to see! So often things that look good at first end up being thornier than they should be. This will really help frequent flyers who find their AirTran flights taken over by Southwest. I've heard someone complain about this on BOS-BWI where AirTran flight schedules have been pared back, and they were not keen on earning Southwest credit.

This, at long last, throws a bone to AirTran customers as it opens up some new FF destinations, and it does not penalize them if their market turns into Southwest. It's not as convenient as earning AirTran credit right on Southwest. And because Southwest's program is a fare-based program, if your fare is less your credit is list. Fly BOS-BWI on AirTran and you get one credit. Fly BWI-BOS back home on Southwest, and your RR credit may only be a fraction of what tranlsates into one AirTran credit. But it's not orphaned credit if you fly Southwest.

This seems like a pretty convenient work around to expiring credits/vouchers. If you have an expiring WN credit, you can convert it to 16 A+ credits, which have the same expiration date, but if you those convert 16A+ credits back to rapid rewards credits, they'll become a WN voucher with an expiration date a year from the date of conversion... Sounds like a win for customers to me.

This seems like a pretty convenient work around to expiring credits/vouchers. If you have an expiring WN credit, you can convert it to 16 A+ credits, which have the same expiration date, but if you those convert 16A+ credits back to rapid rewards credits, they'll become a WN voucher with an expiration date a year from the date of conversion... Sounds like a win for customers to me.

Thanks for the info. This does sound great and fits my current situation, but want to make sure I am not missing anything.

I have a WN SA expiring August of this year (currently booked on a trip with it in May), but would rather use the SA in February of 2013. Before transferring my credits I reviewed the Terms & Conditions at this link:
https://www.southwest.com/html/help/credit-transfer-terms-and-conditions.html

It appears that the original WN SA expiration date stands, but then there is this blurb: "If the number of AirTran A+ Rewards Credits transferred to Rapid Rewards Credits reaches a threshold equal to 16 Rapid Rewards Credits, a new Rapid Rewards Standard Award will automatically be generated. It will be valid for one year from the date of issue." Is this what you were referring too?

I just received the official e-mail.


Rewards Conversion with AirTran A+ Rewards® is Here!

Dear xxxxxxx:

We are excited to announce the introduction of Rewards Conversion between Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards and AirTran Airways A+ Rewards! Now your Rapid Rewards Points, active Credits, and active Awards, and active A+ Rewards Credits can be used for flights on either airline. That means that over 95 destinations including Mexico and the Caribbean are now accessible with your Rapid Rewards currency.

Your Rapid Rewards Points, active Credits, and active Awards can be easily converted to A+ Rewards Credits for flights on AirTran Airways, our wholly-owned subsidiary, at the rate below: •1,200 Rapid Rewards Points → 1 A+ Rewards Credit
•1 Rapid Rewards Credit → 1 A+ Rewards Credit
•1 Standard Award → 16 A+ Rewards Credits
•1 Freedom Award → 32 A+ Rewards Credits

Visit rewardsfarther.com to view detailed steps and videos to learn more about how Rewards Conversion works.

I did a transfer to FL of some orphan WN points. This is an area where WN/FL IT did a great job of making a tool that is easy and efficient to use.

This is a positive step forward, and I hope the codesharing occurs faster than previously mentioned.

I just transferred two half-trip old Southwest awards to A+, then moved those 16 credits back to Southwest. I got two new half-trip awards with a full year of validity, replacing the 6 months I had had a few minutes earlier.

Also, I highly recommend moving 0.25 credits to Southwest so that you have the seed to create a Standard Award any time in the next year. @:-)

It appears that the original WN SA expiration date stands, but then there is this blurb: "If the number of AirTran A+ Rewards Credits transferred to Rapid Rewards Credits reaches a threshold equal to 16 Rapid Rewards Credits, a new Rapid Rewards Standard Award will automatically be generated. It will be valid for one year from the date of issue." Is this what you were referring too?

Yes. That's what I was referring to. As NSX pointed out in post # 17, if you have enough to make a standard award, you can extend expiration to 1 year from today by simply transferring enough to make a standard award to your WN account, and then either leaving them there, or transferring back to your A+ account if you'd prefer to fly airtran. As far as I can tell, you can rinse and repeat indefinitely.

So 8 A+ credits get you nothing on WN? Does it have to be increments of 16 credits? And is a standard award a round trip ?

Anyone can summarize the redemption options on WN using the credits option?
Example:
4 A+ Credits = Upgrade = nothing on WN
8A+ Credits = one way on airtran = ? on WN?
16 A+ Credits = RT coach or one way Business on Airtran = Standard Award(round trip) on WN.

This sucks. So you gotta wait until 16 credits to get something on WN?

So 8 A+ credits get you nothing on WN? Does it have to be increments of 16 credits? And is a standard award a round trip ?

Anyone can summarize the redemption options on WN using the credits option?
Example:
4 A+ Credits = Upgrade = nothing on WN
8A+ Credits = one way on airtran = ? on WN?
16 A+ Credits = RT coach or one way Business on Airtran = Standard Award(round trip) on WN.

This sucks. So you gotta wait until 16 credits to get something on WN?

To get a capacity-controlled ticket, yes. New program points are usable in small quantities. I have redeemed for sub-$40 fares using less than 3000 points.

Note that once you get 16 Southwest credits, it creates 2 half-trip awards. You can then move one of them to AirTran for 8 credits, giving you a net cost of 8 on the remaining one-way Southwest award. But there's no avoiding the need to reach a count of 16.

It works. I just did it. 2 standard WN awards with expiration next month to A+ 16 credits. Immediately back to 2 WN standard awards with 4/22/13 expiration.

Also transferred 19,200 WN points to 16 A+ then immediately back to 2 standard WN awards with 4/22/13 expiration.

Thanks for the info. This does sound great and fits my current situation, but want to make sure I am not missing anything.

I have a WN SA expiring August of this year (currently booked on a trip with it in May), but would rather use the SA in February of 2013. Before transferring my credits I reviewed the Terms & Conditions at this link:
https://www.southwest.com/html/help/credit-transfer-terms-and-conditions.html

It appears that the original WN SA expiration date stands, but then there is this blurb: "If the number of AirTran A+ Rewards Credits transferred to Rapid Rewards Credits reaches a threshold equal to 16 Rapid Rewards Credits, a new Rapid Rewards Standard Award will automatically be generated. It will be valid for one year from the date of issue." Is this what you were referring too?

Ugh...I *just* booked Award travel from MCO-STL (stopping in ATL) and back on AirTran, and FL will not let me cancel to re-book on WN to take the direct Southwest flight without paying $300 in cancellation fees. :mad:

OMG, I just transferred two half-trip old Southwest awards to A+, then moved those 16 credits back to Southwest. I got two brand new half-trip awards with a full year of validity, replacing the 6 months I had had a few minutes earlier!

Also, I highly recommend moving 0.25 credits to Southwest so that you have the seed to create a Standard Award any time in the next 2 years. @:-)

As a bit of a variation on that technique, the credit I transferred from Southwest to AirTran are now good for two years (since I'm an A+ elite), so I extended the expiration of my WN credits by transferring them.

It works. I just did it. 2 standard WN awards with expiration next month to A+ 16 credits. Immediately back to 2 WN standard awards with 4/22/13 expiration.

Also transferred 19,200 WN points to 16 A+ then immediately back to 2 standard WN awards with 4/22/13 expiration.

Just read your info and signed on and did the same thing with two my SA's that were expiring in August. I need for a trip in Feb. instead. Thanks so much!

Just read your info and signed on and did the same thing with two my SA's that were expiring in August. I need for a trip in Feb. instead. Thanks so much!

If anyone else is thinking of doing this, I would do it in a hurry. I can't believe WN intended for this ability to exist and it could likely change.

It works. I just did it. 2 standard WN awards with expiration next month to A+ 16 credits. Immediately back to 2 WN standard awards with 4/22/13 expiration.

Also transferred 19,200 WN points to 16 A+ then immediately back to 2 standard WN awards with 4/22/13 expiration.

You said you transfered 19200 RR points to 16 A+ credits. I follow that fine. The part where you mention that you transfered the 16 credits back into 2 SW standard awards. Is that right? seems to me that you just doubled the value of 19200 points if so. Am I missing something?

You said you transfered 19200 RR points to 16 A+ credits. I follow that fine. The part where you mention that you transfered the 16 credits back into 2 SW standard awards. Is that right? seems to me that you just doubled the value of 19200 points if so. Am I missing something?

Yes. You get 2 one-way awards. It seems to me that Southwest changed from round-trip to one-way awards about a year ago as a way to mark the new awards as not re-issuable.

If anyone else is thinking of doing this, I would do it in a hurry. I can't believe WN intended for this ability to exist and it could likely change.

Agreed. Especially if the arcane details are published outside FT. Fortunately for us, a description would be utterly boring to a casual reader. Still, do your fellow members a favor: If you like a feature and the feature looks fragile, be a little subdued in your description.

Now I will go take my own advice and fix my Monday post...

I just transferred two half-trip old Southwest awards to A+, then moved those 16 credits back to Southwest. I got two new half-trip awards with a full year of validity, replacing the 6 months I had had a few minutes earlier.

Also, I highly recommend moving 0.25 credits to Southwest so that you have the seed to create a Standard Award any time in the next 2 years. @:-)

That's a great tip to keep this awesome deal that caps r/t travel at 19,200 RR points. I will be creating an extra 1/4 of a Southwest credit.

That's a great tip to keep this awesome deal that caps r/t travel at 19,200 RR points. I will be creating an extra 1/4 of a Southwest credit.

I have edited that post to correct an error due to my newbieness to AirTran: The 0.25 credit will have one year, not 2 years of life unless you are AirTran A+ Elite. That is to say, its expiration date at Southwest will be whatever it was at AirTran before you moved it to Southwest.

All right! Please help the in the dark NOOB. I have Airtran credits and RR points. Why do I want to "seed" my WN account with .25 credits from Airtran? Just what does that accomplish that I can't accomplish anytime by transferring 19200 RR points to FL and then transferring them back to WN? What am I missing? Thanks in advance.

All right! Please help the in the dark NOOB. I have Airtran credits and RR points. Why do I want to "seed" my WN account with .25 credits from Airtran? Just what does that accomplish that I can't accomplish anytime by transferring 19200 RR points to FL and then transferring them back to WN? What am I missing? Thanks in advance.

You avoid being left behind when the AirTran transfer option disappears or is modified in a way that prevents your over and back technique from working. Will Southwest give us notice before ending the transfer option? Probably. Before modifying it to prevent the over and back technique? If they decide that it's a loophole, probably not.

Since we're only talking about $5 worth of points, I regard the seed as cheap insurance against a zero-notice change.

NSX, does this mean that if I have .25 RR credits that when I book a flight anytime in the future (before the credit expires) that I can simply add 18,900 RR2 points to that to create a full round trip flight? Or am I still not understanding something?

NSX, does this mean that if I have .25 RR credits that when I book a flight anytime in the future (before the credit expires) that I can simply add 18,900 RR2 points to that to create a full round trip flight? Or am I still not understanding something?

Yes, exactly. Except that the trip (actually 2 one-way awards) is subject to rather severe capacity controls. It works best for midweek travel with less than 7 days' notice. I am saving a few in case of family emergencies.

NSX, thanks for all of your help. Really appreciated.

Reading the T&C it looks like SW credits transfered to Air Tran are supposed to retain the same expiration date. Is that a new T&c or is this not being enforced based on posts upthread?

Incidentally, the transfer feature allows you to buy top-off credits for an AirTran award. You buy Rapid Rewards points and transfer them to AirTran. You may find the current Best Western deal more efficient for this purpose, since they sell you multiples of 2400 RR points = 2 AirTran credits.

See the Best Western to RR discussion at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/1344795-up-12000-points-toward-companion-pass-2-5-cents-each.html

Posting in case it helps someone as this was not clear to me.

Going FROM Airtran to Southwest rewards, you exchange AirTran credits for Southwest credits one for one. As far as I can tell, you cannot do anything with Southwest Credits until you get 16 of them. At that point they automatically convert from 16 SW credits into one SW Award.

You can then use that one SW award to book either one free roundtrip on SW, or book two free one ways on SW.

SW credits seem more useful than AirTran credits because the credits do not seem to be as tightly capacity controlled as Airtran's. FAR more availability, and no blackout dates.

I wanted to make sure there was award capacity for my preferred flights before I converted, and could not figure out how to check for that - every time I checked I got how many SW points (NOT CREDITS) it took to get an award. The salient issue is converting FROM Airtran to SW, you don't get SW points, you get SW credits. You will not be able to see the availability of flights on which you can use these credits until you both create a SW account AND convert your Airtran credits to SW credits. The other option is to call SW customer service and they will tell you.

The Airtran customer service, while very nice people, totally do not understand the SW program - they don't understand the difference between SW credits (which you need 16 of for a RT or two OW's) and SW points, which you need anywhere from 7,000 to 80,000 or more of for a SW RT or two OW's. The Airtran lady incorrectly told me not to convert my 16 Airtran credits as I would need 6,984 more credits on SW to get a flight. Got me wondering if anyone ever earned 7,000 Airtran credits!

Also, trying to understand the above posts about "seeding" the SW account with .25 credit. I could not figure out how to transfer less than a full point from Airtran. How do you do that?

Also, why do I want .25 credits in my SW account? Is it because if my SW account has any credits at all, my future earnings at SW are in credits rather than in points? Will this work even after I transferred 32 credits which converted to SW awards and were used (thus my SW credit balance is again at 0)?

I could not figure out how to transfer less than a full point from Airtran. How do you do that?

Also, why do I want .25 credits in my SW account?

1. If you only have 0.25 AirTran credits, you can transfer 0.25 credits. I transferred 300 RR points to AirTran to create the 0.25 AirTran credits.

2. If the 2-way transfer feature ends without notice, the 0.25 SW credit will give you the ability to generate another standard award, an ability that everyone currently has as long as the transfer feature remains as it is now. Consider it a $5 insurance policy, that's all.