Companion fare out of travel awards
 

I have RR and tons of Ultimate rewards.
I thought a Companion fare was a one time thing.
Wow what I have wasted :(

OK the issue. I just found out the "deal" after booking 3 trips for both of us later in the year.
My wife is 50% to CP. (I am 5% so nothing)
I can get her to 100% via Hyatt points transfer.
The questions - if I cancel my 3 trips.

1. Can I use "my" travel credit to purchase more flights for her in the future and then add me as the companion?

2. Also I have 2 RR awards that expire next year. Can I use "my" awards for her and then add me as her companion?

I am a slow learner but appreciate the assistance

Welcome to FT 1fullhouse!

I assume you are referring to the Companion Pass. And, correct, it is not a one-time use and you just earn it - you don't have to spend points to get it (like on AirTran)

Assuming you booked a WGA fare more than 24-hours ago for these trips, then a cancellation will result in Ticketless Travel Funds (TTFs) linked to your name that are good for another booking on SWA within 1-year of the original booking date. In short, no, your wife cannot use TTFs linked to your name - you must use them. However, as a tiny consolation, if your wife earns the CP and designates you as her companion, you can use those TTFs for the $2.50-$5.00 each way security fees on your companion booking.


Yes! You can use your RR 1.0 Standard Awards to book a ticket in your wife's name and then add you as the companion (See: Using a CP with a Standard Award booked through someone else). You can use your or her RR 2.0 points to do the same too.

As an aside, did your wife get her 50k from the Chase SWA CC? If so, does she want a 2nd (likely a business card)? Many people open 1 personal and 1 business SWA CC to get 100k (just short of the 110k) needed for a CPQP. If she did this, you could save on some Hyatt points.

If you have sufficient UR points you can transfer them to your wife and she can convert them into Marriott points, then to WN.

Depending how you value 7 nights at a really nice Marriott, this may be a better way to accomplish your goal. For example, 7 nights at a Marriott cat. 7 plus 70K WN points costs 280K Marriott. Worth at least taking a look at if you can use a week at a Marriott. 70K WN would "cost" 116667 Hyatt, by my calculations.

Or cat. 8 for 30K more Marriott points. Some of those can run $500+ a night.

Also if you are an Amtrak customer, UR>Amtrak>Choice>WN can be worthwhile, up to a limit (25K/50K Amtrak per calendar year). There are restrictions, though.

However, you would not be at a complete loss if all of your travel is as a companion (and have little use for TTF) and you still have unused TTFs that expire. You can combine them (before they expire) and have them reissued (for a $75 fee) as a LUV voucher that your wife could use. Depending on how much TTF value you have, this could be a good strategy.

Thanks to all -
We will be doing much more flying this next 17 months.
Nice group!

Just a thought.
If I cancel my ticket (WGA > 24 hrs ago) and use the TTF's to purchase a BS ticket could I then after a week or so cancel that BS ticket and get a refund on that or would the computer know the funds came from TTF's?

Keep up the creative thinking. However, this will not work. Your refund will be in TTFs with the original expiration date.

From http://www.southwest.com/html/custom...TOMER-REFUNDS: