FAQ for Southwest and Rapid Rewards

[nsx]

30. Which airports have free WiFi?

a. (kerflumexed, Tino, kgsd, a330300, nd_eric_77, lvkewlkid, John Galt, nsx, rbedgood, richee, Stefan Daystrom, JeffD, shiwala, daniellwu, holland, bkwee)

Albuquerque, Burbank, Columbus, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Harlingen, Hartford, Kansas City (just became free July 2006), Lubbock, Manchester, Midland, Ontario, Orange County, Phoenix (just started summer 2006) Pittsburgh, Portland, Tampa, Tuscon, West Palm Beach.

Tulsa has signs announcing free WiFi. Cleveland has free WiFi near Gate C14 inside and just outside the Presidents Club. Coverage at ABQ does not appear to reach the entire SWA gate area, but it covers the food court and bar nearby. San Jose has WiFi, but there are conflicting reports on whether or not a free service is available.

b. (luv2ctheworld) At LAS, you can also get a semi-good signal over at the Tequileria sit-down restaurant in Southwest terminal (the other sit down eateries are closed for remodel). You have to sit close to the exits though, since inside there is almost no signal.

Also, I have used the power outlets there. Only 3 I have found so far. One is at the entrance facing the side where Gates 1-16 (one above the booth, and one by the wall - around the same area) and the other one is opposite side, near the dark corner table/booth on the wall high above the booth).

[nsx]

31. When there is a flight delay, the departure status rarely lists the delay before I leave for the airport. How can I better determine whether my flight will actually be delayed? Also, how can I determine the intermediate stops of a particular flight?

a. (nsx) The Flight Status information page at southwest.com is a treasure trove of routing information. For example, if you ask about the arrival of your flight number into your departure city, you can find out where the flight is coming from and whether it is leaving that city on time. Then you can ask for the arrival time of the same flight number into that city. This method allows you to work upstream all the way to the origin of the flight and make your own guess as to the downstream delay, if any, in your city. I routinely check flight status one city upstream for any non-originating flights that I take. If the flight is originating at your city, you may be able to locate the flight scheduled to arrive at the same gate 30 minutes before your departure and check its status. Unfortunately, this method will not help you detect a late-arriving crew or a tail swap.

b. (rove312) A less cumbersome way of doing this is to go to www.flightarrivals.com . You can enter a flight number and see its full itinerary. If you want to know on an earlier day whether the flight is originating or continuing (which could influence your boarding strategy), you'll need to check this on a day when the flight follows the same schedule as on the day of travel, and while that flight is in progress or close to it. That is, if you're flying on a Saturday morning, you may need to search this on a Saturday morning.

[nsx]

32. Why doesn't Southwest fly to Hawaii?

Please see FAQ 25 for an up-to-date discussion of service to Hawaii provided through Southwest's partnership with ATA. The discussion here predates that partnership and is presented to provide a perspective on why Southwest has chosen not to serve Hawaii itself.

a. (verhalen) It's not "worthwhile" because it would break their cost model. WN cannot afford the costs that a Hawaii operation would bring, under their current cost model, unless they flew something like 40 flights per day there, which is not realistic.

b. (JS) The problem with Hawaii is that you need heavy overwater equipment (ETOPS and life rafts). WN wants all of its planes available for use anywhere in the system.

c. (Stefan Daystrom) They don't add airports unless they can justify at least 10 flights a day from that airport, spread over several destinations, typically a mix of the closest ones outside of 3 hour driving time and one or more of their semi-hubs (Baltimore, Chicago, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Orlando, etc). So it's unrealistic to just look at whether Southwest could fly to somewhere from Hawaii or Alaska, but whether they could fly often enough to enough different destinations from there to make starting service there (on their point-to-point model) practical.

Another problem is Rapid Rewards. It's not set up to handle a destination that "should" cost more than other destinations. One Rapid Reward ticket gets you anywhere that Southwest flies. That system would start breaking down if they flew to Hawaii (for which miles-based carriers typically charge more miles than for a continental US/Canada award ticket, for example 35000 miles to Hawaii while 25000 miles within continental US/Canada at AA). It would thus keep Southwest's costs up, because if they didn't institute capacity controls on their awards (which they ended up doing February 2006), they'd never make money on the Hawaii flights because it'd be all awards.

d. (nsx) The obvious fix for this would be requiring two RR awards for Hawaii, perhaps allowing one award if departing from the west coast. In fact, the RR Terms and Conditions state: "Ticketless Awards and paper Awards are valid for one roundtrip to any city Southwest Airlines serves in the continental U.S." (italics are mine) Apparently, WN is allowing for the possibility of adding service to Alaska, Hawaii, or the Caribbean. Hawaii service would require double connections from some WN cities, so the systems would need to change to support double connections (which they do already for some RR travel from DAL).

The biggest problem with Hawaii is logistics: you need enough flights to justify having a maintenance base and other ground staff. Because of its isolation, Hawaii cannot easily accommodate flights spread out over the day. (737s can reach Hawaii from only a limited subset of current Southwest cities.) Another challenge from a business perspective is the high fraction of leisure vs. business travelers. But that didn't keep WN out of Orlando.

Hawaii would probably not show a profit by itself, but it could provide a HUGE boost to business travel elsewhere in the system. Lack of awards to Hawaii is a deal-breaker to a significant percentage of frequent fliers who could bring WN a lot of revenue. Probably the same reasoning applied when WN was thinking about adding MCO.

[nsx]

33. Why doesn't Southwest fly red-eyes?

a. (nsx) We can only speculate. Perhaps demand is not adequate, or long overnight flights do not fit Southwest's business model. Also, maintenance planning is easier when aircraft have several hours of down time each night. This makes the first few flights of the morning virtually 100% on time, something which I personally appreciate. I have flown almost every Monday morning for 6 years without a single non-ATC delay.

[nsx]

34. Why doesn't Southwest offer priority boarding to its best customers?

a. (nsx) This topic comes up regularly. Before Southwest introduced kiosks and then Internet check-in, getting a good seat required arrival at the gate approximately an hour before departure and standing in a long line for a plastic boarding card numbered 1 to 137. You might stand for 30 to 45 minutes before getting your boarding card, then you could either sit down or join a disorganized mob ready to assault the gate when the agent called for the first, second, third, and sometimes fourth boarding group (30 per group). The current process is incomparably more civilized.

In the old days, I was one of many customers who wrote to Southwest (they personally answer every letter) asking why Southwest would not let its best customers bypass the cattle call. The response was that this would be inconsistent with Southwest's egalitarian culture. I figure it might also slow the boarding process slightly, reducing efficiency. Many of us disagreed with the policy, but the new boarding system renders our complaints largely irrelevant. You get priority boarding not by being a good customer, but because you have learned how to work the system and get an A nearly every time. That gives you a huge advantage over casual travelers and those who don't care what letter they get.

[nsx]

35. Why doesn't Southwest offer an airline lounge?

a. (nsx) Aside from the fact that "Brown Carpet Club" has a poor ring to it, I believe the reason is that there would be insufficient demand for it. Air-side space is expensive, and Southwest's business travelers spend very little time at the airport. With Internet check-in, there is no need to get to the airport an hour early, even for a long-haul flight. Before Internet check-in, the lack of priority boarding meant that even Southwest's best customers needed to queue up to get a decent seat. Sitting in a lounge would have put them in the back of that queue.

b. (nsx) Southwest does, of course, offer the Mile High Club on the same basis as other airlines. However because of the lack of long red-eye flights, Southwest's MHC is far more difficult to join.

[nsx]

36. Do I need 100 flight credits to earn a Companion Pass (CP)? Can use the CP in conjunction with a free ticket? If I can't make good use of the CP, can I trade it for something else?

a. (nsx) You can earn a Companion Pass by accumulating 100 credits from any source (including Diners Club and Amex Membership Rewards transfers) within any one-year period (not calendar year). The Companion Pass allows you to bring the designated person along with you for free (paying only the Security Fee), even if you are traveling on a free ticket! For some people, this essentially doubles the value of their free tickets. Think of it as a 100% bonus for reaching this elite level.

b. (nsx) You can speed the issuance of your CP by not waiting until SWA mails you a notification postcard. As soon as you have the 100 credits, the web site will allow you to designate a companion after you log in to your Rapid Rewards account. You will then receive the CP within about a week.

c. (Tino) The CP is valid for 13 months. They give you the whole month of the issuance and the whole month of the expiration as well. For example, if they issue it in April 2003 it expires May 1, 2004. This is great if you are renewing a companion pass - my expiration month moves by one month forward every year.

d. (nsx) You can speed up changing your companion by faxing RR a copy of your cut-up CP along with a letter requesting a different companion name.

e. (ejmelton) Two of the three most important ladies in my life (Mrs. And Ms) wanted to go with me on two different trips during October. (I guess that I didn’t go anywhere that Mom wanted to go.) As a result, I had to change companions twice during the month.

Saturday September 10. Finished trip with Mrs.
Sunday September 11 Called SWA Rapid Rewards to get mailing address (not P.O.Box)
Monday September 12 Sent existing CP card and letter via UPS
Tuesday September 13 (10:29 am) SWA received Mrs.’ CP card
Wednesday… I checked SWA web site each afternoon for CP name change
Friday September 16 CP name change on Internet. Made Ms’ Reservation
Friday September 23 New CP card arrived snail mail
Sunday October 2 Finished trip with Ms.
Monday October 3 Sent CP card and letter via UPS. Begged for speed (see below)
and included return UPS label
Tuesday October 4 (10:29 am) SWA received Ms’ CP card (UPS is consistent!)
Wednesday… I checked SWA web site each afternoon for CP name change
Friday October 7 CP name change on Internet
Tuesday October 11 New CP card arrived snail mail
Friday October 14 Left with my new CP, Mrs.

While I would not recommend this maneuver and will always try to give SWA the three weeks that is suggested, it’s great to know that they can turn these requests around so effectively.

BTW, even though we changed the CP companion, reservations made under the original companion were not affected.

f. (nsx) Prior to 2005, SWA would typically provide an alternative to the CP on request. (PM me for details if you are curious, but it's moot now.) Current SWA policy is not to provide an alternative to the CP. You can ask, but the answer is virtually guaranteed to be "no".

[nsx]

37. Over what time period are credits counted for renewal of my Companion Pass?

a. (nsx) This is probably the single most confusing aspect of Rapid Rewards. But if you phone 800 445-5764 and select the Companion Pass info option, the system will tell you how many credits you have toward renewal and what the renewal deadline is. One of these days, this information may be available online, but given that it could have been done years ago, I'm not expecting this.

Your first CP is effective for 13+ months. For example, if it is issued on January 10, 2006, it will expire at the end of February 2007. This is done to allow time for snail mailing the plastic card, so that you will still have 12 months of use of the pass.

Your first renewal period starts not immediately on pass issue, but when you earn you next RR credit. For example, let's say you fly again on January 15. You then have until January 14, 2007 to earn your 100 credits for renewal. Assuming that you do so, your new CP will be issued in February 2007. It will be valid from the March 1, 2007 to the March 31, 2008. You can see that your CP issue date advances one month per year. There is no overlap between the CP validity periods, so you will never have two valid CPs at the same time.

Here's where it starts getting tricky. Your second renewal qualification period does not begin right after you earn your second 100 credits. Rather it is tied to the validity period of your CP. In the example, your CP will be up for renewal in first week of February 2008. To renew, you will need to have 100 credits in the 12 months beginning with your first flight on or after February 1, 2007. If you qualify, your new CP will be valid from April 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009. Your third renewal qualification period will be March 2008 through February 2009 (or later, if you don't fly in March 2008).

(from expert 7700) Example timeline using a hypothetical CP expiration date of 9/30/07:

• Last years companion pass issued 8/1/06. Next credit earned 8/5/06. This sets your 1yr qualification period as 8/5/06-8/5/07 for your next CP.
• 2nd year CP expires 9/30/07.
• 9/1/07 "Companion Pass earned" will show up on Southwest.com if you
  earned 100+ credits from 8/5/06-8/5/07
• 9/3/07 You can designate a new companion name (or reuse same name). This is when your slate is wiped to zero towards your next CP.
• 9/10/07 New companion card will come via mail. You can book flights online using the old companion name for flights thru 9/30, and also can
  book flight dates 10/1 and later on the new companion name. SWA
  will auto fill in your companion names based on the date chosen.
• 9/3/07 1st credit that posts will start the new 1yr earning period and count towards your 100 credits needed for your next CP.

Refer to the phone number listed above for automated earnings info to verify your credit count and "must earn by" date for your next CP, especially since any info on this forum may change and is not guaranteed to stay accurate.

Because the requalification period for does not begin immediately after you earn your second 100 credits, there is an interval of weeks or months during which credits you accumulate are useless for the purpose of CP requalification. You may want to play close attention to this gap when timing major purchases on a Southwest Visa credit card. For example, if you have 90 credits toward your CP and you spend $48,000 on the Southwest Visa card in one month, only 10 of your 40 credits will count toward the CP. The other 30 will be wasted, although they will of course earn you regular awards. Although most times the gap only bites you on second and subsequent renewals, this credit card scenario causes the same trouble even when you are earning your very first CP. The renewal period starts the next day, after your 40 credits post.

Dan B points out that you are unable to reserve flights for a new CP before it is issued (or is it before the CP's effective date?). You may be able to make a placeholder reservation using a spare RR award or a refundable fare, and have it converted to CP later. Maybe.

[nsx]

38. How much compensation will I get for volunteering to be bumped? Can I use a paper travel voucher to buy a ticket online?

a. (WN LUVS U/uastarflyer) Usually the compensation offer is either $100 or $200 plus the face value of your ticket, all in the form of a travel voucher. Compensation will vary depending on next flight availability, irregular operations, and how much they are overbooked. It is customary to offer either $100 or $200 in compensation. Normally speaking...if the Customer is confirmed on the next flight, they receive $100 plus the face value of their ticket. If an overnight stay is required or no guarantee of another flight, they receive $200 plus the face of their ticket. Rapid Reward tickets get zero for their face value, although some have reported getting an imputed face value of $50.

b. (Nevada1K) $258 in vouchers bought me five LAX-LAS roundtrips (@ $49 each; apparently, either the PFC or segment tax is not applied when using a bump voucher, as this was $6 less than a "cash" ticket). Those ten segments also count towards my 16 segments for a RR award ticket

c. (Mr. July) You can use the vouchers to purchase any non-internet fare (i.e. if it's bookable over the phone, you can use a voucher to pay for it). The problem is that most of those fares require ticketing within 24 hours of booking - and thus a trip to the airport. If you live more than an hour away, you can (maybe) get a supervisor to extend the time you have to ticket, but it's not a given. If I remember right, you get the PFC waived if you're purchasing with vouchers, but once you introduce ticketed funds and/or cash, you've got to pay the added tax. Also, you can't co-mingle ticketless funds and vouchers (yet another good reason to make these ticketless). Finally, all of the discussion about the Y fares assumes one fact: since these reservations can be put on hold until the flight, and you have to go to the airport to catch the flight, you can simply wait to ticket with vouchers until day-of in those cases (although for peak periods, like Thanksgiving where the counter will be a zoo and I may not be checking luggage, I already took care of it). The only risk is that the fare may go up a few bucks in the meantime.

d. (4thplz) Travel vouchers are non-transferable. The person named on the voucher needs to go to the airport in person to redeem the voucher, but the traveler can be anyone you like.

e. (nsx/73G) You cannot use a paper travel voucher to purchase a ticket online. It is rumored that bump vouchers will change to electronic credits, probably similar to gift cards. When this will happen is anyone's guess. Until then, Southwest may offer you a work-around on request. If approved, you will be told to purchase your travel online and mail in proof of purchase along with your paper voucher for credit back to your credit card.

(nsx) If a travel voucher is about to expire, you can send it in and request a 6-month extension. According to Mr. July, you can ask for this extension at the ticket counter and they will likely give it to you with their inkpad and stamps. As to the optimum oversell strategy, it seems to me that the airline serves both passengers and itself best if it gets the people who are most willing to trade their time for money. A single compensation "price" will accomplish this result. A price that varies according to the ticketed fare will not, since low-fare and RR customers will probably not volunteer. (We who shop for the lowest fare can't stand not getting the best deal.) I suggest an offer of a $100 travel voucher, then $200 if necessary, then $300. Everyone gets the final price (reverse Dutch auction). Plus of course the next available flight out. Simple and familiar to passengers who fly other airlines. Issuing an electronic credit should be as easy as creating a fake itinerary, funding it with $X, and canceling it.

f. (nsx) In the unlikely event that enough people do not volunteer and Southwest denies you boarding involuntarily, your compensation is twice the fare you paid to your next destination, up to a maximum of $400. This amount is cut in half if Southwest gets you on a flight estimated to arrive less than 2 hours later than the flight on which you were denied boarding. If you are bumped involuntarily, you are entitled to cash compensation (actually a check) if you prefer that to a voucher.

[nsx]

39. What are the weight and number limitations for checked baggage? What happens if Southwest loses my baggage?

a. (southwest.com) Southwest allows three (3) checked pieces. Excess baggage will be charged at the rate of $50.00 for the first (1st) through the ninth (9th) extra bag and $110.00 for each piece checked thereafter. Maximum weight is 50 pounds (down from 70 pounds prior to April 1, 2005) and maximum size is 62 inches (length + width + height) per checked piece of luggage. Overweight items from 51 to 70 pounds will be accepted for a charge of $25.00 per item. Items weighing from 71 to 100 pounds and oversized items in excess of 62 inches but not more than 80 inches (i.e., surfboards, bicycles, vaulting poles) will be accepted for a charge of $50.00 per item.

b. (WN LUVS U) I think the change from 70 pounds to 50 pounds has a lot to do with employee injuries, as well as the price for fuel. They are, however, still going to allow 3 bags, one more than the industry standard.

c. (channa) If > 50 lb. bags are common, this will definitely slow down the check-in process. Someone with a 45 lb. bag and a 53 lb. bag will be doing some shifting until they get both under 50.

d. (uastarflyer) Let's not lose sight over the fact that WN's policy is still the best in the business for the general traveller, as long as it remains a 3-bag-limit.

e. (RockHounder) If you've never been through the lost baggage process, you'd be surprised to know that you have to wait 5 days before you can even request a claim form. Once they mail that to you, they want to know the item, color, material it is made from, manufacturer, where you bought it, size, is it for a male or female, when you bought it and what you paid. In addition, you have to have the form notarized. After waiting two weeks to get the form, they give you 45 days from the date of the flight to get your claim in the mail but they say "evaluation and resolution of your claim takes a minimum of 30 days." I understand they also depreciate everything, even it is new and unused.

f. (nsx) Buffaloflyer reports that he was denied curbside checkin less than 30 minutes before departure. This risk is another reason to use the inside lines (see item 29a) if you're running short of time.

[nsx]

40. Who earns the credits: the purchaser or the traveler? Can I combine credits from my family members? Do I earn credits when traveling on an award or on a Companion Pass?

a. (nsx) The traveler earns the credits, not the purchaser. For example, if your family of eight flies to Orlando, you will not earn a free trip. Southwest does not have family accounts, a la British Airways. You cannot combine family credits to earn an award. As a practical matter, infrequent fliers cannot earn awards on Southwest. Rapid Expiration is a significant weakness of Rapid Rewards relative to other airlines’ programs (except JetBlue).

b. (nsx) You do not earn credit on free flights, period. It might happen accidentally once in a blue moon on other airlines, but I have never seen this happen on Southwest.

[nsx]

41. Can I use an award for two one-way trips?

a. (nsx) Yes! Although this policy is not stated explicitly on southwest.com, each award has two halves labeled A and B which can be used independently of each other. Each half-award is good for a one-way trip. A single award can therefore accommodate two people on a one-way trip.

b. (nsx) When you book travel using an award, the Payment Information page allows you to "Select Alternate Awards". This is useful for example when you are booking award travel far in the future. You want to skip over your earliest-expiring awards if you expect to use them in the next few months.

c. (nsx) clkelley points out that when two people are traveling you may want to use one of the new capacity-controlled awards for both people on a blackout date. Then you can use an old award for both people for the other direction of travel on a non-blackout date.

[nsx]

42. How can I estimate how long the security lines will be?

a. (stormer) The TSA has a site to query for this: http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/