Southwest Assigns Consistent Point Values Across All Fares
Anya Kartashova April 04, 2018
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program has officially assigned a value to its airline points, and that value has gone down for Wanna Get Away fares and gone up for the two other fare types.
When you purchase Southwest flights, you’re presented with three fare types: Wanna Get Away, Anytime and Business Select. Wanna Get Away fares are the cheapest and don’t come with any frills, such as seat selections or refund options (although you still can cancel and receive credit toward a future flight with no penalty). Anytime fares are refundable fares, and Business Select fares also include priority boarding.
Southwest utilizes a revenue-based model for its loyalty program. At the moment, more expensive fares earn more points, but they also cost more points to book, and the points didn’t have a set value. However, the airline has assigned a value of about 76 to 78 points per dollar, which has affected redemption rates for award flights.
In the past, Anytime and Business Select fares would translate to about 100 to 120 points per dollar, respectively. In other words, you needed about 10,000 to 12,000 points to book a $100 flight. Now, you need about 7,800 points to book the same flight.
However, Wanna Get Away fares now require more points to book. So, under new redemption rates, you would redeem about 7,800 points for a $100 flight, whereas you’d need about 7,200 to 7,400 points to book the same airfare before the change.
In the grand scheme of things, the change isn’t that significant and benefits those who redeem their Southwest points toward Anytime or Business Select fares. However, it most certainly hurts budget travelers who book Wanna Get Away fares exclusively. Assuming most Southwest flyers redeem points for the cheapest options, the new redemption rates certainly mean devaluation to many travelers, no matter how small, especially if you book award travel often.
Do Southwest’s new redemption rates affect you personally? Which fare types do you typically book with Rapid Rewards points?
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I agree that WN has NOT been a low fare carrier for sometime. It costs me more to fly from Bay Area to Orange County on WN than across country on Jet Blue. Years ago, WN was a low cost carrier w. famous "cattle call" seating. The "cattle call" is still there. Not the low fares.
I stopped flying WN when they abandoned the "Credits" system and started with points. They are ALWAYS the most expensive option in the routes I fly.
No southwest fares include "seat selection," as Southwest doesn't have assigned seating. It's important to note that there is only one class of seating onboard. Anytime offers refundability* over Wanna Get Away, and Business Select offers earlier boarding and a free drink, but otherwise they all offer the same seats. The same flight may sell for $100 WGA, $350 AT and $365 BS. No one uses points to book AT of BS fares unless there are no WGA fares available. This is a devaluation.
I fly Business Select almost exclusively and the fares are getting ridiculous. On many routes I can fly First Class for less (sometimes half) of the WN BS (no pun intended) fare. I will be forced to start looking at other airline options much more frequently even though my preference is flying from MDW. I strive to keep A list preferred and the CP is nice but I could forgo if need be. I have sent a letter to WN several times and fellow Business Select flyers often bemoan the fares as we wait to board. I have to believe most flyers (like me) are opting for this fare only for the points involved and not the early boarding or 'free' drink. I think WN will have to return to reality soon as their reputation as a low cost carrier is evaporating rapidly. Either BS fares need to drop or they have to add extra benefits such as an assigned BS area with better seating, etc. On my light last night there were probably 30 people boarding before me (A2) with preboards and a soccer team they let on early, plus the passengers from the previous flight. JMHO
I enjoy flying WN, but I seldom do, because their fares are usually higher than the big three, even the Wanna Get Away fares. WN has developed a reputation for low fares, but I do not believe it is warranted. Over the years, I have scored some great fares on WN, but most of the time I find they are not competitive. For example, today I am shopping for a one-way flight from Denver to New York City on April 13. The best price on WN is a Wanna Get Away fare of $211. That is a non-stop, but it is the last flight of the day with 11:20 PM arrival, so that entire day is lost. I can find better itineraries on AA for $124 (1-stop), DL for $201 (NS), F9 for $151 (NS), or UA for $242 (NS). The earlier non-stop on WN arrives at 4:20 PM, but the fare jumps to $294. For just $78 more, I can actually fly first class on DL at almost the exact same time. Price is not my only criterion, but it is certainly an important one, and WN usually prices themselves out of consideration. All of this pertains to the lowest WGA fares. If you are considering the other fare types, WN’s fares are far higher than the competition, and I would never consider those. As for the redemption values, WN may have formalized their point values, but every time I have looked for an award ticket, the pricing for WGA seats was pretty consistent around 1.3-1.4 cents per point.