Originally Posted by
jrpaguia
I don't disagree with your sentiments regarding FF benefits and destinations but I see no reason to let awards expire. You could burn them on yourself for your own scheduled trips (worst case scenario: use an award for a $52 short hop instead of paying the $50 extension) or better yet, they're always an excellent treat for friends and relatives who do not travel very often (this is what I usually do).
My trips are business trips and for the sake of my company's liability from a legal stand point, I can't and shouldn't be using my awards for business trips just for the sake of avoid wasting an award or try to save money for my company. Most business liability coverage insist the ticket must be purchased by the company for business purpose only.
I did and tried to use my awards for some weekend getaways but to be honest, SWA's airports aren't the most desireable in some of the cases. For example, Boston and Washington DC... SWA's airports are far away and your only option is taxi or rental car to get to the city center. For me, awards most avaiable are for the cities near me. Frankly, I am sick of going to Las Vegas and the San Francisco bay area.
I have plenty of friends and coworkers that are in single income families. Even though they have really good paying jobs, vacations are still consider a big expenditure for a family of 3 or more. For most of them, FF award is counted towards their vacation budget, so SWA is out of the question of most of them.
I hate to preach for the traditional/networked airlines... I value those miles/awards at least 3-5 times more than that of SWA's. I