Originally Posted by
Dreading
However, my father suffered a massive heart attack last week. When I found out, I had just flown into PDX from a business trip, so I just went to the WN counter and bought a ticket for the first plane out to my hometown. I paid for the ticket because I was afraid that by using points, I might ruin my companion pass eligibility. (I know, it's *really* messed up that in that situation I'm still thinking about points and passes, but I was still in shock/denial and maybe some of you can understand).
Sympathies on the situation with your father,
Dreading, but at least you did the right thing when you chose to buy the ticket instead of using points. When it comes to choosing whether to earn or burn, RR 2.0 is Ack-Basswards compared to pretty much any other airline rewards program. What SWA charges to redeem points for a last minute flight is far, far worse than highway robbery, and nobody should ever let them do it.