Thanks for the useful feedback, both in response to my question and your other posts on the board.

Is there a rule of thumb as to the break-even point between using a standard award and paying cash for a ticket? Complicating matters is that I am currently A-list so would earn 1.25X on the paid ticket now, but I won't be able to maintain A-List after this year. \

If I take 300 points for the RR signup bonus to create a 1/4 Airtan credit and then transfer it back to Southwest to seed a Standard Award, don't I risk stranding that credit if not used within a year?