+1 on this thread. I wish WN would keep a way to allow us to continue to create SAs. I see it as a win-win for southwest, because typically they are seats that would have gone out empty anyway...

Unlike some airlines, which continue to have discount buckets for short-haul travel 2-3 days before travel, WN seems to close off the WGA fare buckets intra-CA 7 days before travel... Which means that a last minute trip will cost $550+ RT on Southwest, but $350 on United. SAs were typically the lifesaver in this situation... the RT would have been 50k on points, but 19,200 on a SA...

Bottom line: no one ever redeems their points for AT or BS fares, but sometimes they're the only fares available. SAs close the gap here, letting me pick a plane with availability at about half the cost. Without that options, I would have just taken the UA flight