If Southwest had dropped the online bonus and kept the 12-month earning limit, that would have dramatically increased spoilage. The fact they they stretched earnings to 24 months demonstrates that increasing spoilage was not a concern this time. With bean counters in charge, you never know what the future may hold, but I am confident that Southwest has decided that promoting spoilage is not its game right now.

I expect some relief by next Spring on the 1-year award usage limit because of the difficulty of using Hawaii awards, which tend to require planning far ahead.