Originally Posted by uastarflyer
By your logic, would you buy 8 roundtrip tickets at $650 to earn one (capacity controlled) award?
But of course, I know the answer - oh no! not every flight costs $650! When it does however, what's wrong with having AN OPTION? Your "bad deal" may be reasonable to someone else. Or maybe everyone will pass. In which case RR should add it as an option, a throwaway with another round of self-serving PR. Of course does it have to be a 2 RR rule-buster? That was just an example. It could be 1.5 for a rule-buster. Obviously I'd like that even more! would you still spend the $650?
Not sure I understand your question. If I was going to fly those $650 flights anyways for business, then yes I would buy 8 RT at $650 apiece to get another award. Not sure I understand what that has to do with anything. Would I pay $650 to fly somewhere in the US for my own personal travel (funeral, etc notwithstanding) just to get some RR awards? Certainly not. Plus paying that much normally means the trip is a long distance in which case I find I get a much better bang for my buck FF program-wise flying with UAL, so I'd be flying them.
I value a RR award at ~$320 ($20 per RR credit). Using 2 RR awards for a trip would effectively "cost" me $640 + $10 Sept 11 Fees, + $40 for the 2 lost RR credits that I would not receive if using an award rather than paying for the ticket. That's $690 total "cost" to me by using 2 RR awards for this double Rulebuster award. I can buy a ticket to ANYWHERE SWA flies for under $690 all-in, so no I would NEVER use the rulebuster award. Just like I will NEVER use the 2 RR award to Hawaii. I have NEVER paid more than $600 for a flight to Hawaii in the 6 times I've been there. The only people the 2 RR award to Hawaii might be good for is those living on the East Coast.
The main problem with SWA offering a Rulebuster award is then that becomes the norm. It gives SWA an excuse to clamp down on their capacity controls because, "Worry not, you can still get to your desired destination, it will just cost you double the RRs". No thanks. I've seen it with the legacies, I rather not see it with SWA, although I fully expect to see it in the future since SWA is becoming more and more like the legacies everyday. I'll just be the first to say that the day you hear the "enhancement" announcement from SWA that they are going to offer Rulebuster awards because "You the Flyertalkers asked for it, and we are listening to your needs/desires/wants", when that day comes there will be far more grumbliing on FT that the RR program is being further devalued than there will be joy from people like you that there is now another option.
Now 1.5 RRs for a Rulebuster award might be a better option, although I still doubt I'd use it much if ever. That would still effectively cost me $480 + $10 + $40 ($530 total) and like I said earlier, it's not often I'll fly SWA on an expensive, long-haul flight like that because IMHO RR/SWA just doesn't stack up against UAL on flights such as that. But yes, if I had to be a flight that would cost me more than $530 all-in, I would use the 1.5x Rulebuster in that case.
Originally Posted by uastarflyer
Put it another way, around key days they'll only have 10 seats/flight max available for awards - let's be honest about it. No additional award options is a GOOD thing for the customer?
Now that's funny. 10 seats/flight. Don't we wish!!!
