NCLSEA123

Looks like Southwest has started automatically matching A+ Elite if you have confirmed your A+ Rewards & Southwest FF accounts.


Rapid Rewards # XXXXX
A+ Rewards Elite # XXXXX

Dear NCLSEA123:

Congratulations! We are pleased to recognize the most loyal Customers of AirTran� Airways with Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards�
A-List tier status, good through
December 31, 2015.

As an A-List Member, you will enjoy special privileges designed to make your travel experience as easy and efficient as possible, including:
� Priority Boarding
� Fly By� Priority Check-in and Security Lane Access*
� 25% Earning Bonus
� Dedicated A-List Member Phone Line
� Standby Priority
As a reminder, Rapid Rewards� will be the loyalty program of the combined airline effective November 2, 2014. When the A+ Rewards� Program ends, your A+ Rewards information will be transferred into the Rapid Rewards Program and your combined activity will be reflected in your Rapid Rewards account. Learn more about the transition.

As we�re in the process of combining your AirTran and Southwest� flight activity later this year, you will receive another communication with your A-List tier card, good through December 31, 2015. However, as long as you provide your Rapid Rewards account number when booking your travel, you can utilize your new A-List status benefits from this point forward. For more information about A-List tier status and other Rapid Rewards tier programs, visit southwest.com�

-Your Friends at Rapid Rewards

rsteinmetz70112

My wife got the email and I didn't but both of us have been extended to 12/31/15.

I think they are implementing the final integration of Rapid Rewards and A+ Rewards.

This notice has been on the Airtran website for some time.

connor35

I thought they did this in 2013. I've been Airtran Elite since 2007 or 8 and got Alist rewards at least last year.

rsteinmetz70112

They did match status, but it was never as far as I know automatic. You either had to be invited and accept or call and ask for it. I was told they would/could not extend A-List until after the previous status had expired.

Earlier this year they apparently stopped doing it on request, probably after they announced that any Elite who had status on November 1 would get A-List through 2015.

They have now started giving A-List to to existing Elites whose status does not expire before November 1 A-List status until the end of 2015.

saneman

It really sucks for me. My expiration is OCt 26. And I took a lot of flights last year. Problem is I took very few on AirTran after Oct 26 of last year. In fact, the two mnths before that date , I flew more AirTran flights than in the 10 months after that date. In the last 10 months, I have flown only 8 flights on AirTran and 4 on WN. Unfortunately, those 4 on WN wont count despite my having no option to book those flights on AirTran's site(to PBI).

It doesn't help that AirTran has discontinued flights to a lot of my usual spots. Even PHL and BOS, the prices have gone up to levels where I can no longer take spontaneous trips like I used to. I traveled to Boston from ATL recently and despite it being booked during a sale, and I was traveling at 9pm on Tuesday(not a high traffic airtime on that route), my ticket cost me 170 plus one way. And now PHL is routinely in the 150 range. Today, they reduced the ATL-PHL price in early October(my next visit there) to 130plus each way, but then what do they do? THey limit the direct flghts to only one a day. And it doesn't help that Frontier is selling tickets for half price to Wilmington around the same time period. and I am traveling to Delaware actually. So just to get status on WN , I am unwilling to spend an extra 100 bucks. Tough to be loyal enough to get status for next year which I can use to get status on WN for next year.

rsteinmetz70112

Note that flights on Airtran will count toward status on Southwest this year, however A-List on Southwest takes 25 flights. Not sure when that will kick in.

saneman

Unfortunately with travel cutbacks in my company, and the decrease of AirTran flights to many destinations( I have no wish to travel WN seating style on a spontaneous trip for their fares they are charging), it will be unlikely I get to 25 flights. I will be traveling international the second half of the year.

It would have been nice if AirTran accepted WN credits the other way so I could requalify for the renewal. I should have just flown to FLL on AirTran instead of PBI by WN and sucked up the extra half hour drive and I would have requalified on AirTran.

rsteinmetz70112

You still have a couple of months and could do an award run to someplace warm. There are a couple of $69 fares currently up from my home airport.

My Elite status was renewed early last year and goes to February 2015, so I get extended. But at the beginning of this year I switched all of my bookings to Southwest in anticipation of making A-List which I will soon.

saneman

As I mentioned, my current expiration is OCt 26, a week shy of the date WN wants to status match for.
So it looks like I will be able to have enough flights by OCt 22, 4 days shy of my expiration to qualify for elite next year. So I called AirTran if that will change my A+ Elite expiration to Oct 26 2015 (not that it means much for AirTran as it ends this year) once I take that qualifying flight on Oct 22. The rep said that WN has taken away a lot of resources and that he cannot tell me for sure if the AirTran system will change my expiration date when that happens. He said I would have to call WN customer service directly for that. He thinks that if the system doesn't update my date, then maybe WN will take that into consideration. But with the way WN has downsized AirTran's customer service, he can't tell me for sure.

Great job WN. At this point, I wonder if I should even care if I get the A List Match or not for next year. I really hate giving my international travel business to Delta, but it is looking like I might have to do that so I can avoid WN and get some status on Delta.

rsteinmetz70112

If you re-qualify for Elite on October 22 your Elite status should be automatically extended to October 26, 2015. Then as I understand it by November 1 you should get A-list for all of 2015.

Do you currently have A-List status goes to the end of this year?

In any event you will have a good argument if Southwest doesn't do it automatically.