I may have time to post details later, but generally legacy programs win big if you can reach their top elite levels. Exception: short-haul flyers like me do better with Rapid Rewards. RR 2.0 will soon kill that advantage. Then I'll have to be content with on-time flights and no change fees.

For the VERY VERY frequent flyer, maybe 2-5% of the world, your analysis may make sense. 50 RTs a year? How many people do that? Yeah, I know there are some, but really.

We WN fliers are not nuts, I assure you. Here are some considerations:

1. WN has nicer employees; very few "dragon FAs."
2. WN is less likely to "go mechanical" on you at the drop of a hat (UA out of Washington, DC, I'm looking at you).
3. WN is less likely to lie blatantly to your face (UA out of Washington, DC, ditto).
4. WN doesn't screw you out of your fare when you make a change.
5. WN often has more RR awards available for your planned trip.
6. WN doesn't have computers that blow up on holiday weekends, screwing thousands of people.
7. WN planes are cleaner, from what I see.
8. If a fare drops, you can pocket the difference as a voucher good for a year (alone potentially worth thousands of dollars to someone who flies 1 RT per week). I'd play that one like a fiddle.
9. WN doesn't change its schedule ALL THE TIME and sometimes fail to get the word out. Read some of the threads running now about LH award segments getting changed and hosing people's plans.

I could do this all day.

For the person with less than enough travel to attain highest status on a legacy:

10. WN doesn't charge outlandish fees for luggage.
11. WN doesn't charge for last-minute RR redemptions (and some actually exist).
12. WN's Visa card is MUCH MUCH more generous than AA's Mastercard (not many people fly 50 RTs a year, so they have to get their credits elsewhere). $9600 spent on WN tickets or with partners gets a RT and 1/6 of the way to a Companion Pass; how much spending is needed on your AA Mastercard? A rental car can get you 2 WN RR credits. What do you get with AA, 100 lousy miles?
13. Double bonus credits (for example, to PHL and DEN at the moment). If you are lucky enough to live/travel there, it could be extremely lucrative.

A Companion Pass is worth a lot more than $800. Someone posted how he got $4500 worth of trips (for his wife, I think) out of it. I value it at $2000-$2500, maybe more, as I take my son somewhere about once a month.

Some of us don't fly Business Class to Hawaii and Cameroon and SIN all the time. We are pretty much restricted to the US for business and family reasons.

And what's wrong with flying both WN and AA, taking advantage of the benefits of each, as the case may be? Why does it have to be all or nothing? For example, I can see where it might make sense to use WN until you get 100 credits, then switch, especially when using the WN Visa and renting cars. Then you'd have top status in 2 programs.

Uh, certainly not! And I don't think I have implied that, have I?
Yes, you mention many ways WN is better than AA.
I was comparing Rapid Rewards with AAdvantage.
That is not to say one should choose an airline based purely on FF program - no way.
I am only making the point that Rapid Rewards is not competitive for the very frequent flyer (yes, a small category, but much larger on Flyetalk).
Just FYI, baggage fees are waived for all elite levels, not just top tiers on legacy carriers, so most once per month travellers would also be exempt. Of course, those who travel less than once per month have to pay, and I book a lot of WN travel for friends that don't fly often for this very reason!
If you noticed, my hypothetical very frequent flyer doesn't either. Yet, even without any international travel, he would get more than 2X from AAdvantage versus Rapid Rewards. If I were to include international, then the AA margin would increase.
I am curious - is the above true all the time and does it require a min number of days?

My car rentals would get credited to one of the following:
a) Hertz - 1 day minimum - minimum of 1,700 BMI miles earned (and twice that during the recurring double miles promos)
b) Budget - 3 day minimum - minimum of 2,500 Delta miles earned (2008 and 2009 promo, likely to be extended)
c) Avis - 4 day minimum - minimum of 5,000 Delta miles earned (2008 and 2009 promo, likely to be extended)
I know better than to credit my car rentals to AA - (absent a promo - AA do have some running right now that earn 2,000+ per rental)
Excellent use!
I contend $800 is much closer to average.
On this point, I have to disagree unless you either get a much higher than average use from your WN free tickets or companion pass.
Your $9600 figure is misleading, because you are dealing with a category bonus - and other credit cards also have category bonuses - but most of us spend far more on other things than the bonus categories. But I don't' think either the AA card or WN card are among the best.

For anyone with significant CC spend, I would recommend the following CC combination:
1) Citibank Platinum Amex
- Earn 3 TYP per $ on everything, 5 on certain categories
- Redeem thankyou points at 1 cent each for ANY ticket anytime anywhere that Expedia.com can book (I wish WN would play ball!)
(So $8,000 spent on any category earns you $240 towards your next ticket; $5,000 spent on certain categories earns you $300 towards your next ticket, etc)
2) Asiana American Express Card from Bank of America - Earn 2 Asiana FF miles per $ spent on Everything
(So $45K spent = business class Star alliance redemption to Europe
Or, if you prefer, $8K-$15K spent for a free star alliance domestic ticket, number of miles required is distance based with Asiana)
3) Carry a Merrill+ Visa Rewards - no annual fee back up card for when you need a Visa - transfer these points 1:1 to British Airways or redeem them at 1 cent each directly for plane tickets or gift cards
4) Carry an Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard - no annual fee back up card for when you need a Mastercard - transfer these points 1:1 to Continental or redeem them on Amtrak or for merchandise/gift cards

Any idea how this might work if the missed flight was the last flight of the day?

Would you actually have to show your face inside the airport with bags in tow? Only because I would have a rental car and would hate to ditch it when now I need to find a cheap place to sleep.

Would it have to be the very first flight out in the AM (subject to availability of course)? If I have to pay to sleep another night, I might as well enjoy a few more hours in the morning.

I'm thinking this could potentially happen to me Friday night in Tampa because I have a long drive there after not being able to depart oodles of hours in advance. Just preparing...

Here is a thread on that exact subject. I don't think we came up with a definitive answer, but I didn't reread the thread.

This happened to me.

Yes, I had to show up at the airport and try to make the flight - WN needs to know you are trying to fly as ticketed.

WN did have me standby for the first available flight the next day.

I don't think you can count on travel the following day being allowed, even in this situation.

Thanks, I now recall the discussion and even posted a caveat ! Clear as mud...

He was making a case for missing a connecting flight while I might miss boarding a non-stop inbound to back home on a paid RT fare.

So don't know what to conclude!

+1. Fully agree with this. It is fairly well known and agreed upon in this forum that the perks for TOP-tier status on legacies (ie, UAL 1K) is better than top-tier on Southwest. Possibly the same for mid-tier (UAL 1P), or closer to a wash. Low tier (UAL 2P) I'd say is a wash or SWA possibly has the advantage. No-tier fliers (UAL base members) are MUCH better off on SWA. I think that is the general consensus on this forum after reading it for several years.

However I also think the F upgrades on legacies are highly overrated. Back when I was a PremEx on UAL, I bought a soon-to-expire SWU on eBay for $67. I really debated whether or not it was worth the $67 since I already got lounge access on my Int'l flight. When I became 1K with UAL, I traded all my SWU's away for around $500 value each. So somebody obviously values F upgrades highly, but it isn't me, that's for sure. I'm quite happy in my Exit Row seat with tons of legroom.

So basically, it completely depends on the individual flier and his/her unique circumstances as to what the value of the different statuses are for each airline. But the general consensus is that if you fly enough to earn top tier status on a legacy (especially if any of that flying is Int'l), then you're better off with the legacies. Otherwise, you're generally better off with SWA.

Isn't this thread getting a wee bit OT? Ok, A LOT!

Hmmmmmmm, now that I look up at the thread title, I think you're 100% correct.

Does this still hold true, even if you print your boarding pass and miss your flight they will put you on the next available flight at no charge?

Thanks

The reason I ask is because we are arriving on a cruiseship in Galveston, Tx and sometimes there is heavy fog that doesn't allow the ship to dock until later. Could miss our 11:40 am flight by several hours. Just how late can we show up and get the next available flight home for no additional charge?

The rule is 2 hours after the originally scheduled departure. However I've been successful later than that several times. Be contrite and appreciative.

What I am about to propose is obviously not in the spirit of the flat tire rule but I'll ask it anyway.

Say there are 2 flights (e.g. SFO -> LAS 1/16/2010)

Flight 1: $39 (takes 2 hours with 1 stop)
Flight 2: $80 (takes 1 hour and is direct)

Question #1: Can you book flight #1, miss it, and then take flight #2 without paying extra fees?

Question #2: Assuming that Q1 is "yes". Can you book a ticket on both flight 1 and flight 2, miss flight 1, go standby on flight 2, and if you get on via standby, use your flight 1 ticket and get $80 credit for a future flight. If you do not get on via standby, use your $80 ticket confirmed and get $39 as credit for a future flight.

It's a slow night so I figured I'd waste some time speculating...

Rock.

1. Yes.

2. Yes, provided there is space. However the Gate Agent will probably see the duplicate reservation and will be upset at you. I have never held a duplicate reservation for the same day (intentionally, at least) and I don't recommend it.