rajuabju

Sadly, this is likely going to mean the end of my relationship with WN.

I fly weekly from LAX to OAK. It's usually on the $59 WGA fares. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower.

This new system will crush my ability to earn awards at a reasonable rate.

It's not necessarily "unfair". I understand why WN is doing what they are doing.

My other problem with this new system is that its just too damn confusing. WN has been known for its simple and effective approach towards EVERYTHING. 1 class cabin. No "extra" charge for baggage, etc. No change fees. This new RR program is too confusing for a lot of people.

I dont like it.

sbm12

I was referring to the DL promo in the post I quoted.

And, while I understand that A-List can be earned slightly more easily and the 25% incremental earn that comes along with that, I still maintain that the occasional, lowest fare customer is going to lose badly in the new program while the frequent BS customer is going to win handily. That's the way it should be from the company's perspective but it is bad for the consumers looking to maximize value on minimal spend.

jordanmills

looks like it from the FAQ:

ninetynine

The worst part to me is that they're starting us all at zero - so if you're an A-List weekly traveler now, you start at zero on Jan/March 1 with regards to earning rates, so at 2 flights a week you won't start earning the 25% bonus points until halfway through 2011, and the 100% bonus points until the end of the year - which puts you at a huge disadvantage for renewal.

I think they should automatically start all A-Listers at A-List earning status as of March 1 - it seems unfair that they make us start over again at zero.

Also, it doesn't look like they resolved the last-minute purchase problem for A-Listers, where if we buy a full-fare last-minute ticket, we get a C-25 boarding pass.

I can't say I'm a fan of the new program. Seems like short-haul frequent fliers like myself have the most to lose.

jordanmills

I don't see any simulator. Can you link to it?

SAPMAN

Just to confirm:

1. My CP expires 4/30/11. I have 98 points earned since April 2010 (2 points to go for next CP pass). If I get those 2 points by 15 March, will my new CP be valid until 12/31/2012?

2. I have a few Awards expiring over the next 8 months. Would it be wise to extend a couple of them now for another year and pay for shorter trips?? (I assume I will not earn many Awards in the future and Awards may become more valuable - flights more costly.) Or is it safe to wait until a month before Award expiration and do it then (will extensions be available?). If the Reissue provision for current Awards is good til end of Dec 2011, then I guess best to wait until close to expiration date so one gets a full extra year?

Thanks for input.

Nevada1K

expert7700: I'm seeing $19 fares LAS/LAX January 24-27 and many Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in February, March, April and May.

(I did not check all subsequent posts before posting this, so someone else may have added this info upthread.)

xadiohead

The simulator is a joke. I put in Tulsa to Dallas and it shows the Wanna Get Away fare at $87 for a total of 522 points.

In fact the majority of the Wanna Get Away fares are $39 which would be more like 282 points.

Southwest used to be so straightforward and honest. Now it is deception.

Clarence Iba

If I am understanding correctly, will segments be calculated as:

TUL-DAL-HOU - 2 segments, with a change of aircraft and flight numbers at DAL, like AA, or 1 segment?

Chuck2009x

This is a 25% devaluation of SW Rewards.

Assume hypothetically, same route, same fare every time. No matter what Southwest class you fly in, the multiplier of the cost to redeem vs what you earn is 10x.

That means it now takes 10 RTs to earn an award flight instead of 8.

ssk1127

I've been flying WN off and on for 15 years, and have gotten to the point where I avoid it like the plague if at all possible. This new program sort of reinforces why.

This new system benefits WN more than its passengers, and is targeted at the same folks who buy Business Select, but knocks out most of their core customer base - cheap, short-segment flyers. I've never understood why anyone would pay for Business Select - a free drink and early boarding slot aren't really worth the premium. I don't drink on planes, and if I check in 24 hours in advance I'm always in the late A/early B boarding group with a guaranteed aisle seat. Why pay double or triple the price for a ticket to get those kinds of dubious perks? The new system seems like it's attempting to further justify why anyone should waste money on a Business Select ticket.

I can't imagine the intra-Texas flyers are happy about this; they're being told, basically, that if you want Rapid Rewards value out of your DAL-HOU shuttle, pay the higher fare, not the cheapest. I'm not sure how free Wi-Fi would benefit you in this situation either, since you'd barely have time to open your laptop. Making it more difficult for them to reliably gauge their free tickets and giving them a relatively useless perk in return isn't really rewarding the kind of loyalty that built the airline in the first place.

It's been said more than once in this thread, but why be an "elite" flyer on an airline with no first class? Who wants to fly MCO-LAS or LAX-BWI in all-coach when they've got "elite" status on that airline. Free tickets are only part of the benefit; they represent future travel, not present travel. WN doesn't have enough amenities to offer to make present travel more comfortable for business travelers.

The biggest reason I've come to despise WN is that they've gotten away from their original mission, which is what attracted me to them in the first place years ago. They started as a friendly, no-hassles airline with cheap point-to-point nonstops that were nearly always efficient and on-time. In trying to grow too much, especially into major/congested airports, and attract business travelers, they're not really a low-cost carrier and not really a legacy. In trying to be both, they've fallen short at being either.

MikeMpls

I don't think so. A lot of our overall mileage is in international travel, and that is probably true for perhaps 33-50% of the traveling population (for me that was 3X in 2010, 7X in 2009). RR 1 made it attractive to split our business between a legacy carrier for international & WN for domestic. RR 2 loses that appeal. There will be a major shift of WN customers to AA, UA/CO & DL.

One of the major reasons I've always kept miles & reward trips around is for emergencies & last minute bookings so my wife can accompany me. Mandating a premium rate of points for an anytime fare in the last couple weeks negates that.

WN + RR 1 made sense for us even when we were both paying real $ for our fares. WN + RR 2 doesn't. It's not an issue of not being able to "game" the system -- the system no longer offers sufficient value.

RR 2 will be a useful program only for medium/long-haul/strictly-domestic flyers.

uncertaintraveler

^

^

^^

xadiohead

Yea if you were going to redeem your reward for the same flight you always take AND you book it under the same fair then this is true. But it is much more of a devalue when you consider that if you book the Wanna Get Away fare, your reward flight must be Wanna Get Away and therefore is not flexible.

nittanydave

I have a companion pass thru 5/31/2011; and have already requalified (i.e. need zero more to requal by 5/1/2011. According to the new rules; will i be issued a new one (which i have qualified for already and would have thru 4/30/2012); to extend to Dec 31, 2011 or 2012 (I hope 2012 but unclear).

Any feedback would be appreciated?