ronbo83

That is a good question. I am guessing that since future CP earnings are reset to 0 as of 1/1/2011 (unless qual is before 2/28/2011) you will keep your existing CP until 12/2011 and be out of luck for next year. I would call RR CS and find out because that would be terrible if that is how it works. I am losing 40 credits for my next CP that I didn't have to qualify for until 10/2011

rrgg

It seems like the best thing about the WN Visa now is the renewal. Just collect the renewal bonus every year for the price of the annual fee. Otherwise do your spending elsewhere since you now get 0.0167 cents per dollar spent.

nsx

see this post

SAPMAN

WN FAQ states:

I'm a Companion Pass Member now. What does this change mean to me and my designated Companion?

If you have a Companion Pass at the time of program launch you will retain your Companion Pass in the new program. The length of your eligibility will vary depending on the year of expiration date of your Companion Pass. At the time of launch, if your Companion Pass has an expiration date between 3/1/2011 and 12/31/2011, you will retain your Companion Pass through 12/31/2011. If your Companion Pass has an expiration date in 2012 at the time of launch, you will retain your Companion Pass until 12/31/2012. Following the launch of the new program the Companion Pass Member will be allowed to change their designated Companion 3 times during your qualification period by calling 1-800-IFLYSWA
-----------
Not too clear for me. At the time of Launch (3/1/11), I will have qualifed (100+ credits), for another year, BUT my CP at that time will still be a 4/30/11 expiration date as my New CP will not have been issued by 3/1/11. It is that "At the time of Launch" provision that concerns me.

Hopefully if at Launch you have earned enough credits to be able to extend your CP to 2012, they will extend your CP to 12/31/2012 -- but not what it says. Comment?

sbm12

Are there ANY details on this out there? I've read one place 100 points/dollar but that seems unlikely as it is a better deal for that than BS redemptions.
Just having access to the WGA fares doesn't mean that the redemption values are going to be great. WGA fares on LGA-LAS can range up to $412 according to what I'm seeing right now. Sure, if you can find a flight that has the $129 WGA only 7 days out that's great but it is also rather unlikely. So you're paying 66% more to redeem as Anytime fares AND you have to pay the higher Anytime fare. The double whammy hurts.

I think they made a big mistake with the sliding scale on redemptions being this broad. B6 has a similar scale though it is a bit narrower and, from what I've seen, points are generally worth more on more expensive fares, not less. No doubt in my mind that the RR2 program is more mature and robust than TB2 but in this particular area I think WN dropped the ball.

cxn

My flights on WN are usually 2 hours or less. The fares paid range from $100 - $200 each way. I made a-list last year with 32 one ways. For me, the value of RR even with all the other declines was the CP. With flying, CC points and some partner credits (I really didnt go out of my way) I was able to get 100 credits a year. When we had the AMEX option, I was able to to get my wife a CP pass as well.

Maybe I am not the target of WN for the newRR. I will let this year play out with my current a-list and CP. If it doesnt work, that is fine.

KC

Yeah, I read that, but I interpreted it a little differently at first. It sounds like (since I've already requalified) Southwest is considering my A-list "expiration date" to be 3/3/2012, not 3/3/2011, thus extending me through 2012? That, I like.

bsdstone

This sounds EXACTLY like me...unfortunately, I think we're both going to be part of the 25% that doesn't requalify for CP...have to see how this plays out...I like the redemption options, but not crazy about the earning.

toomanybooks

No, it's US, and there is one stop. Nonstops, on a fare that close in, are way high.

I think you wouldn't find 10% of FTers who would consider a nonstop DL RT award ticket ATL-PDX "worth $1100," if you could get my routing for $254 (and get back well over 4000 US miles with your paid ticket).

We can all pick and choose specific routes on specific airlines on specific days to make a point. I am sure there are great redemptions available on every airline.

In general, though, knowledgeable people (lucky, gleff, ingy...) consider Skymiles to be bottom-of-the-barrel.

With this WN change, people in the middle of the country (MDW in my case) may do better than they used to with RR. If I watch carefully with reasonable notice, I can usually find a RT WGA fare many places for $250 or less. That's going to cost me 15,000 new WN points, which I'll get for $15,000 spend on the CC. Previously, I'd have to spend $19,200. And those $69 flights will be really cheap in points terms.

Unless I am misunderstanding something.

nsx

1. Login to your account at the top right.

2. Look for a red vertical bar near the right of the page (it might say "Loading" and it might require more than one click). Click on it and the simulator will slide into place from the right.

3. Click the import account info button near the top right of the simulator pane.

pdalbey

On the RR2.0 website, they list their hotel partners. I do not see the Intercontinental Group/Priority Club (Holiday Inn, HIE, Candlewood, Staybridge, etc.) on the new list. They were on the RR1.0. Is this an oversight or will PC not be participating in the new program?

curbcrusher

No details, yet. This estimate came in response to a question during yesterday's webinar. Ryan Green of SWA said that international redemptions will be priced similar to domestic Anytime redemptions which are 100 points/dollar.

Boraxo

Well we all knew this was coming but that doesn't make it any less painful.

My initial take is that there will be some pluses and minuses, as may no doubt be true for many.

On the minus side, the value of RR for my short haul flights will see a huge devaluation.

Example #1:

16 low-fare one-ways @ $59 = $944 spend x 6 points = 5664 RR points

Under RR 1.0, I'd receive a RR ticket that I could generally leverage for a $200-300 ticket (just used one to book a trip that would have cost $350).

Under RR 2.0, 5664 RR points only generates $94 in reward airfare Conclusion: Low value short-haul travelers get shafted by RR 2.0

On the plus side:
(1) I won't have to worry about expiration of credit for my dependents, who often accumulate only 2-4 RR credits per year.
Example #2

Mrs. B + 2 children fly 2 roundtrips at total cost of $500 total per person. Under RR 1.0 all credits continuously expire and therefore effectively = $0.
Under RR 2.0, each person receives $500 x 6 pts = 3000 points. The value of these points (which will never expire) is 3000/60 = $50.

Conclusion: Infrequent travelers will be far happier with RR 2.0

(2) I will be well compensated for occasional business travel and high priced leisure tickets.
Example #3

A roundtrip ticket for a typical domestic business trip (infrequent as most of my trips are international) runs $1000 on WN, slightly more on the competition.

Under RR 1.0, I was heavily disincentivized from using WN as I would only receive 2 RR credits which I valued at around $30-40 total v. 8000 miles on competing legacy carrier (includes 100% elite bonus) plus EQM and potential upgrade to F.

Under RR 2.0, I will receive 10k points (anytime fare) = $166 RR credit, which is roughly equivalent to 8 RR credits.

Conclusion: I will have a tough choice between my legacy EQMs and RR 2.0 for business travel, but maybe lean towards WN.

One final note: The credit card program was always disappointing (beyond the initial bonus) and remain so under RR 2.0. However WN always has the opportunity to easily tweak this with bonus offers, etc.

ElmhurstNick

I ran the math this morning using their calculator. Excluding promos (which I'm sure they'll still run in the new scheme), I would have earned $640 worth of RR2 credit in 2010 using the new scheme, compared to 46 credits under RR1. So my credits were worth $14 each in the new scheme, compared to my actual redemption range of $16-$22/credit, for a roughly 30% devaluation.

But compared to a legacy carrier... on United or American (my non-stop options on Chicago), I would have had 34 segments between work and leisure and about 20k base points. Only two paid segments would have been barely greater than 1000 miles, a half dozen were in the 700-900 mile range, and the rest were all 350-600 miles and would have relegated to 50-seat regional jets.

So while I'm not thrilled - mostly not thrilled about not being able to change fiddle with my return flight time on an award at the last minute - I can now qualify for A-List with only 25 paid flights and be pretty much guaranteed my seat 17D the entire year. Instead of redeeming for MDW-SEA/PDX/SAN/LAS, I'll use them for traveling companions on shorter vacation trips.

My main intrigue now is with the new 50 trip plateau. Right now, I've flown 30-35 flights on WN each of the last three years. Getting to 50 might be tough, but a 15*$59 = $900 investment would earn me a 75% bonus in points for 2012.

bon95

Not a mistake. Ending their affiliation on 2/24/11. Which is why I'm now taking my business to HHonors.