ksdavis

OK, so right off the bat: I know no one out there knows the answer to this, except maybe SWABrian, and I know he can't provide assurances on this until after the deed is done. :-) But I find myself wondering about the A-List Preferred qualification plan, for a very specific situation I'm in.

The speculation has been that for its one-time qualification sweep for A-List Preferred, WN will look at qualification eligibility for both the 1/1/10-12/31/10 and the 3/1/10-2/28/11 periods, with 50 flights in either qualifying for the bump.

Under the first method, I don't qualify -- would be in the range 32 < x < 50.

Under the second method, I will have 48 flight segments for the 12 months ending as of 2/27. But, of course, that's nestled right up against the deadline.

I don't think my work schedule will accommodate taking off work for a mileage run before the deadline... nor do I want, really, to shell out the bucks for a R/T ticket just to hit 50. And this weekend and next are already booked with travel contributing towards the 48 segments.

A decent chunk of my travel has been Business Select in the past year, so I figure I might make it if that factored in.

Again, I know there's no one right answer to this, and really, if I wanted to dim the uncertainty I'd just take a day off work and do a day-trip to Philly for $200. Still, what would y'all do?

(FWIW: hitting A-List Preferred in the one-time qualification seems like a good idea for me, since I expect to travel a great deal in the next few months -- and many of those will be Anytime/BS fares, so the bonus tier points will help a lot towards future re-qualification and earning.)

expert7700

Although Southwest has not officially written this into the rules, I have strong reason to belive that the way to pre-qualify is to have 50+ paid, credit-earning segments from 3/1/10-2/28/11.

Afterwards, if you miss this sweep, you can still qualify but the new qualification period ongoing will be calendar year, so 50+ paid, credit earning segments from 1/1/11-12/31/11

Since the real risk here is that your flights from 2010 may/will never qualify towards a list perfered after this one time event on 3/1, I say HECK YEAH you want to do a $200 mileage run with one day off of work. I've spent at least 3x that money taking the necessary flights. I missed the superbowl party at home because I was flying, etc.

jrpaguia

+1,000,000

Enjoy the PHL cheese steaks.

tusphotog

Why do you think this? Wouldn't it make sense to make it 1/1/10-12/31/10?

Regardless, I'd do a quick trip to PHL. I don't know what route you're flying, but you could probably do a quick turn. I've done TUS-SAN-TUS and TUS-ABQ-TUS before when I need to top credits off. Usually I'm gone 3-4 hours.

nsx

Phone RR on March 1 to check your Preferred Status, then write a letter if necessary with history printout requesting a manual elevation of your status.

ksdavis

Thanks, all, for the advice. On reflection, I think you're right, especially with really good prices RDU-PHL for the last day of the month. Looks like cheesestakes it'll be. (Could actually use a day off anyway, come to think of it.)

ftnoob

How much BS since January 1? It only takes $5,833 of BS tickets per year to make A+. Be sure to run the number to see how soon you'll be A+ even without the credit run. It would be kind of waste if it's only going to make a difference of a few weeks/flights.

mile ho

I would do the credit run without a doubt. If he can achieve A+ with segments then it'll only take half the 5833 in BS for next year. That's my strategy, too. Must achieve A+ this year and spend 2800 in BS next year to keep the ball rolling (2800 gets A+ and over 65% CP). If he only needs two credits, man that seems like a steal. Especially since I'm writing this now having done 8 - yes I said 8 - segments today.

ftnoob

We love points on FT, but do we love them enough to lose money earning them?

Suppose his first scheduled flight after 28-Feb is a $500 BS flight that puts him over 70,000 TQP for 2011. The difference between A and A+ earnings on that flight would be 4,500 points (12,000 as A+; 7,500 as A), worth $75. So he takes a vacation day and spends $200 to maybe/maybe not get A+ one flight sooner, and earns $75 of points out of it. Why is that something you would do without a doubt?

For purposes of this calculation, the OP should not that all WGA and Anytime flights taken in January and February of this year earn slightly more TQP than the same flights would earn beginning March 1. That is because the excise tax earns TQP at 12 points per mile instead of the rate for the fare class purchased.

ftnoob

There seems to be a serious flaw in your strategy. Bonus points are not TQP. $2,800 of BS spending earns 33,600 TQP whether you are peon, A, or A+.

mile ho

Thanks for pointing that out. You are probably right though I'm not sure just yet. Am seeking clarification from CS as the website does say that revenue flights earn TQPs but doesn't really completely clarify how many per. I read the part where it says bonus points to mean for other purchases such as rental cars, because it also says that TQPs come from revenue flights. There is enough ambiguity that I - if I did - might have actually misread it.

I don't think they did a very good job with their roll-out on clarity. Could have had a whole section that clearly states exactly how TQP's are earned. Seems important enough to me.

mile ho

Just got off the phone with WN Customer Service. Spoke with Cindy. She said that if I'm A+ I'll be earning 24 TQPs per dollar on BS fares.

I've also sent an email asking for written clarification so we'll see. I've gotten different answers from different people on other issues. This whole thing was poorly thought out.

As a side note... I'm dreading March 1. As bad as their website is I cannot imagine that this transition is going to go smoothly.

mile ho

First of all, that's an awfully big supposition. Has he spent 5500 yet this year in BS fares? I'm guessing not. 5500.00 in the first two months would project out to $33,000 BS spend annually in which case he doesn't need to ask us any questions at all. Suppose then that he's only spent 1000 in BS fares this year. Let's also suppose that one does earn 24 TPQs per dollar if he's A+. That changes the whole ballgame and makes achieving A+ for a segment run profitable. If he were able to acheive A+ now, he could save a considerable amount of money by not buying additional BS fares. That's why I said I would do it.

Granted, if you're right about the static number of TQPs earned per BS dollar then you're right. But that's not how I read it and neither did Cindy at WN Customer Service.

ksdavis

Thanks, all, for the advice. Mile Ho and ftnoob, I'm gambling that the A+ 100% bonus will apply to tier qualification, though no matter what WN says or doesn't say, I won't believe a thing until the new Southwest web site tells me something 3/1.

I should add that while I'm flying every weekend right now, my travel level could dip precipitously anytime in the next few weeks or months, and I'm not convinced I'll make A+ if I don't make it through 50 segments.

Will be curious to see exactly how TQP works. Thanks for the advice guys!

expert7700

<edited email to remove parts that ftnoob pointed out as incorrect> :->

I agree you did good by asking for written confirmation, because if it doesn't go according to plan, writing to complain that "cindy from a call center" gave you bad info on the phone will likely only get you a written letter apologizing for the mis interpretation and refering you to re-read the official rules.

3/1 will be an interesting day: Even if the rules say one thing, the CS reps say one thing, it all boils down to how the Southwest.com web programmers interpreted it when they were writing the code.