BEWARE: Southwest will steal your points !

Old Mar 22, 2019, 10:25 am
  #61  
 
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In my experience, FlyerTalk is a snarky forum of know-it-alls so you won't get any sympathy here.

I would try emailing Southwest if calling didn't work. They might try to make it up to you. I had an agent refuse to help me over expiring points and she eventually just hung up the phone on me. So I got pissed, emailed Southwest and told them I had canceled my Southwest rewards card and I won't be back. I got a response reimbursing me the rewards points. Granted, in my case it was only around $100. In your case, at $3000, the bar might be higher for someone to help you and you might never get that full amount.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 12:41 pm
  #62  
 
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Originally Posted by oreocookies
In my experience, FlyerTalk is a snarky forum of know-it-alls so you won't get any sympathy here.
On a related note, BEWARE!! Walgreens steals your medicines!!!!

If you allow them to expire.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 12:48 pm
  #63  
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Originally Posted by oreocookies
In my experience, FlyerTalk is a snarky forum of know-it-alls so you won't get any sympathy here.
Some truth here... I see FT as a fairly useful board,
because along the way some useful tips were given to help others avoid what happened to the OP. Even, like your contribution, some even give suggestions for remediation.
Posters making themselves feel better by slagging someone else's mistake are simply noise.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 1:46 pm
  #64  
 
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Originally Posted by Blitzjb
Does anyone fly Frontier more than once?
Some people are gluttons for punishment. Like some of my family members. A couple still use F9 even after:
  • One being stranded at MCO for potentially 3 days and having to rebook on DL
  • One being stranded at CLE for potentially 2 days and having to rebook on AA
  • One having their flight cancelled while awaiting boarding and having to rebook on WN
All eventually got (most of) their rebooking fares refunded, but the last one took almost 9 months and only after getting the DOT involved. And all of them called on me, Mr. FF, to help bail them out of their situations, get them on alternate flights, and then navigate the refund process. Ain't family great?
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 1:48 pm
  #65  
 
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Originally Posted by spongenotbob


On a related note, BEWARE!! Walgreens steals your medicines!!!!

If you allow them to expire.
Walgreens is (or are?) a stickler. There is NO leeway with their prescription rules.

Just don't get me started on how everything else in the store is triple what is down the street at the regular grocery store.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 3:21 pm
  #66  
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Originally Posted by rickg523
Posters making themselves feel better by slagging someone else's mistake are simply noise.
For what it's worth, virtually everyone here has made costly mistakes in traveling or accumulating or using miles and points. Most people learn the hard way. Some of us would prefer that everyone else suffer from their mistakes in the same way. It's a low-grade sadism of the type you see in the left lane at 55 mph.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 4:26 pm
  #67  
 
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Originally Posted by nsx
For what it's worth, virtually everyone here has made costly mistakes in traveling or accumulating or using miles and points. Most people learn the hard way. Some of us would prefer that everyone else suffer from their mistakes in the same way. It's a low-grade sadism of the type you see in the left lane at 55 mph.
And then on top of that you have the collective mob mentality.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 5:43 pm
  #68  
 
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Originally Posted by Bluesman62
Some people are gluttons for punishment. Like some of my family members. A couple still use F9 even after:
  • One being stranded at MCO for potentially 3 days and having to rebook on DL
  • One being stranded at CLE for potentially 2 days and having to rebook on AA
  • One having their flight cancelled while awaiting boarding and having to rebook on WN
All eventually got (most of) their rebooking fares refunded, but the last one took almost 9 months and only after getting the DOT involved. And all of them called on me, Mr. FF, to help bail them out of their situations, get them on alternate flights, and then navigate the refund process. Ain't family great?
Wow. I always book my backup on WN when I book Frontier, Spirit, or Allegiant I save a lot of money on confirmed trips this way, and haven't actually been bitten. I'm having a really hard time understanding how someone who doesn't fly frequently can possibly handle the stress after it's gone wrong for them in the past. I guess they didn't stress, they just hand it off to you =/
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 6:49 pm
  #69  
 
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(Way off topic): Southwest has stranded me for multiple days more than once, requiring me to book on another carrier in order to get home. Frontier hasn't. Yes, Southwest's overall cancellation numbers are better than Frontier's, but I've found specific city pairs have a huge bearing on your individual experience. And Southwest may have more flights to your destination than Frontier, but that doesn't really help much when they're all booked for days because of IROPS. I still fly Southwest. Obviously, YMMV.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 7:23 pm
  #70  
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Although I expect OP to get nothing, how many points did the OP help the community save as a result of this thread? Likely more than the points lost by the OP by now.

How much more money did this thread cost Southwest vs. if they just paid him off and reinstated points?

This is the reason why if Southwest were smart, they would have done the Herb-like thing and gave his points back. I don't think giving any big fish his points back is an act of generosity because this thread probably cost Southwest a lot more money and goodwill. Keeping Southwest's many customer unfriendly policies secret is much more important.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 8:08 pm
  #71  
 
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Originally Posted by jmw
This is the reason why if Southwest were smart, they would have done the Herb-like thing and gave his points back. I don't think giving any big fish his points back is an act of generosity because this thread probably cost Southwest a lot more money and goodwill. Keeping Southwest's many customer unfriendly policies secret is much more important.
A "company unfriendly policy" requires inertia. Having points disappear w/o notice wasn't brainstormed by 3 VPs at a company retreat. Nobody foresaw a grievance, so no one wrote expiration alerts into the software.



.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 9:22 pm
  #72  
 
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Originally Posted by jmw
because this thread probably cost Southwest a lot more money and goodwill.
?!

... people really overestimate their individual worth against a F500 company. I blame social media and the stupid "proactive apology culture" it's created for that.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 9:37 pm
  #73  
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Why is it remotely WN's job to tell adults what they are supposed to be able to do, e.g. calendar deadlines.

Real life doesn't work that way.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 10:03 pm
  #74  
 
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Originally Posted by Often1
Why is it remotely WN's job to tell adults what they are supposed to be able to do, e.g. calendar deadlines.

Real life doesn't work that way.
That's like saying if you forget your password, we'll never let you re-activate.

'Cause real life doesn't work that way. It's not WNs job to mollycoddle adults.

Never having your back should be a corporate adage.
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Old Mar 22, 2019, 10:39 pm
  #75  
 
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My state mails out a card when my drivers license is about to expire. It's in their interest to do that. Loyalty programs have more to gain keeping you in the loop.

For an airline that has a great reputation for customer servicethere is no policy for reinstating lost points. Alaska lets you re-instate all expired miles up to one year later for a very reasonable fee of $75. Southwest improbably overlooked the merits.
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