A big advantage of reward redemption Vs Revenue tickets
Nov 14, 2019, 9:07 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: New York City, United States.
Posts: 2,629
A big advantage of reward redemption Vs Revenue tickets
I am a very infrequent flyer on SW. I have no elite status and never did. My recollection is that prior when redeeming points, the flight cpould be cancelled by me ( prior to departure) and simply redeposited back into my Rapid rewards account.
Is this still the rule. No penalty, , no catch and full flexiability on redepositing points from cancelled flighrs?
If so the 35% bonus does not look like that bad a deal.
( of course its their ballpark and they can unilaterally change the rules at any time)
Interesting purchase is 60,000 points per day .
Does not seem to be a limit on even non-elite purchases.
Is the program stable. Do others see a devaluation coming?
Thank you for your time and patience
Is this still the rule. No penalty, , no catch and full flexiability on redepositing points from cancelled flighrs?
If so the 35% bonus does not look like that bad a deal.
( of course its their ballpark and they can unilaterally change the rules at any time)
Interesting purchase is 60,000 points per day .
Does not seem to be a limit on even non-elite purchases.
Is the program stable. Do others see a devaluation coming?
Thank you for your time and patience
Nov 14, 2019, 11:31 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: WN F9 HA UA AA IHG HH MR
Posts: 3,305
I am a very infrequent flyer on SW. I have no elite status and never did. My recollection is that prior when redeeming points, the flight cpould be cancelled by me ( prior to departure) and simply redeposited back into my Rapid rewards account. Is this still the rule. No penalty, , no catch and full flexiability on redepositing points from cancelled flighrs? If so the 35% bonus does not look like that bad a deal.
Nov 15, 2019, 5:52 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: ORD, MDW or MKE
Programs: American and Southwest. Hilton and Marriott hotels primarily.
Posts: 6,462
.You are correct, but remember that the $5.60 tax that you pay with a credit card ( you cannot pay that with points ) will only come back as travel funds good for 1 year from the date of purchase.
Nov 15, 2019, 6:06 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: ATL
Posts: 1,924
And technically, you don't even need to cancel the flight; no-show on points gets the points automatically redeposited to your account
Nov 15, 2019, 7:39 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Nashville -Past DL Plat, FO, WN-CP, various hotel programs
Programs: DL-MM, AA, SW w/companion,HiltonDiamond, Hyatt PLat, IHF Plat, Miles and Points Seeker
Posts: 11,073
I always have the $5.60 refunded to my credit card - not to travel funds.
Though WN currently will cancel and refund points for you - not cancelling yourself is totally wrong. By not cancelling, WN can not sell that flight, and they keep expecting the flyer to show up.
Though WN currently will cancel and refund points for you - not cancelling yourself is totally wrong. By not cancelling, WN can not sell that flight, and they keep expecting the flyer to show up.
Nov 15, 2019, 7:51 am
#8
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 595
This is incorrect. I get the $5.60 refunded to my credit card all the time. No need for travel funds.
Nov 15, 2019, 8:27 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 1,413
Back to the OP's point -- this is why the value of a RR point is difficult to quantify. While 1.4 cents is a good approximation of the value one gets by simply looking at the money being saved over purchasing the ticket with a credit card, I think the real value is a fair amount higher because it permits me to make reservations that I'm not sure I'm going to use and then simply cancel when I make a final decision even if that's at the very last minute. There's no other airline that does this that I'm aware of, and I use this flexibility frequently.
Nov 15, 2019, 10:20 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Chicagoland, IL, USA
Programs: WN CP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,192
Back to the OP's point -- this is why the value of a RR point is difficult to quantify. While 1.4 cents is a good approximation of the value one gets by simply looking at the money being saved over purchasing the ticket with a credit card, I think the real value is a fair amount higher because it permits me to make reservations that I'm not sure I'm going to use and then simply cancel when I make a final decision even if that's at the very last minute. There's no other airline that does this that I'm aware of, and I use this flexibility frequently.
Which is why almost all my points/miles bookings are on WN or BA. Highly underrated benefit IMO for people w/o status especially.
The frequent 40% bonus transferring Amex MR to Avios helps also.
Nov 15, 2019, 10:46 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Peoria
Programs: Southwest, Best Western Gold, La Quinta, Dollar
Posts: 819
This indeed. I only pay actual money for flights which I know I'm not going to cancel no matter what.
Nov 15, 2019, 11:43 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Nashville -Past DL Plat, FO, WN-CP, various hotel programs
Programs: DL-MM, AA, SW w/companion,HiltonDiamond, Hyatt PLat, IHF Plat, Miles and Points Seeker
Posts: 11,073
Nov 15, 2019, 2:28 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: New York City, United States.
Posts: 2,629
Is 35% good historically , or have better bonuses been offered
I think the the bonus are not offer with high frequency cause I tend to look periodicly , I am concerned about a devaluation because there seems to be no limit on points purchased , even for non elite.
Nov 15, 2019, 8:24 pm
#15
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,286
You are correct, when you cancel a reward ticket on WN, the RR points go back to your account with no fees. They are worth around 1.4¢ per point. Who knows if there will be a devaluation, but its unlikely since the points required for a ticket are closely tied to the cash price. The flexibility of making changes or cancellations without penalty definitely adds value.
It seems the OP is really asking about the advisability of buying points. Even with the 35% bonus offer, you're still paying more for points than their value. Full refundability has a value, but only the OP can know if it's worth it to them.