Fighting for status match
 

Hi everyone. Matched on Jan 19. Rebooked all my flight and completed 3RT/6OW on April 5. Emailed southwest back and forth and finally got this concrete response todayWe appreciate your efforts to collect the required documentation for the Southwest status match promotion. A review of your account and documentation indicates you did not meet the qualification requirements for this promotion due to the following reason:



·Previous A-List Promotional Status – According to our records, you obtained promotional A-List status in the past 12 months, from 01/19/2023 to 4/30/2023. According to the terms and conditions of this promotion, “This promotion to extend A-List promotional status for 12 months is available to you if you have not received promotional A-List status in any other promotion in the last 12 months or participated in any other status match promotion in the last 12 months.”



Although you do not qualify for this promotion, please know we appreciate your loyalty and look forward to seeing you on a Southwest® flight soon.

I’m honestly in disbelief so asking for advice on how to approach this. I have a few upcoming flights booked with southwest that I will cancel if I can’t get the A list because I’m relying on the same day change..

I’ve called, emailed status match email, and emailed through contact form, but I just don’t understand how they are saying that I can’t be eligible because of the promotion when that is literally the promotion… any help appreciated!

original march email is belowCongratulations! You entered our exclusive Southwest status match promotion and have now officially qualified to earn promotional Rapid Rewards® A-List for 90 days from today.

Extend your new A-List status for 12 months by booking and flying three round trip revenue flights (or six one-way revenue flights) within 90 days of today. Please note that any previously booked reservations will not qualify towards the promotion.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon!

Have you received a status match or any other status promotion in the past year or so?

Or EVER gotten a status match before?

never ever. They haven’t responded to me email yet either. Could it possibly be because I technically had 4 one ways and 1 round trip? I only booked the last one as a RT because I just booked a turn and wanted to be protected in case of delay, sure enough it was delayed 2 hours and had to get rebooked. But if it was because of that, it would be weird they are telling me I can’t get the status because I already have it…

I usually have much better luck contacting the social media folks on twitter when I need help.

Did you get this resolved?

I'm in a similar boat. Got the status match email on Feb 7. Rebooked two flights. Booked one more.

My account still says "A-List through 5/31/23"

I contacted customer service on the site and they responded saying I hadn't met the requirements.

I then called customer service and they said they don't even see that I'm registered for the status match promotion. They said they'd escalate it and someone would get back to me.

I just sent an email to the status match email address. Did you try that? [email protected]

OMG. Apparently that's the problem. I got a reply saying that I didn't qualify because I booked four one ways and one round trip.

I asked if they can be flexible on this. If not, this is terrible customer service. Truly disappointing.

Their annual A-List qualification is 25 "flights"

It makes no sense to have a distinction between round trips and one ways when it comes to status matching.

that is so totally wrong. I am usually all in support of WN - but this is wrong.

Flights are flights are flights.

Yeah, it's unbelievable. Here's the email from the status match group:

After looking at your flight history we found you completed four one ways and 1 round trip. In order to extend the status match promotion you must complete six one way revenue flights or three rounds trips. I attached the flights with their confirmation numbers below.

That's plane nuts. I find it hard to believe that any rational software developer would program it so literally. Doing so would require extra effort to count the round trips and one ways separately.

What did the terms and conditions of the offer say?

don't have the full terms of either promo, but at least as recently as late 2021, SWAVictor expressly confirmed that the phrasing, "Simply fly two qualifying round trips or four qualifying one-way flights between 8/19 and 11/19/2021 to keep your A-List Preferred benefits through December 31, 2022" is only to ensure that you have the correct total number of segments, mixing and matching was fine:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2725d62ebc.png


That doesn't sound fundamentally different from, "Extend your new A-List status for 12 months by booking and flying three round trip revenue flights (or six one-way revenue flights) within 90 days of today." If this is a change in policy, Southwest ought to own up and admit that they are now using the same basic phrasing differently.

Edit: to include the link to the thread from that screenshot: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards/2053825-keeping-list-preferred-perks-promo.html

"Extend your new A-List for 12 months by booking and flying three round trip revenue flights (or six one-way revenue flights) within 90 days of today." That was on the email confirm of my current status match request. With WN, I never book round trips and have always booked one way segments, but I would have assumed the wording had meant that a combination of round trips and one ways would've fulfilled the requirements of the match, not literally either 3 RTs *OR* 6 one ways.

This really pi$$es me off.

Big time.

Probably a big warning to avoid any future promotions as somebody in their marketing group is on a power trip or something.

i would escalate this thing as many ways as possible. You did what they wanted.

Is there a way to escalate?

I replied to the status match email address asking them to be flexible.

Not sure what else to do.

Perhaps mail paper and include post #11 above to the SVP of Marketing in Dallas, carbon the email address. Send the link to here as well

Such an odd thing to take a stand on, definitely a power trip by whomever answers the emails, there is no cost to mint more A Listers, just more funny money.