tusphotog

What about removing your RR number after you get your BP?

nsx

I had typed that and then deleted it. Too much PITA for me and for Southwest.

ftnoob

I don't expect to ever earn a CP, at least not the normal way, so I'm not well-versed in those rules. My impression, however, was that the CP (and awards in general) are earned based on activity dates. If I'm reading this correctly: then I don't see how this technique can be used (as proposed above) for CP; claiming back credit doesn't change activity dates.

The technique to defer award issuance works because the award expiration is based on award issuance date, while for all(?) earning purposes the activity date is what matters.

If your flights are bunched in such a way that a second CP qualification will occur while a first is active and you want to affect the timing of the issuance (and thus expiration) of the second CP, then perhaps you could make use of this technique--but I know too little about CP to work that one out. If this is what Backlund meant, then I apologize for misreading his suggestion.

ftn

Backlund

Just to clarify how CPs are issued as far as I understand it, they, like the A-list extensions, are consecutive, meaning once you have one, the next one is an extension. However, I don't think you can earn year 3 of your CP until after you've had a CP for one full year. I know I'm not being clear, so I'll try to use an example for people who fly A LOT.

Earn 100 credits=First CP
Next 100 credits=1 year extension as long as you do it within 12 months.
However, you can't start the counter on the next 100 until the first CP expires. So if you do more than 200 in 24 months, it may be valid, depending on how they define "earned." If earned equals flying, then my thought was a good way to spend a couple minutes at work. If earned is defined by when it enters their system, it may work.

However, I don't know if this is worth all this effort. I'm guessing VERY few of us fly enough for this to be a consideration.

ftnoob

OK, I didn't realize you were talking about a second extension, and didn't realize how the second extension works. I've now read it a couple times in the FAQ. I still come back to earning being based on activity dates, so I don't think it will work--but I reiterate that I have no experience in this area and my limited knowledge could be leading to erroneous conclusions.

There are a couple simple parallels of this technique that could be of use for a first CP. Say the flight that will earn your first CP is close to the end of April and you are concerned about "wasting" the first month of the CP. (But isn't that why it's good for 13 months in the first place?) You could withhold your RR number when flying at the end of April and put in a past credit request on the first of May. Assuming CP issuance works like single award ticket issuance, your CP would be good for 13 months starting May 1 instead of 13 months starting April 1. Or maybe it's not the end of the month that's an issue; you just know that you won't be able to make use of the CP for the first two months after it was earned, but you could sure use it during the 14th and 15th months and don't expect to requalify. Again you could delay, until the time of your choosing, letting Southwest know you had earned the credits that put you over the top.

ftn