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Post by brp on Oct 16, 2023 10:22:22 GMT -5
Just got an email with changes:
The most interesting for us, even though we don't fly them much, is using cash + points to book.
Cheers.
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Post by fuzzylogic on Oct 16, 2023 11:44:33 GMT -5
Neat. There's some cool stuff in there. "Cash and points" is not going to be useful to me but a path to A-List preferred a little easier is nice.
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 16, 2023 14:57:46 GMT -5
Unlike the other point programs, SWA seems to be "mostly" making theirs better.
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Post by brp on Oct 16, 2023 20:07:43 GMT -5
Unlike the other point programs, SWA seems to be "mostly" making theirs better. Compared to the non-LCC carriers, WN have a minuscule points program, so there is not much to change compared to the major carriers. In keeping, these changes are also very small, although more positive than not. But there is scant little for them to tweak.
of course, there’s something to be said for simplicity.
Cheers.
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 17, 2023 8:21:04 GMT -5
Unlike the other point programs, SWA seems to be "mostly" making theirs better. Compared to the non-LCC carriers, WN have a minuscule points program, so there is not much to change compared to the major carriers. In keeping, these changes are also very small, although more positive than not. But there is scant little for them to tweak.
of course, there’s something to be said for simplicity.
Cheers.
When US Airways was around, they were my Airline of choice. They were also my Airline of choice for air travel rewards. After they got bought by American and their reward programs merged, my status and rewards became so devalued and near impossible to obtain. The same thing happened with Starwood. Their reward and status program was the best. But since the Marriott purchase and merger of systems, their rewards program is horrible.....not even worth my time and effort. |
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Post by helenabear on Oct 17, 2023 12:55:19 GMT -5
Compared to the non-LCC carriers, WN have a minuscule points program, so there is not much to change compared to the major carriers. In keeping, these changes are also very small, although more positive than not. But there is scant little for them to tweak.
of course, there’s something to be said for simplicity.
Cheers. When US Airways was around, they were my Airline of choice. They were also my Airline of choice for air travel rewards. After they got bought by American and their reward programs merged, my status and rewards became so devalued and near impossible to obtain. The same thing happened with Starwood. Their reward and status program was the best. But since the Marriott purchase and merger of systems, their rewards program is horrible.....not even worth my time and effort. We were US Airways people as well. Same thing happened. Also true for Starwood. I don't even bother with Marriott now. |
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Post by Wiltony on Oct 17, 2023 13:05:07 GMT -5
I'm actually a little reserved on the easier-to-gain A-list status. I used to work hard to get A-list status, but last year as a result of the Christmas debacle, it seemed like Southwest granted A-list left-and-right to pretty much everyone who had any issues. With so many people on it, it's usefulness was heavily diluted and it made me mad that I had worked so hard for it. I'm way less motivated to "try" to get it now.
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 17, 2023 13:27:30 GMT -5
When US Airways was around, they were my Airline of choice. They were also my Airline of choice for air travel rewards. After they got bought by American and their reward programs merged, my status and rewards became so devalued and near impossible to obtain. The same thing happened with Starwood. Their reward and status program was the best. But since the Marriott purchase and merger of systems, their rewards program is horrible.....not even worth my time and effort. We were US Airways people as well. Same thing happened. Also true for Starwood. I don't even bother with Marriott now. I recently found out that I am currently Titanium Elite Level with Marriott, but that does not get me anything. Must be some legacy carry-over from the merger. |
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Post by brp on Oct 17, 2023 16:47:35 GMT -5
We were US Airways people as well. Same thing happened. Also true for Starwood. I don't even bother with Marriott now. I recently found out that I am currently Titanium Elite Level with Marriott, but that does not get me anything. Must be some legacy carry-over from the merger. Actually, Titanium level does get you some good stuff. We're merely Platinum and that already has value. Titanium is higher.
We get: very nice upgrades, lounge access (when they have one), full breakfast if not. And late checkout, up to 4PM.
For hotels, Hyatt is far and away the best for top-tier status in terms of benefits.
We have done very well with AA for treatment, but YMMV.
Southwest has so little to offer that we don't even bother. Maybe boarding a few spots earlier.
Cheers.
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 18, 2023 8:29:35 GMT -5
I recently found out that I am currently Titanium Elite Level with Marriott, but that does not get me anything. Must be some legacy carry-over from the merger. Actually, Titanium level does get you some good stuff. We're merely Platinum and that already has value. Titanium is higher.
We get: very nice upgrades, lounge access (when they have one), full breakfast if not. And late checkout, up to 4PM.
For hotels, Hyatt is far and away the best for top-tier status in terms of benefits.
Southwest has so little to offer that we don't even bother. Maybe boarding a few spots earlier.
I guess I need to recheck my benefits. We really don't have many hotel stays the past few years. When we stayed in Seattle for our Alaska trip, we did get all those benefits, except the lounge.
And I agree with Hyatt loyalty is the best.
SWA does not offer lounge access and such like the legacy carriers. What the loyalty program gets us is free airfare. Lot and lots of free airfare since 2006.
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Post by BWV Dreamin on Oct 18, 2023 9:38:50 GMT -5
I think the cash and points option will work great for us as we rarely get enough points for a full fare. Will test this out next spring.
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 19, 2023 7:53:03 GMT -5
I think the cash and points option will work great for us as we rarely get enough points for a full fare. Will test this out next spring. You have to play the credit card reward game to maximize the points.
With the card I got in August, I am going to receive 90,000 free points over the first 3 months.
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Post by fuzzylogic on Oct 24, 2023 8:48:10 GMT -5
The same thing happened with Starwood. Their reward and status program was the best. But since the Marriott purchase and merger of systems, their rewards program is horrible.....not even worth my time and effort. In case anyone doesn't know the history here... When Marriott merged with Starwood, Starwood hotels went up to the point-cost of a Marriott hotel... from ~8,000 points to ~24,000 points per night. Approx 3x. As part of the merger, Marriott gave existing members 3x Marriott points for their Starwood points. That was fine. It was an equal deal. Thing is now you earn 2x per dollar. Given the 3x cost and 2x earn, you're acquiring rooms at 2/3 the rate you used to. That part sucks. I've found I still like them tho since they have a card that gets you 4x on grocery. Earning 4x at Marriott (really 4/3) is better than the same spend on another card. Chase Ink also runs promos to transfer Ultimate Rewards points... sometimes giving +50% to Marriott. Transferring to Marriott at 1:1 would be terrible but at +50% it's a good deal. And you get a free night worth 50K every year and 5th night free on all points-stays. These are the perks that justify the $250 annual fee to me. |
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Post by dlwdwdvc on Oct 25, 2023 1:45:22 GMT -5
The only rewards program I continue to be loyal to would be Starbucks because they actually remember me on my birthday with a free whatever my heart desires day.
How many SouthWest Reward Members remember receiving a yearly birthday card and actually kept them all because they were so creative ? Do you LUV Southwest too ?
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Post by BWV Dreamin on Oct 25, 2023 6:45:17 GMT -5
The same thing happened with Starwood. Their reward and status program was the best. But since the Marriott purchase and merger of systems, their rewards program is horrible.....not even worth my time and effort. In case anyone doesn't know the history here... When Marriott merged with Starwood, Starwood hotels went up to the point-cost of a Marriott hotel... from ~8,000 points to ~24,000 points per night. Approx 3x. As part of the merger, Marriott gave existing members 3x Marriott points for their Starwood points. That was fine. It was an equal deal. Thing is now you earn 2x per dollar. Given the 3x cost and 2x earn, you're acquiring rooms at 2/3 the rate you used to. That part sucks. I've found I still like them tho since they have a card that gets you 4x on grocery. Earning 4x at Marriott (really 4/3) is better than the same spend on another card. Chase Ink also runs promos to transfer Ultimate Rewards points... sometimes giving +50% to Marriott. Transferring to Marriott at 1:1 would be terrible but at +50% it's a good deal. And you get a free night worth 50K every year and 5th night free on all points-stays. These are the perks that justify the $250 annual fee to me. Do use the Chase Ultimate rewards? I haven’t used them for hotel rooms because so far they are not any cheaper than booking direct. I don’t have enough points accumulated to use the points instead of cash. They act like a travel agent, so what ever I need to do as far as airlines, hotels I need to go through them to book and modify. |
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