Change To Rapid Rewards Program

[ngneer]

From the SWA website:

New Features to the Rapid Rewards Program
On August 10, 2005, Southwest Airlines announced changes to the Rapid Rewards program. Read on to learn more about them.

We’ve doubled your credit limit.
You asked and asked. Now you’ve got it. And we’re thrilled to give it to you.

As of August 10, 2005, all Rapid Rewards credits are valid for a full 24 months. That’s two solid years—instead of just 12 months—before any credits expire. So any credits you currently have in your account are now valid for an additional 12 months.

Think about it. The 24-month credit expiration makes it even easier to get Award travel. Get there faster by using our Preferred Partners. You’ve got 2 years to earn the 16 credits you need.

No Blackout Dates and Seat Restrictions on Award Travel
Beginning February 10, 2006, all Awards issued will have no systemwide blackout dates and will be subject to seat restrictions. Restricting the number of seats for Awards helps us maintain our low-fare leadership and keeps the program lucrative for you.

Please plan ahead when making your flight reservations as certain holiday or peak travel periods will be in high demand and your desired flight may not be available for Award travel.

Here are a few more things you should know
Awards issued before February 10, 2006 will have no seat restrictions, but are subject to published blackout dates.
Awards issued on or after February 10, 2006 will have seat restrictions, but no systemwide blackout dates. Members need to be flexible when choosing times and dates to their destinations as certain holiday or peak travel periods will be in high demand and that makes booking Award travel difficult.
Last-minute Award usage will still be allowed based on seat availability.
Awards are still valid for 12 months.
Receiving a Companion Pass still only requires 100 credits within in 12 months.
Companion travel will still have no seat restrictions or blackout dates
For more information, visit southwest.com or call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA® with any questions. We’re excited to bring you the changes you’ve been wanting in 24-month credit expiration and the elimination of systemwide blackout dates.

We hope to see you onboard soon!

 

[TheDog2004]

It's starting. Southwest is evolving into a 'network carrier'.

 

[JS]

Finally, maybe I can earn a free ticket on Southwest!

The people on FlyerTalk are going bananas, basically declaring war on WN. It's funny to watch people get personally offended by revenue management.

 

[WinslowFartsGASurkelMAN]

(deleted by moderator)

 

[mga707]

Finally, maybe I can earn a free ticket on Southwest!

The people on FlyerTalk are going bananas, basically declaring war on WN.  It's funny to watch people get personally offended by revenue management.

[post="287280"][/post]​

What a bunch of whiners (not you, JS--the FlyerTalk crybabies) . The good news (2 yrs 'til credit expiration, no blackout dates) far outweighs the not good (seat restrictions on some flights/dates). IMHO.
Finally earned this year's "freebie" this month, but I lost a few credits between May and July due to the one year credit expiration. Won't happen under the new rules. I like 'em!

 

[ClueByFour]

Capping reward inventory really does devalue one of the last "good" things about the RR program.

 

[corl737]

Capping reward inventory really does devalue one of the last "good" things about the RR program.

[post="287374"][/post]​

I didn't see the details. Did they say what the cap was? If they only allow 50% of a flight to be RR awards vs. the 100% availability now, is that really a limit?
:blink: :huh: :unsure:

 

[ClueByFour]

I didn't see the details. Did they say what the cap was? If they only allow 50% of a flight to be RR awards vs. the 100% availability now, is that really a limit?
:blink: :huh: :unsure:

[post="287377"][/post]​

5 wins 10 that it's dynamic, based on historical load trends. The same way everyone else does it (for the most part). Which used to be the major reason (in my mind) that made RR--it's not like the elite upgrades and clubs and whatnot exactly call me (or anyone else) to RR.

The idea of going--"Hey, let's to to LAS this weekend," however, did. My bold prediction that with markets like anywhere/LAS and the west coast shuttle type markets (ONT/SAN/LAX to SJC/OAK) that these suckers will be capped to death.

 

[I'mRayFlyMe]

It's starting. Southwest is evolving into a 'network carrier'.

[post="287254"][/post]​

Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?


You apparently have a lot of free time on your hands, judging by all the posts you've made here on the Southwest forum predicting "inevitable doom and gloom for SWA."

Hope you're not letting the world pass you by while you're waiting... SWA's Leadership is FAR more credible than that, buddy.

 

[luver41]

Not particularly happy about the change, but with oil at $65 per barrel, you've got to find money in every nook and cranny that you can.

 

[KCFlyer]

Not particularly happy about the change, but with oil at $65 per barrel, you've got to find money in every nook and cranny that you can.

[post="287433"][/post]​

I've always said that if Southwest began tightening restrictions on RR, the other airlines would soon follow. Right now, it might look to be a bit "customer unfriendly", but in the days of increasing costs, the "moneymaking" part of the programs (credit card and other partner alliances) are apparently not bringing in enough to justify the status quo. With other airlines bleeding cash, or scraping to get small profits, how long will they hold out before changes in those programs are implemented?

 

[JS]

I've always said that if Southwest began tightening restrictions on RR, the other airlines would soon follow. Right now, it might look to be a bit "customer unfriendly", but in the days of increasing costs, the "moneymaking" part of the programs (credit card and other partner alliances) are apparently not bringing in enough to justify the status quo. With other airlines bleeding cash, or scraping to get small profits, how long will they hold out before changes in those programs are implemented?

[post="287437"][/post]​

You have it backwards. The other airlines implemented capacity controls years ago.

 

[KCFlyer]

You have it backwards. The other airlines implemented capacity controls years ago.

[post="287458"][/post]​

Not really backwards...True, the other airlines implemented capacity controls years ago, but now, they are afraid to make any other kind of changes for fear of losing these "preferred" customers. If the move by SWA is a cost containment measure, then that blows a hole in the argument that FF programs are cash cows for the airlines. And if the SWA cash cow is showing some signs of decline, what are the other airlines programs doing? And if SWA is making changes that are rather dramatic in scope, I think that the other airlines will finally begin implementing more drastic changes than they have in the past.

 

[JS]

Not really backwards...True, the other airlines implemented capacity controls years ago, but now, they are afraid to make any other kind of changes for fear of losing these "preferred" customers. If the move by SWA is a cost containment measure, then that blows a hole in the argument that FF programs are cash cows for the airlines. And if the SWA cash cow is showing some signs of decline, what are the other airlines programs doing? And if SWA is making changes that are rather dramatic in scope, I think that the other airlines will finally begin implementing more drastic changes than they have in the past.

[post="287460"][/post]​

It's not cost, but rather a revenue drain. This is the reason for having capacity controls. When the other airlines were operating full flights to Hawaii with most people on the plane having paid $0, they thought, "Hmm... this doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe we should limit the number of seats we give to frequent flyers."

Since Southwest doesn't have any flights to Hawaii, the revenue drain of unrestricted RR seats isn't huge. But the revenue drain is there, and what Southwest is doing is trying to plug that drain (in light of rising fuel costs and the inevitable future increase in labor costs).

Just recently, Southwest started going after RR sales on eBay and through ticket brokers, because in that case, even if the RR seat doesn't turn away another revenue customer, the person who purchases a RR ticket should have been a revenue customer, but that money went into the pocket of an unscrupulous "customer" rather than Southwest. The other airlines have been going after ticket sellers for a while; Southwest is just catching up.

Domestic First Class cabins is another issue (i.e., is it worth it to even bother having one any more), but obviously that has nothing to do with Southwest since Southwest doesn't have a First Class.

 

[TheDog2004]

[quote name='I'mRayFlyMe' date='Aug 11 2005, 01:25 AM']Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?
You apparently have a lot of free time on your hands, judging by all the posts you've made here on the Southwest forum predicting "inevitable doom and gloom for SWA."

Hope you're not letting the world pass you by while you're waiting... SWA's Leadership is FAR more credible than that, buddy.

[post="287399"][/post]​

[/quote]

Easy there, pal. I'm just saying that Southwest has a lot of work to do if they want to continue to be the darling of the airline industry. One of the great benefits of their frequent flyer program was the fact that it had no capacity restrictions. This was something that made Southwest 'different' and really added value to being loyal to the airline. Now that it has been taken away, the question becomes why someone should remain so loyal to Southwest?

I'm interested to see how restrictive their capacity controls will be on rewards.

At the same time, this could be a necessary change if Southwest wants to evolve. RR in its current format would not have worked for many routes - especially Hawaii and the Caribbean. IMHO this was the only thing really keeping them out of those markets should any of them appear to be a profitable alternative.

Long term this could be a good thing for Southwest, but it also makes them more 'just like everyone else'. And that was my point.