This morning an email sent from Gary, Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, announced many customer-friendly adjustments to their program.
Not only is Southwest extending tier status and making it easier to earn, but they’re also extending companion pass, and making adjustments to vouchers. Let’s dive into the details one-by-one…
SWA A-List Status Extended
All current Southwest A-List and A-List Preferred members will have status extended through 31 December 2021 (a 12-month extension).
SWA Companion Pass Extended
All current Southwest Companion Pass memberships are now extended through 30 June 2021 (a 6-month extension).
Note: I’ve written about the SWA companion pass several times, used it to take my family to Hawaii, and consider it to be one of the best deals in travel. I think this extension is fair given we are just a few months into 2020 but wound’t be surprised to see this extended.
Earning SWA Status is Easier
If you don’t have any status, SWA is offering a “boost” of:
- 15,000 qualifying points and 10 flight credits towards A-List and A-List Preferred
- 25,000 qualifying points and 25 flight credits towards Companion Pass
In other words, you would be, at least, 40% closer to having A-List status (which normally requires 35,000 points or 40 flights) or, at least, 20% of the way to Companion Pass (which normally requires 125,000 or 100 flights).
SWA Extends Travel Funds
Southwest is extending the validity of travel funds that have expired or would have expired. This applies to funds that:
- Would have expired between 1 March and 30 June 2020
- Were created because of a cancellation between 1 March and 30 June 2020, and had an expiration of 30 June 2021
These funds will now have an expiration date of 7 September 2022…yes, two years from now! That’s outstanding!!
Convert SWA Credits Into SWA Points
I think this is an extremely unique extension as not only will Southwest be extending travel funds (as mentioned above), but member can also convert travel funds into Rapid Rewards points:
- This will be valid for funds created between 1 March and 7 September 2020
- Funds can be converted into points at the same rate you would be able to purchase tickets with points today, which should be 76-78 points per dollar
It’s worth noting that the IT required for this has not been rolled out so you’ll need to be patient if this interest you.
FINAL STAMP
Personally, I think SWA is being more than generous on all of these extensions.
For example, I’ve had the Southwest Companion pass for nearly two year and it will be further extended so I have it for at least 2.5 years (…if not more). I could be wrong but I don’t think anyone can complain about these developments.
A-List status is being extended, Companion Pass is being extended, if you don’t have status, they are making it easier to do so, travel vouchers are being extended, and taking it a step further, vouchers can even be converted into Rapid Rewards points.
Well done SWA…well done!
What do you think about these developments from SWA?
1TattedPassport 