Southwest sent out emails stating that “by the end of 2014 the two airlines will be fully integrated”. While of course deadlines can always get pushed, but I really do hope this is the case!
The email states Rapid Rewards will be the loyalty program moving forward, which I believe most of us already knew (or at least speculated). While you can already book domestic AirTran flights via Southwest, international flights to the Caribbean and Mexico are not yet available. This means that you currently cannot use Southwest points or the companion pass on those international flights. I am super excited for this option and hope that nothing changes once everything is fully integrated. Right now though, you can, however, transfer your Southwest points to AirTran and book an international flight via AirTran, but your companion pass will not be valid.
While I’ve sorta excepted the devaluation of Southwest points in March 2014, I really hope there are no other changes! I personally do love Southwest (yes, I know there are many out there that hate this airline), but the companion pass is an amazing asset to the loyalty program. We will actually be taking our first flight today with Baby Deals – 3 are flying for the price of 1!
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
We just flew using our Companion Pass earlier in the month. It was the last flight. We used the pass 6 or 7 times. We certainly got our moneys worth. 😉
Thanks, this is a bummer for those of us who fly Airtran regularly and are Elite passengers. I will miss the free business class upgrades! Actually, I will miss the business class in general. I’ve become so used to it. I wonder how they will merge AirTran Elite members into the S/W status?
*accepted