Southwest has a revenue based program where you the number of points you earn and redeem is based on the cost of the ticket. Of course if you are flying on someone else’s dime then a more expensive ticket can be more favorable since you’ll earn more points. But when you go to redeem your points for a free night, the least expensive ticket possible is ideal as it will cost you less points.
Southwest has three difference fare types, but quite honestly I am not sure why anyone would redeem their points for a Business Select or Anytime fare. Any while these two fare types are actually decreasing the number of points required for a free flight, it is still not worth it. They require way more points and on Southwest flights there is no assigned seating and all point redemption flights are refundable anyways. The only reason I’d personally book one of these fare types is if a Wanna Getaway fare is sold out.
It is the Wanna Getaway fares that are actually devaluing and the most popular fare class when redeeming points. The Wanna Getaway fares are increasing 6%! That means instead of spending 72-74 points per dollar on a free ticket, you’ll now spend between 76-78 points per dollar. If you look at it in dollars, let’s say a flight costs $200, or 14,400 points. Going forward, that same flight will cost 15,200 points. While this is not a huge devaluation, it is definitely something, especially since it used to be 60 points per dollar when the Rapid Reward 2.0 program was initially launched.
While I hate when any program devalues their points, it happens, and this one isn’t too bad. Hopefully this means no other changes for a real long time!
Thanks to View from the Wing for sharing this news.
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