Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[pooch]

I had trouble once when I had a late B boarding group from Orlando and there weren't 2 seats together left on the plane for my then 7yo and I. After that I've purchased EBCI for our return flights.

I certainly understand that. Although at the end of a vacation sometimes I'd LIKE my kid to sit somewhere else

 

[shannon006]

And I understand your concern but I have been flying Southwest almost exclusively since 2006 and have never had a problem with sitting with my family. Actually the ONLY time I have had an issue was on Jet Blue. Flights were booked 5 months in advance with seats all selected for our party of 4 adults, 3 kids and a lap baby. Upon arrival at the airport, we were moved to singles all over the plane. Had to fight with the gate agent (had my confirmation showing the original seats) to get at least one adult with each child and still had to take 2 aisle seats across from each other for 1 child and 1 adult.

I think that works out for most people the majority of the time. I have been on far too many flights when I have seen families getting on and there are no seats together and then the flight attendants are asking people if they will move. It is worth the peace of mind to pay the extra $20 per passenger if we fly SW.

 

[pooch]

It also helps that i am able to fly nonstops from an originating airport so there aren’t connecting passengers already on.

 

[huey578]

Rapid Rewards Member - Advice Needed.....I currently have15,850 points and I have Travel funds of 18,561 points to convert. Debating if I should convert my travel funds into points? Is there any advantage to converting into points? I do plan on booking Disney trip for September 2021. Also, I currently have flight reservation for Dec. 2020 so I will either earn 1932 points or travel funds if I cancel flight.

 

[shoreward]

Rapid Rewards Member - Advice Needed.....I currently have15,850 points and I have Travel funds of 18,561 points to convert. Debating if I should convert my travel funds into points? Is there any advantage to converting into points? I do plan on booking Disney trip for September 2021. Also, I currently have flight reservation for Dec. 2020 so I will either earn 1932 points or travel funds if I cancel flight.

You have until 12/15/2020 to make the decision, whether you want to convert or not, as long as your funds are showing an expiration date of 09/07/2022. I think the consensus is that most are choosing to convert to points, but only you can make that decision, based on your personal preferences. If you use those travel funds to book a new trip, which is subsequently cancelled, you will lose the 09/07/2022 expiration date, and the funds will expire one year, from the date the booking is made using those funds.

 

[pooch]

I would definitely convert to points. You are actually gaining more points than a flight of that price would cost AND total flexibility with points as to who when and how.

 

[huey578]

Thank you for the feedback. It makes sense to convert since points do not expire. If I book using points and then need to cancel, do I get points back?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thank you for the feedback. It makes sense to convert since points do not expire. If I book using points and then need to cancel, do I get points back?

Yes, and you can cancel your flight up until 10 minutes before your flight!

I cancelled 2 flights last week and chose to convert them into RR points as soon as I could.

 

[Erica Ladd]

So it is a good deal to convert my whole family’s TF to points? What’s the exchange rate? I feel like every time I looked at our flights in points instead of $$$ they looked like a worse deal - could that just be my market or is my math wrong?

 

[pooch]

For example, I converted $144 TF to 11,262 points. A flight costing $144 would only use 10,062 points so I gained 1200 points in the conversion.
The system will show how many points you would get before you actually make the conversion. Find a flight of that $ amount and see how many points it would cost then compare the two. My guess is you come out ahead by converting.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Can I convert everyone in my family’s TF to my RR account? I am always the main person from all past reservations

 

[EACarlson]

I did find one small downside to converting to points. If you book a flight using TF, you would earn points on that flight. You do not earn points on flights booked with points. Not nearly enough of an issue to cause me to not convert, but I haven't seen anyone mention this fact when talking about conversion.

Also, quick question for those that have flown WN since the mask mandate went into place. Have any of you been able to sleep on a plane with a mask on? I've got a flight coming up that is going to require me to leave my house at 1am and have to somewhat functional until fairly late that evening.

 

[EACarlson]

Can I convert everyone in my family’s TF to my RR account? I am always the main person from all past reservations

No, they each need their own RR account and the name on the account must match the name on the TF.

 

[Fangorn]

Can I convert everyone in my family’s TF to my RR account? I am always the main person from all past reservations

No. Like travel funds, points remain with the traveler - or in their account anyway. The difference is that points can be used for anyone, while TFs can only be used for that person.

Also, while person A's account can use their points to book a flight for person B, person A must have the full number of points available to book the flight. They can't combine their points with another person's points for the booking. That said, points CAN be transferred from one account to another, but SW charges a fee for that, based on the number of points being transferred. Cost is 1% in $ of the number of points being transferred (there's a 2000 point minimum and most be transferred in batches of 500 ). So $20 for a transfer of 2000 points. $150 for a transfer of 15000 points. That cost may be acceptable if you only need a small number of points to book a flight, but I wouldn't do it just to get my whole family's points into one account. I'd end up spending almost as much to do that as it would cost to book for cash in the first place.

If you know each person's account login, you can still manage all the points. That does make things a tad more difficult, but it can be done

Steve

 

[Erica Ladd]

No, they each need their own RR account and the name on the account must match the name on the TF.

this makes it difficult for me to the point of not being useful. Hopefully we will travel somewhere before 9/2022!!!

 

[EACarlson]

this makes it difficult for me to the point of not being useful. Hopefully we will travel somewhere before 9/2022!!!

Why is that? SWRR points don't expire and you can use points from their account to purchase flights. I set up RR accounts for my two kids aged 7 and 4. They earn points on any flights they take and when they get older they can have them. I wish I had all the FF miles I accrued as a kid on Northwest Orient.

 

[G719]

Why is that? SWRR points don't expire and you can use points from their account to purchase flights. I set up RR accounts for my two kids aged 7 and 4. They earn points on any flights they take and when they get older they can have them. I wish I had all the FF miles I accrued as a kid on Northwest Orient.

I converted mine but the one thing that I was concerned about was having to book each person of my family separately so each person would use their own points for a flight. I don't want to spend more money to pool the points so we will just deal with booking under 4 accounts instead of booking 4 tickets under my account. It just makes it harder when it's time to check in for the flights unless you buy early bird. Plus your boarding numbers will probably not be all together when you don't purchase the tickets together. My kids are teenagers though so they could be helping from their own device when it's time to book or check in.

 

[jcarwash]

How long does it normally take for a LUV voucher to be emailed? I cancelled our flights 1 week ago today and after calling a special line was offered a LUV voucher for our EBCI refund but haven't received it yet.

Five days in my most recent experience. I got a response offering LUV vouchers on July 13, and the vouchers were emailed on July 18.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Five days in my most recent experience. I got a response offering LUV vouchers on July 13, and the vouchers were emailed on July 18.

Thanks! It’s now been 10 days, 6 business days. If I haven’t received them by tomorrow I will follow up with SW.

 

[nkereina]

My travel funds at the moment are about $75 per person. That is converting to roughly 6,100 RR points. I'm considering changing my trip to Vegas, which requires roughly 14,000 RR points ($242). I would have to purchase an additional 8,000 RR points if I wanted to use my 6,100 RR points. If my math is correct, that will cost me about $220. If I don't convert my travel funds to RR points, I could apply the $75 travel funds to my $242 ticket purchase, and I would owe $167. Am I missing something? Unless my calculations are off, it seems to me that if you have a low amount of travel funds, it may not make the most sense to convert them to RR points unless you need the flexibility with no expiration date.