Southwest Flights - Points v. Cash

hayesdvc

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 23, 2015
For you savvy travelers that have SW points, is there a price point (either high or low) that it makes more financial sense to purchase the ticket rather than using points?

TIA
 
The ticket price and the point requirement are almost always tied together in terms of value. So imho I would always use points.
 
As stated earlier, the cash purchase price and the point value are tied together.
SW points are currently worth about 1.5 - 1.7 cents per point (on certain flights you can see higher point to dollar values).
I could see paying cash for an inexpensive flight if I were saving my points for a longer more expensive trip - Hawaii maybe?
 


Look closely. Points and cash are not always tied exactly. As an example, some times you will find two different flights with a point fare of say 5000 points, and then toggle to the cash fare and see one of those is $100 dollars and the other $90. Just an example for illustration.
 
I like to save a bank of points for last-minute trips and emergency travel, so I generally will pay cash for at least one leg of a trip that is less than $125. (Of course, I use my SWA Visa to buy, so I earn on the purchase.)

I often find that even on popular travel days, when no flight has a low price for cash, usually one of the non-stop flights will be less popular and still have a good price available using points. Any time I see one of those I tend to grab it.
 
There is more to it than price for me. I like the added flexibility of points sometimes. If I have a trip that is IFFY for some reason, I would rather book with points. If trip is cancelled, I get them back, not credits tied to each individual in my group.

Also at other times I book with points, and if fare drops to very low $$, I rebook with cash vs. points to keep the points for a future trip, where I might want that flexibility.

I will agree this sounds like it does not make complete sense. :tilt: On another note, SW no longer has nonstops EWR to MCO. So I will not be using them as much in the future, sadly.
 


Another thing about points is that if the price of your flight goes down, re-book at the new price and the point difference is rebated to your account. If you pay $$ for your flight and it goes down, you'll get a credit you'll use or lose within a certain time.

Bill From PA
 
Yes if you pay cash and the flight price goes down you have 1 year to use the travel credit. And it is 1 year is from the day you originally purchased the ticket. I would pay with points. If you have an emergency and have to cancel your trip then you get everything refunded.
 
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Airlines continue to devalue points/miles. Southwest has been known to reduce service from some airports. Paying cash and 'hoarding" large amount of points may not always be the best way to go.
I agree with PP, pay with points works great if you're booking flights for someone who might cancel.
 

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