RECENT POSTS
  • Southwest Airline Plane Fin with logo
    Miles and Points

    Southwest Extends Companion Pass Expiration (again)

    Southwest had extended their Companion Pass benefits due to expire on December 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021. This due to the lack of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve now extended those benefits again, to December 31, 2021. This only applies to members who received the prior extension. It also doesn’t apply to members who earned a promotional Companion Pass. Head Start For All Members In addition to the extension, all Southwest Rapid Rewards Members with accounts opened by December 31, 2020 are receiving a head start towards qualifying for A-List, A-List Preferred, and Companion Pass in 2021. 15,000 tier qualifying points 25,000 Companion Pass qualifying points 10 qualifying…

  • Miles and Points

    Turning Rapid Rewards Into Amazon Gift Cards – Part 2

    A couple months ago, I wrote about finding a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards account that I didn’t know I had. That alone is not too surprising. I’m sure I have plenty of frequent flyer accounts that I don’t recall signing up for. What was surprising is the fact that I had 3,500 Rapid Rewards points in it. I have no recollection of how I earned 3500 points about 2 years ago, but there they were, ready to expire. So I earned another 1,000 points by filing a tax return with TurboTax via the Rapid Rewards Shopping portal. The 1,000 points activity extended the expiration of my Rapid Rewards points by…

  • Southwest Airline Plane Fin with logo
    Miles and Points

    Turning My “Found” Southwest Rapid Rewards Into Amazon Gift Cards

    Rapid Rewards is Southwest Airline’s frequent flyer loyalty program. I’ve never flown Southwest. I live in the northeast which, if my compass is correct, is in directly the opposite direction. Bad jokes aside, my local airports are not heavily served by the airline and for whatever reason, it’s just never worked out. Since I’ve never flown Southwest, it would stand to reason that I don’t have a Rapid Rewards account. A couple days ago, I realized that’s not true. Not only do I have an account, I have 3,500 Rapid Rewards points in it. How did I find out? Well, I received this email: I have no recollection of how I…

  • Southwest Airline Plane Fin with logo
    Travel Rewards

    Southwest Delays Companion Pass Change

    On January 1 with no notice given, Southwest made qualifying for its Companion Pass a more difficult. After much negative feedback from customers, Southwest has temporarily delayed the change until March 31, 2017. As a reminder, the Companion Pass lets you choose one person to fly free with you every time you purchase or redeem points for a flight.  To qualify for the pass, you need to earn 110,000 Qualifying Points in a calendar year. You could do that by transferring points from a hotel loyalty program like Marriott Rewards. Southwest decided to immediately disqualify points from hotel transfers. This change with no notice angered Southwest’s most loyal customers. Many had…

  • Southwest Airline Plane Fin with logo
    Uncategorized

    Southwest Companion Pass Now Tougher to Get

    The Companion Pass is a great perk for Southwest Airlines flyers. It lets you choose one person to fly free with you every time you purchase or redeem points for a flight. Southwest has made qualifying for the pass a little more difficult. The basic rule hasn’t changed: earn 110,000 Qualifying Points in a calendar year, and you’ll earn Companion Pass for the following full calendar year, plus the remainder of the year in which you earned it.  So what’s changed? The definition of Qualifying Points. Southwest defines Qualifying Points as follows (I’ve highlighted the change in bold): Companion Pass Qualifying Points are earned from your revenue flights booked through…

  • Credit Cards,  Travel Rewards

    Transfer Points and Status Match Between Marriott and Starwood

    Marriott has completed its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, giving the combined company 30 hotel brands and over 5700 properties worldwide. Effective immediately, you can now match your highest level status and transfer points in either direction between the programs. The 3:1 ratio for transferring points is fair: 3 Marriott/Ritz Carlton Rewards points = 1 Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) point. The only limitations are a minimum of 1000 points and a maximum of all the points in your account. If you have a Marriott or Ritz Carlton account and an SPG account, you can link them together here. If you are not already a member of one or both of the programs,…