Just 16 Credits To Go
Written: Jul 10 '03 (Updated Jul 11 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy signup, rewards are earned faster if booked online.
Cons: Rewards expire after 1 year but most should be okay to use.
The Bottom Line: Very easy to earn and no complicated rules to redeeming.
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| icaspike's Full Review: Southwest Rapid Rewards |
The first time that I traveled on Southwest Airlines was back in the early 1990’s. At that time, I did not enroll for the Southwest Rapid Rewards program online. I can’t even be sure if www.southwest.com was even operational at that particular time period. So, I did it the old fashioned way – I saw the enrollment brochure at San Francisco International Airport (or airport code SFO) and filled out an application. (By the way, as a side note, Southwest does not fly directly to SFO any longer but to Oakland (airport code OAK), which was quite upsetting to me at the time.)
The enrollment card that was issued used to be paper and I kept that for long time until the card was updated to a plastic version and then eventually another plastic version.
Just for everyone’s benefit, I will take you through the motions if you were to enroll on-line and then highlight some perks that I have gotten while using Southwest Rapid Rewards.
Enroll
Enrollment as I mentioned can be done by filling out a form or by accessing www.southwest.com and then clicking the section marked Rapid Rewards, then How To Enroll, followed by Enroll Now! You will need to provide your demographics including your date of birth or social security number, which I do find a bit odd for sign-up but at least is an option rather than a requirement.
There is also a section to choose whether or not you would like drink coupons upon qualifying for an Award Ticket (12 coupons to a book). I know that I am not a big drinker but I don’t think there is any harm in getting them. The drink coupons are used for cocktails, wine or beer which cost 4 tickets for cocktails and wine and 3 for beer. Also, you can submit your email address in order to receive updates regarding e-fares and information. I know that I have personally signed up for email information and it is great.
After all of that is complete, you should receive your member number and then your plastic card in the mail not too long after that.
How It Works
Basically a member needs to have 16 flight credits in 12 consecutive months in order to get a Rapid Rewards Ticket. A ticket can be earned by flying 8 roundtrips at 1 credit each. However, if you book your flights online through December 31, 2003, then you would receive 2 credits for each one way flight so you would only need 4 roundtrips. Personally, I have been doing this for a few years, and I can tell you that the 2 credits per flight has been around for awhile, so I would bet that the December 31, 2003 date will keep advancing. Make sure that when you book online, you enter your Rapid Rewards number in so that the credit will automatically be in your account. Flight credits normally appear within 2 weeks of completing your flights.
If you are a jet-setter and earn 100 credits in 12 consecutive months, then you are eligible for a companion pass that allows one person to fly free with you for 1 year.
Besides receiving credits per flight, you also receive 2 just for signing up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards, so that will get you on your way. Other ways to earn flight credit are through Southwest’s partners which can be found in the Rapid Rewards section of Southwest.com under Award Tickets and Partners.
Partners
Here is a listing of the partners that Southwest currently has:
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa (you can earn 4 credits on your first purchase)
American Express Membership Rewards
Diners Club, Club Rewards
Budget
Dollar
Hertz
Hilton Hotels
Hyatt Hotels
Marriott Hotels
La Quinta Hotels
Choice Hotels
EarthLink
MCI
Nextel
Out of the listed partners, I have received credit for my stay at a Hilton and Marriott Hotels (1 credit).
Getting The Award
You can check your credit balance by calling the Customer Service number 1-800-445-5764 or at www.southwest.com under Online Login. Once you have reached your award status, the ticket will be mailed to your address and will probably take a few weeks to reach you. The ticket is actually a page of paper that includes the information for the one-way award tickets. One part of the ticket is for your passenger receipt while the other two parts of each ticket include a transfer pass and a flight coupon. The expiration date of the tickets is one year after you earned the award so you must complete your travel by that time. Also, included in the packet are the booklet of drink coupons and a 1 day free car rental off a 5 day rental.
How To Use The Award
You will need to call the reservations number 1-800-248-4377 in order to book your flight. Since I book online all the time, I like to receive the email confirmation that I receive to show at the ticket counter when I arrive at the airport. The representative can send an email to your address so for me, that’s a good thing.
There are black-out dates that you need to take into consideration when making your reservations. For the rest of 2003 and 2004 here are the dates:
2003
November 25, 26 and 30
December 1, 24, 27 and 28
2004
January 4
May 28 and 31
July 2
November 23, 24 and 28
December 23, 24 and 26
As you can see, the dates aren’t too bad so most likely you should not have trouble making plans. Should you decide that you can’t take advantage of the freebie, then the ticket is transferable to another person (family or friend).
The one thing that this award ticket does not cover is the government-imposed September 11th security fee which you will need to pay over the phone (the fee is not very big and should hopefully be less than $10).
Once you receive your email and you are ready to take your trip, you would need to go to the airport and check-in at the counter in order for the representative to process the coupons. Please DO NOT write anything on the coupons as this is meant for the representatives to fill out and process. You are on your way after that.
Other Perks
Other than earning rewards you can use your Southwest Rapid Rewards card at the self-service kiosks when checking in (if you have no luggage or if you are on a connecting flight) so that you can be issued a boarding pass. You can also use the credit card you used with you booked your flight as well.
I currently received another Award Ticket in the mail and am looking forward to using it once again for my next flight. I will have to think about what I want to use it for.
Thanks for reading.
Cathy :)
ICASPIKE
Other Airline & Frequent Flier Reviews(in case you are interested):
Southwest Airlines
Skyservice U.S.A.
U.S. Airways Dividend Miles
TWA Aviators
Travel Destinations:
What Is A Trip To Maui Without a Luau?
The Fireworks Light Up The Sky (Baltimore)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
icaspike
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Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me:
Knowledge is power.
Hey I made it over 60,000.
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