Southwest takes two steps forward, but one giant leap back

Southwest takes two steps forward, but one giant leap back

On Wednesday, Southwest announced changes to its Rapids Rewards
program that amount to two steps forward and one giant leap backward
in user-friendliness. The airline has extended the expiration date of
its Rapid Rewards credits and eliminated blackout dates, but it has
also added restrictions to award seat availability.

Program changes

Effective August 10, 2005, all credits will expire after 24 months,
rather than 12. Any existing credits will be valid for an additional
12 months. On the surface, this change is welcome news, as infrequent
fliers now have a longer time in which to earn credits toward a free
flight.

Southwest has also eliminated blackout dates on award availability,
beginning February 10, 2006. Previously, Rapid Rewards members could
not redeem credits for flights on major holidays and other peak travel
dates.

These changes should make it easier to earn enough credits for a free
flight and redeem them for a flight on any date desired. However,
Southwest's final change could negate the benefits of the first two.
For awards issued on or after February 10, 2006, Southwest will add
seat restrictions to free travel. The airline will decide how many, if
any, award seats will be available on a given flight. No longer are
travelers assured of booking an award as long as empty seats remain.
When this change takes effect, a half-empty flight may have no award
seats available at all.

Lasting effects

How will this policy affect Rapid Rewards members? Primarily, members
will have to change how they book award tickets. No longer can they
book at the last minute and be assured of a seat. Fliers will have to
book early to have a better chance of snagging an award, and they may
have to resort to searching for alternate flight dates and times to
find an award. Although blackout dates will no longer exist, flights
on holidays and peak travel dates may still have limited or no award
availability.

On the industry level, these changes put Southwest's program more in
line with those of the legacy airlines. Southwest's original policy of
making award travel available as long as there was an empty seat on a
given flight set its program apart, especially as more and more
travelers complained about the difficulty of getting an award seat for
25,000 miles on other airlines. Depending on how stingy Southwest
becomes with its award availability, it may have just made its program
less attractive than the legacy lines', mostly because its credits
expire within two years and theirs can last indefinitely.

At the time of publication, airlines with similar expiration policies,
such as JetBlue and Independence Air, have not matched Southwest's
changes. Members of these other low-cost airlines' loyalty programs
may want to stay alert for additional industry changes, however,
because Southwest's policies may start a precedent. And Rapid Rewards
members may want to make sure that they earn enough credits for an
award ticket before February in order to have no restrictions on one
more free flight.

http://www.smartertravel.com/advice/...1&u=SL4F6B4DC5


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