The Offer
Direct link to offer (must be logged into your Southwest account)
- The Southwest shopping mall (awardhq) is offering a number of discounts on gift cards, these require you to use Southwest points to purchase. Normally 1 point = 1 penny. Here are the gift cards and their discounted rate:
Retailer | Gift Card Amount | Points Required | Value Per Point |
Hardrock café | $25 | 2,450 | $0.0102 |
Macy’s | $25 | 2,820 | $0.0089 |
National Car Rental | $50 | 4,650 | $0.0108 |
Budget Rental | $50 | 4,650 | $0.0108 |
Avis Car Rental | $50 | 4,650 | $0.0108 |
Hertz | $50 | 4,700 | $0.0106 |
Macy’s | $50 | 4,700 | $0.0106 |
Fairway Rewards Goplay Golf | $50 | 4,700 | $0.0106 |
Zappos.com | $50 | 4,700 | $0.0106 |
Hardrock café | $50 | 4,900 | $0.0102 |
Great American Days | $50 | 4,900 | $0.0102 |
Avis Car Rental | $100 | 9,300 | $0.0108 |
National Car Rental | $100 | 9,300 | $0.0108 |
Carnival Cruise Lines | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Spa & Wellness Giftcard | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Royal Carribean International | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Macy’s | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Bedandbreakfast.com | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Hertz | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Best Western | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | $100 | 9,400 | $0.0106 |
Hyatt | $100 | 9,800 | $0.0102 |
Royal Carribean International | $500 | 47,000 | $0.0106 |
Carnival Cruise Lines | $500 | 47,000 | $0.0106 |
The Fine Print
- Sale runs until March 31st, 2015
Our Verdict
The biggest discount you receive is 8%, which is lower than the 20% discounts they have offered in the past. The actual selection of discounted gift cards is pretty lacking as well. Southwest points are worth $0.016 (1.6¢ per point) when redeeming for flights (although you can get 3.2¢ with the Southwest companion pass). The problem is that starting April 17th, Southwest are moving away from a fixed value points system and have given consumers absolutely no information on how points will be worth or how award flights will be calculated.
If Southwest had some better gift cards on sale (or if things like Hyatt had a bigger discount), I’d almost be tempted to redeem some of my Southwest points for gift cards but this particular promotion doesn’t do much for me.
Hat tip to Running With Miles