Thanks to Milenerd for reminding me to remind you that this Friday (April 17th) Southwest is making some changes to their rewards program.
Beginning April 17, 2015, the number of Rapid Rewards Points needed to redeem for certain flights will vary based on destination, time, day of travel, demand, fare class, and other factors. However, there are still many flights which will stay at the current redemption rate.
Basically what this means is that Southwest points will no longer have a fixed value of 1.43¢ on Wanna Get Away Fares (you actually get higher than this as you’re not paying most taxes and fees on award flights).
If you read the full announcement Southwest doesn’t make any mention that some flights will be cheaper than they are now, so it’s safe to assume that things are only going to get more expensive. You can also refund Southwest flights so if there are any trips that you have planned, now is a good time to book them (if they do get cheaper you can just refund and rebook – but I find this highly doubtful).
This change is a real shame, I liked Southwest’s program because it was easy to understand and I always knew that I was getting a fixed value on my points. It’ll be interesting to see how bad this change really is, but I’m already not a fan.
Southwest Flights are fully refundable if you use points? There is a flight I may be taking in September, but there are $75 in fees in addition to the points used. Are those fees refundable as well?