You'll earn travel funds in your account if you cancel a flight. 11 Unique Ways to Use Southwest Points [That Don't Involve ...Converting Expiring Southwest Travel Funds Into Rapid ... Typically, Southwest Travel Funds expire one year from the original booking date. Southwest Gift Cards, Travel Funds & LUV Vouchers [2021 ... It's worth mentioning that Southwest now allows members who have travel fundsthat are set to expire or funds that are created between March 1, 2020 andSeptember 7, 2020 to convert those funds into Rapid Rewards points at the rateof ~1.28 cents per point. For example, I held a Travel Fund of $127.98 which would convert to 9,982 Rapid Rewards points for a rate of $0.0128 per point. Please note, however, that this is ONLY for travel funds created between March 1 and September 7, 2020. The airline is converting at a rate of 78 Rapid Rewards points for every $1 in flight credits. The Point Calculator values Southwest Rapid Rewards Points at 1.3 cents each when redeemed for award flights on Southwest Airlines. How to Convert Southwest Travel Funds Into Rapid Rewards ... Not only is this a lucky break for folks holding these funds, but it also opens an opportunity for everyone else. For example, the above screenshot of $5.60 in Travel Funds will be converted into 437 points. However, my funds don't expire until September 7, 2022. For example, you can covert $128 travel funds into10,000 Rapid Rewards points. How Have Point and Mile Values Changed Over the Pandemic ... Any funds created during the above time frame may be converted into points at the same rate you would be able to purchase tickets with points today. There is a deadline to convert your funds to points. Southwest Airlines | Rapid Rewards - DEADLINE of Dec 15th to Convert Travel Funds to Points - Yes, there was another thread about this quite some time ago. EX: If you have Southwest Companion Pass, you might want to book for the companion pass holder. Southwest put some exceptions for existing travel funds and funds created for flights during the peak of the COVID crisis in 2020. By Stephanie Antin, of Almost Free Family Travel. Now, you would need to let the travel funds expire, then they could be converted to LUV vouchers which could be used by anyone. Terms and Conditions: Those Members who have travel funds that are set to expire or funds that are created between March 1, 2020 and September 7, 2020 will have the option to convert those travel funds into Rapid Rewards® points at the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today. Overall, Southwest is being more than generous with their conversion rates. Step two. The RTF money is a "fly by" date, unfortunately no loopholes there. 5.5k members in the SouthwestAirlines community. This is an even better outcome than I had expected. Dallas, Texas, 2020-Aug-11 — /Travel PR News/ — Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) announced today (Aug 10, 2020) it will allow qualified travel funds to be converted to Rapid Rewards® points now through December 15, 2020. And for several months in 2020, the carrier also allowed members to convert travel funds from canceled flights to points. In 2020 Southwest did have a period of time when travel funds could be converted to Rapid Rewards points. Step one. So while this isn't a huge devaluation, it probably feels like more of a . Southwest's conversion feature This feature debuted in August, giving travelers even more flexibility from travel funds by converting them into Rapid Rewards points. Southwest travel funds can now be converted to Southwest points at a rate of 1.282 cents-per-point. If you buy a ticket with points, you'll pay the same — 78 points per $1 . Any funds created during the above time frame may be converted into points at the same rate you would be able to purchase tickets with points today. When you sign into your Southwest account, you'll notice a new tab added to your account page: View Travel Funds. Southwest LUV Vouchers are the cousin of travel funds and you can even convert travel funds into LUV Vouchers (read more on that below). For example, you can covert $128 travel funds into10,000 Rapid Rewards points. At the time of posting, Southwest travel funds can be converted into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate at which you'd be able to purchase tickets today. In fact, it costs $10 for every 1,000 Southwest points you want to transfer to someone else! But Southwest LUV Vouchers can be used by anyone. Southwest gift cards can only be used for flights (plus taxes and fees) purchased directly through Southwest Airlines — either online, by phone at 1-800-435-9792 (1-800-I-FLY-SWA), or at a Southwest ticket counter. F or anyone who has had to cancel a Southwest Airlines flight due to the coronavirus pandemic, this may be some welcome news: As of August 10, anyone with qualifying future travel credits (what Southwest refers to as travel funds) can convert them into Rapid Rewards points—as long as they do so by December 15, 2020. Earn 40,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months your account is open. $149 annual fee. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author's alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Learn More Here. Calculate the conversion of Southwest Rapid Rewards Points to the average dollar value when redeemed for flights, car rentals, and gift cards. Should you convert? 5On the day of travel, please see a Customer Service Agent at the airport for this benefit. Those Members who have travel funds that are set to expire or funds that are created between March 1, 2020 and September 7, 2020 will have the option to convert those travel funds into Rapid Rewards® points at the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today. Many of its policies are generous and unique, such as free checked bags, ways to get seats at no cost, and even their free drinks!When you pay for your flights, Southwest offers various forms of payment options: Southwest travel funds, LUV vouchers, and Southwest gift cards. Southwest Points To Dollars Calculator. Last week, Southwest announced that travelers can now convert some travel funds to Rapid Rewards points. . To convert your Travel Funds, simply go to My Account/My Travel Funds on Southwest.com and click "Convert." Southwest says most conversions will happen instantly, though it could take up to 72 hours. 5.60 divided by 437 points is 1.282 cents per point. Instead of going somewhere for the purpose of going there I may book a same-day RT at $49 OW fares on points. Now . That option is no longer available. Revenue Growth. Travel funds are credits attached to your Southwest account that function much like a gift card toward the cash price of a flight. After encouraging Rapid Rewards members to convert their travel funds to Rapid Rewards points last year, the airline devalued its points in early 2021, dropping from 1.6 cents per point to 1.4 . Southwest Launches New Option to Convert Travel Funds to Rapid Rewards Points. Go to Travel Gal has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Booked with travel funds: The travel fund will keep the expiration date of the original travel fund used to book the ticket. Members who have travel funds that meet specific qualifications will be able to convert their travel funds into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate they would be able to purchase a ticket with points today. First and last name on the travel fund must match the Rapid Rewards account the points are going into. It's worth mentioning that Southwest now allows members who have travel fundsthat are set to expire or funds that are created between March 1, 2020 andSeptember 7, 2020 to convert those funds into Rapid Rewards points at the rateof ~1.28 cents per point. If it hasn't yet been extended, call in and see if you can a 6 month extension minus $100 off the value. Today, let's review this process and see if it makes sense for you. Convert travel funds to RR points. Roughly, this converts to 76-78 points per dollar spent. It's pretty cheap now. Check if you have qualified funds soon—you can only convert your qualified funds through December 15, 2020.. Extensions of Elite Status, CP, Travel funds, and option to convert funds to points Southwest has announced a comprehensive plan to preserve our elite benefits and travel funds. As a general rule of thumb: Southwest Airlines Wanna Get Away fares cost 76-78 points per dollar. Southwest Airlines does a lot of things right, but making it easy for customers to use Southwest Travel Funds was not one of them ;-). Upsides of Converting. To convert unused travel funds to Rapid Rewards points, travelers must be members of the loyalty program with money on their accounts expiring on Sept. 7, 2022. If you've got a $50 travel fund, you can convert it into 3,906 Southwest points. Seems that they lose a little bit of value but not much, but they can be used for booking flights for anyone and they never expire. The travel fund will expire 12 months from the date you booked the ticket. Members who have travel funds that meet specific qualifications will be able to convert their . We hope this provides our Members ultimate flexibility as Rapid . The option to convert travel funds to points is novel and welcome. Now, Alaska Airlines is following suit. Earn a $75 Southwest Annual travel credit per card anniversary. 3Companion Pass, A-List, and A-List Preferred only apply to Rapid Rewards accounts for individuals. Hot Tip: There are no fees to purchase Southwest gift cards. 1. SWA Conversion rate: $70 = 5380 RR Points $10 = 780 RR Points $5 = 390 RR Points. (Screenshot courtesy of Southwest) To qualify to convert to your travel funds to Rapid Rewards Points, you'll need to first make sure you're a Rapid . The specifics of this program are still unknown, but Southwest promises that the transfer will take place at "the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today." Wanna Get Away (Southwest's cheapest fare) award flight bookings cost roughly 76 points per dollar. Paid with travel funds: Travel funds will expire when the original ticket that was canceled was set to expire. From now through December 15th, Southwest will let customers convert the value of those unused flight credits to Rapid Rewards points. NOT … In an effort to provide passengers with more flexibility, Southwest recently added the ability to convert travel funds into Rapid Rewards points. Southwest points are being converted at a rate of 1.282 cents per point. Travel fund must expire September . Travel funds belong to the Passenger named on the ticket, regardless of who purchased it. Since Rapid Rewards points never expire, you can use your new points whenever you want. From now until 12/5/20, members can convert their travel funds into RR points. Go to Travel Gal, AwardWallet and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. With a huge footprint, it's relatively easy to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points, and to turn around and redeem those Southwest rewards for future travel. Southwest Airlines is allowing customers the flexibility to convert travel funds to points, starting now through December 15, 2020. With Southwest Airlines offering incredibly flexible change and cancellations policies due to the evolving coronavirus pandemic, it might be the case that you've got some travel funds sitting in your account from some previously canceled flights. This benefit is not available at Southwest® kiosks. All other travel funds are subject to the regular expiration date of 1 year from the original booking date. Southwest Airlines announces customers can convert travel funds to Rapid Rewards Points Photos Aug 10, 2020 DALLAS — Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) announced today it will allow qualified travel funds to be converted to Rapid Rewards® points now through December 15, 2020. 4Applies to both purchased and redemption fares. Southwest continued that tradition of customer-friendly policies when it announced that certain travel vouchers are extended to September 7, 2022 and later announced that those travel vouchers can be converted to Rapid Rewards points. Southwest Airlines offers a heaping helping of "LUV" to its flyers. The list is here. Eligible Travel Vouchers Roughly, this converts to 76-78 points per dollar spent. Announced . Previously, Customers' travel funds that have expired or would have expired between March 1 - June 30, 2020 , or travel funds that were created because of a cancellation between March 1 - June 30, 2020 , had . Rapid Rewards members can now choose to convert travel funds into Rapid Rewards points. Overall, Southwest is being more than generous with their conversion rates. The number of points needed for a particular Southwest flight is set by Southwest and will vary depending on destination, time, day of travel, demand, fare type, point redemption rate, and other factors, and are subject to change at any time until the booking is confirmed. Southwest Airlines | Rapid Rewards - Extensions of Elite Status, CP, Travel funds, and option to convert funds to points - Originally Posted by pkerr Ahh.. the 'ol book and cancel gambit. Rapid Rewards members can now convert Southwest travel funds to points at a rate of 78 points per dollar. It will retain the exp date of 5/21 on the new tkt, and you will not be able to change your flight beyond that date. Please try again. Rapid Rewards points don't expire, and you can redeem points for travel for anyone. At this time, travel funds can't be transferred to another person (sorry, Mom). The Dallas-based carrier first announced this capability in April. Funds convert into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate that Rapid Rewards points are used to buy tickets, about 78 points per dollar. And the conversion rate is pretty impressive. You have h til December 15 to make this change. While this is much less than buying Southwest points, it still seems a very high price to pay just to transfer points. You can convert the funds to Rapid Rewards points through Tuesday, Dec. 15 2020. Lots of us were frustrated by having to remember our original confirmation number and what person they were tied to in order to retrieve the funds. This is exciting news for a lot of people, even if it isn't always the best possible value. You have until December 15 to make the conversion but if the travel funds expiration date is after 9/7/22 you won't be eligible. Travel Funds that Qualify to Convert to Rapid Rewards Points: Customer must be a Rapid Rewards Member. The airline allows members to convert the funds to points at the same ratio you would need to purchase a similar value ticket today. With the value of a Southwest point sitting around 1.5 cents, that means it costs $10 to transfer $15 worth of points. This means each Southwest point is in theory worth ~1.32 cents ($1 / 76 Southwest points) towards Southwest's cheap Wanna Get Away flights. Then just proceed through the standard change process. Using Southwest Gift Cards. $39 fares and no PFC for the quick return flight. This will provide Southwest Airlines Customers even greater flexibility. Southwest Travel Funds Convert to Points Peter Thornton - April 17, 2020 Southwest has extended the expiration date on travel funds created or set to expire between March 1 and September 7, 2020.