10. What bonus credits are available? What types of changes void the online booking bonus? How can I join SWABIZ?
a. (nsx) You get double credit on all flights purchased at southwest.com and flown between September 22, 2005 and November 17, 2005. Through March 31, 2006, you get an extra 1.0 credit for each one-way trip (or half a round trip) booked at swabiz.com. See item 10(f) below for information on SWABIZ. The southwest.com bonus does not stack on top of the swabiz bonus. The credit appears after you fly, not when you book. The swabiz.com bonus will not be renewed when it expires on March 31, 2006.
(southwest.com and swabiz.com) MySouthwest Bonus Credit Offer: From October 14 to November 15, 2005, purchase travel for yourself while logged into your MySouthwest account and receive 1 bonus credit for each roundtrip. Travel must be purchased for yourself between October 14 and November 15, 2005 while logged into your MySouthwest account. The Member will receive (1) one bonus credit per qualifying roundtrip, limited to (3) three bonus credits per Member. Credits will be posted to the account within (1) one week of the promotion period ending. Please Note: Travel must be booked through MySouthwest after logging in and must be displayed in the "Next Scheduled Flight" section in order to qualify for this offer.
(High on Luv) The MySouthwest bonus is earned by the person logged in if travel is purchased for someone else. Also, a one-way trip purchase will earn the full 1 credit bonus. Credit will be posted by November 22, and travel may occur after November 15. Purchases using existing ticketless funds will qualify for this bonus.
(nsx) Some members were sent an email on November 18, 2005 offering double credit at southwest.com (including Ding) through February 15, 2006. Non-targeted members are not eligible.
b. (nsx) The southwest.com promotion started in 1997 and ran for many years, but was reduced from 1.0 to 0.5 credits for 2004 and the first 3 months of 2005. Then it disappeared entirely without further announcement. Judging from the erratic history of extensions, this appears to have been a perennial matter of internal debate at Southwest. Southwest has now restored the status quo that existed prior to the introduction of the bonus for online booking at the start of dot-com mania. Trouble is that: (1) very few customers remember that ancient history, (2) RR was not competitive back then unless you were a very frequent short-haul flyer, and (3) Southwest didn't fly anything but short-haul then. The long-haul flyers need a break of some sort to make RR competitive. Less frequent customers got a bit of a break in August 2005 when Southwest extended credit expiration from 12 to 24 months.
c. (nsx) In my experience, the bonus credit will post correctly even if you change your reservation, as long as you retain the same record locator. The record locator appears on your boarding stub, allowing you can check it. All changes made at the airport on the day of flight appear to retain the record locator and the bonus credit.
d. (nsx) Further evidence for my theory (bonus credit tied to record locator) is that I once phoned to change an Internet fare to a senior fare (which was not bookable online back then), and the record locator stayed the same. That flight earned bonus credit for online booking.
e. (nsx) During the fourth quarter of 2004, there was a Visa card promotion to get an extra 0.5 credit each way. In case such a promotion ever returns, you may want to favor Visa over MasterCard for your SWA purchases. Prior purchases typically qualify for the bonus if you fly within the bonus period. Also note that SWA Visa card purchases at southwest.com earn double points ($600 per credit rather than $1200).
f. (nsx) If you want to join SWABIZ, you need to convince your regional representative that your business entity can generate sufficient bookings to be worthwhile. Some representatives reportedly require you to have a minimum number of travelers; others appear to accommodate single travelers whose Rapid Rewards records show extensive travel. See the lower right corner of
www.swabiz.com for information on how to contact your regional rep.
g. (gregorygrady) College students get double credit (one extra credit each way) until age 24. Once you have a RR account you can not retroactively register for the College program. Rather, you must sign up upon initial application to RR. One of the questions they ask you is if you are a (full-time?) student. If your answer is yes and you are between the ages of 18-24, then you are automatically enrolled for this College Program. I've signed up family members that were in college for RR. The main (and I think only) benefit is double RR credit. These bonus credits are NOT combinable with the SWABIZ bonus.
(EIPremier) I'm a college student, but being a good student of frequent flyer programs, I signed up for my Rapid Rewards account years before entering college. College bonus is only for those who sign up as college students. Oh well.