Interesting Offer from Southwest

Southwest sent me an email with an interesting exclusive offer. For 100,000 points, I can travel to Florida to see the Baltimore Orioles at Spring Training.

The offer includes airfare, nights at Ritz- Carlton, tickets to the game and much more:

The package is very impressive especially 3 nights at The Ritz-Carolton Sarasota. There are 30 packages for purchase with points and 1 for auction.

Packages like these can sometimes be a waste of money. However, this one might be worth it for a Baltimore Orioles' fan.

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Booking Tickets for Holidays Now!

Last night, I decided to start booking tickets for the holidays. Why in June? Because it other people aren't thinking about booking the holidays. There is less demand ie possible lower prices.

Photo Credit: www.meme4u.com

I am flush with Southwest Rapid Reward points through getting 2 Southwest credit cards. The benefit of booking with Rapid Reward points is the ability to cancel the ticket with no penalty. 

Last night, I was able to book my ticket back to DC for less than 3,500 points. Less than 3,500 points!

The other benefit of booking with Rapid Reward points is that if the price drops; you have an opportunity to get some points back. For that reason, I bit the bullet and book my ticket to Connecticut. The price was closer to 7,500 points.

My hope is that Southwest has a sale and the price of the ticket drops. However, I am not going to complain about spending 11,000 points for my ticket back to Connecticut for the holidays. Last year, I waited to long and paid close to $350.

If you don't have Southwest points, British Airways Avios points can be useful as well. With US Airways joining the OneWorld Alliance, cheap flights can be found.

The trip from DC to Hartford is less than 500 miles; therefore, a one-way ticket would cost 3,500 Avois points. Unfortunately, I could not find any availability. If I did find availability, I would have transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my British Airways points.

Take a minute and look at December. It will be here sooner than you think.



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Southwest Sends Me A Gift

Yesterday an email arrived from Southwest. The subject line was very eye catching:

My first thought was what's the catch? What do I need to buy? What do I need to sign-up for? After a quick read, I learned that Southwest was giving me 500 points for not reason.

A quick check of my Southwest account and there is 500 extra points.

Score! Love getting free points for no reasons.

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United Follows Southwest's Lead

United announced earlier this week that starting in April that Apple-product users will be allowed to stream free tv shows and movies.

Photo Credit: United HUB

According to FOX Business News, "The personal device entertainment system will be available on select aircrafts in April and allows users to choose from more than 150 movies and nearly 200 TV shows free of charge on their own devices. The rollout will begin on Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Boeing 747-400 and some 777-200 aircrafts, according to United’s website. Most domestic aircraft will have the system by year’s end." The system will work off of United's iOS application and its laptop browser. Wifi is not needed to download the app or broswer plug-in. 

Photo Credit: United HUB

United's personal device entertainment system is very similar to Southwest's system, which I reviewed here. There are two diffrence at the moment. First,  United's TV shows and movies are free and Southwest's charges. Second, Southwest has free live TV and United doesn't. Either way, this is the right direction for United. Unfortunately, this new advancement does not help me. I am an Andriod user. Hopefully they develop an Android application soon.

Either way, charge your devices before getting on the plane. 

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1000 Rapid Reward For Doing Your Taxes

Southwest and TurboTax are back offering 1000 Rapid Reward points for completing your Federal Tax Returns with TurboTax.

To earn the points, you will need to click the TurboTax link through the Rapid Rewards Online Shopping Portal. In addition, you will need to file your taxes by April 15, 2014. Here is the terms and conditions:

I completed this offer last year and used the 1,000 points towards my Companion Pass. This offer SHOULD work help you get closer to the companion pass. The terms and condition state, "Points will not go towards A-List or A-List Preferred qualifications." It is silent about the companion pass, so it SHOULD work.

I completed my taxes on 2/24/13 and received my points about a month later:

If you complete your federal taxes online, this offer is a great way to earn some miles.
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5 Reasons Why I LUV Southwest

I have a love/hate relationship with Southwest. Depending on my mood, I love Southwest and other days I treat Southwest like the red-headed stepchild. I have even gone as far to write the 5 Reasons Why I Dislike Southwest.

That all being true; there are certain things I love about Southwest. Here are the 5 Reasons Why I Love Southwest:

The Companion Pass

- The secret weapon of travel hacking. The Companion Pass is like a buy one, get one free coupon. The holder of the pass designates someone has his/her companion. From then on, anytime the pass holder flies on Southwest, so does the companion for free. Be it paid or award tickets, the companion flies for only the cost of the 9/11 Security Fees.

To earn the Companion Pass, you need to earn 110,000 points in one calender year. 110,000 points might seem a lot to earn, but it is very doable within one year. Here is how I obtained my Companion Pass.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to use my Companion Pass yet. The person I designated as my companion decided to get an MBA and attend classes on Saturday. Regardless, I have learned 3 Things Since Earning My Companion Pass.

The Southwest Companion Pass is the single greatest travel tool that you must have in your arsenal.

Rapid Rewards Program

- Southwest's frequent flyer program is known as Rapid Rewards. Rapid Rewards is not your typical frequent flyer program. Instead of having set amount of miles for award tickets (ie 25,000, 50,000), award tickets are issued based upon the price of the ticket on the date of purchase.

 Here is how many points per $1 are needed for an award ticket:

However, the number of points per $1 is increasing to 75 for Wanna Get Away Fares on March 31st, 2014:

Southwest's frequent sales are great opportunities to purchase award tickets. For instance, I got my ticket to Connecticut for Thanksgiving on a sale date for 6,000 points. The award program is simple and predicable, which is more than other frequent flyer programs presently.

Lower Prices = Money Back

Another unique features of Southwest is their refund program. With other airlines, a drop in price after purchase, is to bad for you. Not with Southwest. If you purchase your ticket and the price drops, you may ask for a refund from Southwest.

Southwest allows you to get a credit for the difference. Book the flight with points? The difference in points will be credit to your account instantly.

To get your refund, find your itinerary and click "change reservation" link directly under the reservation.

The system will ask you which flights (outgoing or incoming) that you want to change. Next, you will see your options to change your ticket and the price of the new ticket. Complete the steps and Southwest will eventually show your savings.

If you booked with point, the points will be credited back to your account. On the other hand, if you purchased your ticket with cash, you will receive a voucher for the difference. The voucher must be used for future travel completed within a year of it being used. 

Your ticket price dropped multiple times? No problem, you can do this change as many times as you like. 

2 Free Check Bags

Southwest is one of the few airlines that doesn't charge for checked baggage. Currently, they allow you to check 2 bags at no additional cost.

That small difference makes Southwest the common man's airline. The average Joe can take his family on vacation and not spend hundreds checking baggage.

In-Flight Entertainment System

As I wrote here, Southwest is the only airline with gate to gate WIFI. That alone should be enough to make people love them. However, they go one step further. The cost to use the WIFI is affordable, at only $8 a day.

In addition to WIFI, Southwest offer DirectTV and a selection of movies for purchases. I reviewed the system here and was pleasantly surprised.

My only compliant is that my Kindle Fire is not compatible with Southwest's system. Unfortunately, reading the message boards, Southwest doesn't have a plan to make Kindle Fires and Android products compatible with their system. This is a real shame . . .

Conclusion 

Despite Southwest's IFE incompatibility with my Kindle Fire, I still LUV Southwest every once and a whilet. Southwest has all the makings of a great airline. The problem is that every once and a while they want to be a legacy carrier and they get greedy. Get too greedy and average Joe might turn their back on you.

Over the next two weeks, I will be flying Southwest with frequency. Hopefully, I can report back only good things.
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Why I Am Not Getting TSA PreCheck On My Southwest Flights?

Last week, Southwest announced that they are joining TSA Prechcek.

I am a big fan of TSA Precheck and was excited that Southwest was joining. Over the next few weeks, I have a ton of travel on Southwest and not having to take my laptop out of its sleeve is a big help.

Therefore, I was a little disappointed that I did not get Precheck on my fight to Connecticut for Thanksgiving. When I arrived at BWI, the C Concourse Precheck line had no one. I mean no one in it. However, my boarding pass didn't have that great little sign like this:

I sent out this tweet while waiting in security:

A few hours later, I got this response from the Press Secretary for TSA, Ross Feinstein:

Here is the link to the TSA Blog post he mentions.

Reading the post, one of the suggestions stood out:

• Didn’t enter their full name: first, middle and last name. These should match:

• TSA Pre✓™ participants who qualify via their membership in a CBP Trusted Traveler program should enter their full name — first, middle and last — exactly as it appears on their Global Entry card or in their Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) account, along with their date of birth, gender, and nine digit Membership Number / PASS ID when making a reservation for travel. A reservation made with a name that does not exactly match a passenger's Global Entry card or GOES account will result in the passenger not being considered for TSA Pre✓™ expedited screening. If you click the “manage membership” button when logged into your GOES account, it will direct you to the page in the image below where you’ll be able to ensure your account info — under the personal information section — matches the information in your travel reservation and your frequent flyer program: first, middle and last name fields.
• You should make sure your airline frequent flyer profile and any current and/or future reservations matches this information. You may have to reach out directly to your carrier to make sure this information is correct and consistent, especially your first, middle and last name. You should ask them to update your profile information and/or saved Secure Flight data.

You see my legal name isn't JD. Its a name that was created by my elementary school. I quickly went to my Southwest Rapid Reward profile, sure enough my name at Southwest is JD:

However, Southwest doesn't make it easy to change your name. You have to mail them paperwork:

The other few times I got Precheck, I was flying United and US Airways. In both instances, my name on my frequent flyer account is JD. So, I don't necessarily know if this is the reason why I did not get it this time. Southwest has setup a whole webpage for Precheck, which can be found here. Reading through the page, I came across this tidbit:

Could it Prechek be for only new reservation made after Southwest getting into the program? I hope this is the reason and not my name. Regardless, I will forward the required paperwork to Southwest to change my name.

Has anyone had luck with Precheck on Southwest?

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Southwest Joins The Party

I received an email letting me know that Southwest is now approved for gate to gate electronic use.

Southwest was the last of the major US carriers to get approved for gate to gate service.

Unlike the other carriers, Southwest will allow use of their WIFI system from Gate to Gate. According to USA Today, passenger airline carriers with Gogo in-flight service will still have to wait until cross the 10,000 feet threshold. This is a major advantage for Southwest.

I am a big fan of Southwest's WIFI  / DirectTV system. I wrote about it here.

Southwest has a major advantage that their WIFI system starts at the gate!
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Who Is The Real Winners Of The AA & US Airways Merger?

The past week, Department of Justice gave its blessing for US Airways and American Airlines to become married.

http://infinitelegroom.com

Fireworks exploded throughout the miles & points community. Some people love the merger. Others despise it with a passion. Personally, I am indifferent except for my strong dislike for future CEO Doug Parker.

The merger created winners and losers. One group of winners that have been neglected are the other airlines. Say what? Other airlines can be big winners in this merger. For the merger to be approved by the DOJ, the "new" American Airlines needed to give up "52 slot pairs at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA), 17 slot pairs at New Your LaGuardia Airport (LGA), along with certain gates and facilities used to support services at those airports. [In addition}, the airlines agreed to divest two gates at: Boston Logan, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas Love Field, Los Angles International and Miami International." Other airlines will be able to bid on these divested slots. In a nod to consumers, the DOJ ordered that the only airlines that could bid on these slots are LCC or Low Cost Carriers. 

The Motley Fool put together an amazing article on how Southwest and Jetblue will be the true winners of the AA & US Merger. According to Adam Levine-Weinberg, the author of the article, "The DOJ wants these slots to go to 'low-cost carriers' to enhance competition at these two key airports. Instead of specifying low-cost carriers, or LCCs, it would have been more straightforward to call out Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways directly. Not only are they the top two LCCs in the U.S., they are also by far the most interested in expanding at Reagan and LaGuardia and have the greatest financial resources."

Who Is A LCC?

LCCs or Low Cost Carriers typically are non-legacy airlines. "On paper, at least, the U.S. still has a substantial number of LCCs that could potentially bid for the slots that American and US Airways are giving up. Beyond Southwest and JetBlue, privately held Virgin America and Sun Country Airlines fit the LCC designation. Even Alaska Air -- which is technically a legacy carrier -- markets itself as a 'low-fare' carrier. Additionally, there is a growing group of airlines that brand themselves as 'ultra-low-cost carriers.' This includes Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Travel, and Frontier Airlines."  Even though many of these airlines are categorized as low cost carriers, not all of them are likely to bid on the spots of DCA or LGA.

Why Not Bid?

This is where the Motley Fool article gets really good. Many have predicted only Southwest and JetBlue will bid on the now empty slots. Why? A few reasons:

1) No West Coast Flights

 - DCA & LGA have flight distance restrictions of 1,200 miles. Frontier and Virgin America have 
   hubs on the West Coast. They are unlikely to bid on the slots at DCA & LGA, because their
   flights from those airports will require a stopover. No direct flights to their respective hubs.
   Why would you want slots that would require layovers?

2) $$$

   DCA & LGA are airports with lots of customers with money. Money that can be spent on
   airlines tickets. All the airlines know this. For this reason, the cost of the slots are going to
   be pricey. "The last time slots became available at LaGuardia and Reagan (in late 2011), 
   JetBlue paid $40 million for eight slot pairs at Reagan and $32 million for eight slot 
   pairs at LaGuardia." The cost of all the slots will reach $200-$300 million range.

   The cost to buy the slots might knock-out a few LLCs. Sun Country and Frontier are probably
   out. Both airlines do not have the capital to invest in those slots. While Sun Country and  
   Frontier are LLCs without the money to buy the spots, Allegiant and Spirit Airlines do have 
   the cash. The two airlines have the cash, but the two still won't bid on the slots. It will go 
   against their ultra-low cost carrier model. "Investing tens of millions of dollars in slots does 
   not seem to fit the ultra-low-cost carrier "profile." They are more likely to serve alternate 
   airports where operating costs are lower. That's because ultra-low-cost carriers cater to 
   leisure travelers who are very price-sensitive, as opposed to business travelers who will 
   pay extra for the convenience of using a close-in airport." For these reasons, Allegiant
   and Spirit Airlines will bow out of the bidding.

Who Does That Leave?

That leaves the two giant Low Cost Carriers: Southwest and Jetblue. These airlines are going to get slots at two of the business national airports in the country and access to millions of customers. How do I know this? Look back to the 2011 sale of slots at DCA and LGA. Who bid on these slots? Only Southwest and JetBlue airlines and they will do it again. 

Who will be the real winner of the merger?  Southwest and JetBlue! 
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Interesting Offer From Southwest

Southwest sent me an email with an interesting offer:

Oh, great Southwest is offering me 500 Rapid Reward Points. What do I need to do?

Wait, this is a two step process to earn 500 points?

First, I need to spend $75 at the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal by November 28, 2013. If I do this,     I will earn 250 bonus points.

Then, I need to file by 2013 taxes with TurboTax via the same Shopping Portal to earn the
    other 250 bonus points.

    Way to much for 500 points.

    Ummmm.....no thanks!

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My Experience With Southwest Airline's Live TV

As I wrote here, my Southwest airplane to Chicago was going to be equipped with WIFI/Live TV. I was excited about trying it out. You see Southwest is trying something different. Instead of equipping their planes with entertainment systems, they have created a system that transmits entertainment content directly to passengers' ipads, computers, or even cellphones.

Here is a video describing Southwest's new service:



My Experience With Southwest's Live TV

My flight from Washington's Dulles (IAD) airport to Chicago's Midway airport was only about an 105 minutes long. This gave me about 75 minutes with the new system.

First, I tried to use the system on my Kindle Fire. I was able to log into the wifi, but I couldn't get the Live TV to play.

I then tried to access the Live TV on my netbook and had success. After opening the wifi on my laptop, the Southwest's entertainment website opened up. On this screen, there will be a drop down menu detailing the options available to you:

Under the games section, there are two games. Both of which are free:

I then went to see which movies were available. The selection of movies that were available was amazing. I counted over 25 movies ranging from comedies to drama to children's movies. There was something for every member of the family.

What impressed me was that each movie was only $5. That's a great price. $5 is the top price I pay to rent movies from Amazon. I did not rent a movie, because I didn't have enough flight time to watch it. 

Another cool feature of the system is that it shows the time left on the flight. On the top bar, there is a little airplane to show the progress of the flight:

The status is a great feature, but the plane did not move on its own. You had to refresh the screen to see how much time was left in the flight. This is something Southwest should fixed.

Click on the Destination button and you will get a flight map. The map shows where the flight is at the moment. The screen also has monitors showing the altitude, heading and ground speed.

Below the map is a five day forecast of the destination of the flight:

The one section that I did try was the live television.  Currently, the live television is free due to Dish. Thanks Dish! There is 15 Live Channels and about 30+ TV Shows. The preloaded TV shows are from the TLC, Food Network etc. Nothing really excited me. Therefore, I decided to watch some live TV.

As you can see, there is a wide range of channels. Once you load the live TV, a television schedule appears with what is on each channel. Again, the schedule does not update as time goes on. Another thing that needs to be fixed, Southwest. 

The TV screen is tiny. Super tiny. This little picture is less than 1/4 of my computer screen. I though there was a button to increase the size of the screen, but no one existed.

I was very impressed with the quality of the live television. It was clear, next froze or needed to be rebooted. The other thing that impressed me was the speed in the show loading after switching channels. I switched channels at least 50 times and only once did the show not load. That's amazing!

Overall, I was very impressed with Southwest's IFE system. There decision to use passenger's systems is brilliant. Instead of spending money on putting TVs in each seat, Southwest built a great platform to use. I only used the Live TV feature, but I am excited to use the wifi to surf internet and movie features on future flights.

Two thumbs up on my first experience.

Have you used Southwest's new IFE system?

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Southwest Let's Me Know My Flight Will Have WIFI

Today, I am flying to Chicago on Southwest for our college football weekend. I am very excited. What has made me even more excited is that my Southwest flight is scheduled to have WiFi.

Yesterday, Southwest sent me an email letting me know that my aircraft is scheduled to have wifi.

Even better, Dish is offering free Live Television/On-Demand Programming.

This is a great way to start this trip!
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