Southwest Says “Thank You” With A Purchase Points Promo

When airline programs (like US Airways) sell points via share or outright purchase opportunities, there can be some value to be had. In many cases, you can purchase enough miles so that you are only paying a few hundred more to fly in a premium cabin instead of the coach ticket you were thinking about paying for.

But, when it comes to programs like JetBlue and Southwest, buying points from them is rarely a good idea. I say “rarely” because there may be some instances where you are needing some extra points for an award redemption and you do not have any Ultimate Reward points to transfer over (which transfer at a 1:1 rate). Other than that single instance, it is not a great idea (I will say – for “most” people).

Southwest Says “Thank You” With A Purchase Points Promo

So, when Southwest tries to say “Thank You” to me with an “opportunity” to purchase points with a 30% bonus, it is not exactly the way I like to be thanked. Apparently, this special “thank you” is also targeted – only one member of my family received the promo even though we all should have been eligible (based on the wording in the e-mail). The funny thing is that all of our accounts were eligible once we signed in. If you are curious, go here and login to see if you have the 30% offer.

Is it a good idea to purchase these points if you receive the 30% offer?

Breaking Down The Offer – Is It Worth It?

Southwest Rapid Reward points normally cost 2.75 cents to purchase/gift. To buy at that price is a terrible idea because the most value you will get out of the fixed-rate points is around 1.6 cents. So, you will actually be paying more to buy points than it would cost to buy the ticket outright!

With this 30% promo offer on the sale of purchased points, your cost comes down to 1.92 cents per point. That is quite a bit better but still not even at the level that you would be redeeming the points for! However, if you have an upcoming trip and you need a few thousand to top up your account for that redemption (and you do not have any Ultimate Reward points to transfer), this is going to be the best price that you will get for purchasing Southwest points.

Details:

• Visit the site here to login and see if you are eligible
• Must purchase the points by January 31, 2015
• The offer is not tiered – you will get 30% off if you buy 2,000 points or 60,000 points

Next time, Southwest, you can thank me buy giving me something like 30% off airfare instead of off the points. 🙂