Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[irt9206]

Does your flight say Max8? My flight back says 737-800, but that's not the Max8. I think.

It's a MAX8. Hope they change the plane and not the time

 

[Disneycouple99]

I got IND to MCO round trip for 4 people during Columbus day week for 47,239 points. I'm happy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This may get lost in all the release date frenzy but my husband was just e-mailed HUGE news and probably will impact a lot of folks here on the Boards that purchase EBCI:





It's now updated in their Program Policies in the link below--also includes the specific instances where the automatic inclusion won't apply

https://www.southwest.com/html/gene...a92d5efe23&src=MAILNOT1806032#member-boarding
My husband presently is A-List. Unfortunately our April flight is on 2 different reservations--one with his travel credit and mine with points. Still though this is something to keep in mind for the future.

The information above says it will automatically check in people on the same reservation so basically giving part of the A-list benefit.

 

[elle101me]

It's a MAX8. Hope they change the plane and not the time

Hopefully they will just change the plane. It seems like they've been updating the MAX8 situation around the middle of each month on their website, so it should be soon.

 

[IluvMGM]

Got my return flight at $79 and at an okay time, was pleasantly surprised. Had giftcards also, so only paid about $100 out of pocket.

 

[beercity]

Wow, zero non-stop flights GRR-MCO in September....

 

[han22735]

I booked this morning using the low fare finder before it released the normal way. I just looked again and prices went down. I got back 2100 points.

 

[Chrizwald]

Just got 2 for late October BNA-MCO for just under 20,000 points total. Both non-stop. 8am depart, 7ish PM depart on the way back. This is my first time booking with points, so it looked good to me.

 

[KerryCM]

Got my flights for Oct. 13-20 for $81 going down and $112 coming home. Nashville to MCO! Great times too, very happy

 

[poohj80]

Booked our flights from BHM for Fall Break, but prices weren't great ($125 each way) and only 1 non-stop flight to MCO where there are typically 3-5 per day. Hopefully more get added as we get closer to time. I booked on points so hope to get some points refunded as our travel date grows closer.

 

[scrappinginontario]

My thanks too! I had been impatiently checking all morning and then decided to stop by this thread to see what was up. Just booked our August trip through the low fare calendar for less than 9k points per person. Does this low fare calendar thing always work on release days?

Yes. For as long as I have been looking (probably 5+ years now since this information was shared with me) I've always found that the low fare calendar displays the new dates before the normal way of booking does. It's a great little tip to know and has saved me a lot of money over the years!

My flight into MCO is on a Max8. Great.

My flight home is also displaying a Max8. I'll keep an eye on it. Thankful that it's the flight home and not the one to Orlando.

Does your flight say Max8? My flight back says 737-800, but that's not the Max8. I think.

This is our return flight and an example of what it looks like if you're currently booked on a MAX8 flight. Hoping they will change the plane by September.

This may get lost in all the release date frenzy but my husband was just e-mailed HUGE news and probably will impact a lot of folks here on the Boards that purchase EBCI:

View attachment 480489

View attachment 480490

It's now updated in their Program Policies in the link below--also includes the specific instances where the automatic inclusion won't apply

https://www.southwest.com/html/gene...a92d5efe23&src=MAILNOT1806032#member-boarding
My husband presently is A-List. Unfortunately our April flight is on 2 different reservations--one with his travel credit and mine with points. Still though this is something to keep in mind for the future.

The information above says it will automatically check in people on the same reservation so basically giving part of the A-list benefit.

I think this is great for the A-list people and their families. We don't tend to have too many A-listers on our flights I don't think, if they're they ones with A1-15 boarding groups.

@Mackenzie Click-Mickelson does your husband normally get assigned an A1-15 Boarding Number or, am I misunderstanding and he gets A16 and above?

 

[Anal Annie]

Boy this was a real cluster you know what this morning. It took forever to get the fares to show and I tried on both my phone and on my computer. Fares for Oct much higher than I'd hoped and definitely higher than what everyone is reporting for Aug & Sept. I finally settled on $142 pp for the 2nd flight of the morning from BWI on Oct 4 and $194 pp for a 7:05 pm return on Oct 11th. There always USED TO BE a 9:00 or 9:15 return flight which I always used to book and which was not there this time. They skipped from 7:05 to 10:20. That's just too late for us as we live about an hour away from the airport. So that was a bummer. It was only $119 so could have saved $75 pp. Guess I'll start watching the fares and see if they drop and I can get any credits now that I've booked these.

 

[poohj80]

Boy this was a real cluster you know what this morning. It took forever to get the fares to show and I tried on both my phone and on my computer. Fares for Oct much higher than I'd hoped and definitely higher than what everyone is reporting for Aug & Sept. I finally settled on $142 pp for the 2nd flight of the morning from BWI on Oct 4 and $194 pp for a 7:05 pm return on Oct 11th. There always USED TO BE a 9:00 or 9:15 return flight which I always used to book and which was not there this time. They skipped from 7:05 to 10:20. That's just too late for us as we live about an hour away from the airport. So that was a bummer. It was only $119 so could have saved $75 pp. Guess I'll start watching the fares and see if they drop and I can get any credits now that I've booked these.

We're flying on similar dates and had the same issues with the typical flights not being available and higher prices than usual.

 

[shoreward]

...

 

[shoreward]

I think this is great for the A-list people and their families. We don't tend to have too many A-listers on our flights I don't think, if they're they ones with A1-15 boarding groups.

A- and A+ members are automatically checked in at T-24, with boarding positions starting with A16. A1-A15 are set aside for Business Select customers and those purchasing upgrades at the gate.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think this is great for the A-list people and their families. We don't tend to have too many A-listers on our flights I don't think, if they're they ones with A1-15 boarding groups.

@Mackenzie Click-Mickelson does your husband normally get assigned an A1-15 Boarding Number or, am I misunderstanding and he gets A16 and above?

A1-A15 is only for Business Select fare (or Upgraded Priority) and IME the slots aren't completely filled on average so you're probably thinking of that.

A-Listers, strictly speaking for Boarding positions, would be ones who are A16 and on and are those who purchase Anytime Fare or Wanna Get Away fares. You could be an A-lister and book Business Select fare but you're already going to get A1-A15 anyways so that's why I excluded that from the above comment.

Each flight is different so you may have one flight be more A-listers than another and different flight times may be more conducive to business travelers who may be more likely to earn A-list.
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The reason I more mentioned about EBCI is because boarding slots that were previously not used up by passengers on an A-lister's reservation were ones able to be used by EBCI and non-EBCI purchased tickets. So in the future if people see their particular flight's ticket with EBCI purchased and have a worse off Boarding position than they hoped for in the past people tended to equate that to "there's just so many people purchasing EBCI" but now there's an added layer in there that can affect one's Boarding position.

ETA: I too think this is good for A-listers even though we won't likely get to take advantage of the new adjustment in program benefits. I knew SWA had been looking at their Business travelers (who tend to be more the ones to get A-list at least quicker) for ways to adjust their program. Really though I knew they were looking into their most frequent travelers and perks given to them so it's possible more changes could come in the future.

 

[chicagoshannon]

how does one become an A-lister? And do you have to be an A-lister before the flights are purchased or can that happen as long as you haven't flown on that flight yet?

 

[shoreward]

how does one become an A-lister? And do you have to be an A-lister before the flights are purchased or can that happen as long as you haven't flown on that flight yet?

You need to fly 25 one-way revenue flights (not paid with points or vouchers) or earn 35,000 tier-qualifying points within one calendar year. Status earned in one calendar year is good for the balance of that year, + all of the following year. The count resets every year on January 1 for attaining A-List and A-List Preferred status.

 

[shoreward]

..

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

how does one become an A-lister? And do you have to be an A-lister before the flights are purchased or can that happen as long as you haven't flown on that flight yet?

I think there might be adjustments on transactions that qualify for A-list for status through 2021. Here's the link for that information: https://www.southwest.com/html/rapidrewards/eoy-tier-communication.html

Presently for A-list it's either 25 one way qualifying flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points. For A-list Preferred it's 50 one way qualifyiing flights or 70,000 tier qualifying points.

"A-List and A-List Preferred qualification will be based on a calendar year."

For your answer on whether the flight is purchased already and then you earn A-list: "Once A-List or A-List Preferred status is earned, the Member can begin enjoying the benefits immediately. The Member will maintain A-List or A-List Preferred status for the remainder of the calendar in which the status was earned and for the entire calendar year immediately following."

To be automatically checked in at 36 hours (a benefit of A-list) you will have needed to fully earn A-list status prior to 36 hours before the flight. However, A-listers are always able to board after A Boarding Group should they not end up getting an A Boarding position. So so long as you've fully earned A-list (your SWA Rapid Rewards account should reflect this) you would be able to board after group A should you not get an A Boarding position. If the ability to Board after A's has changed I'm unaware of it but it's possible with all the updates SWA is doing with their programs that it could/would.