(EXPIRED) [Targeted] Up to 12K bonus Southwest Rapid Rewards points with flight activity

Southwest Airlines is sending out targeted offers for bonus points with paid flight activity. In my case, I received an offer for 12,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points with 3 round trip flights — but the catch that will likely prevent me from taking advantage is that it requires Anytime or Business Select fares. Still, I’ll register in case I need a last-minute flight — and it’s worth checking your offer to see if you’ve received something better.

The Deal

• Southwest is offering a targeted promotion good for up to 12,000 bonus points (in my case). Here are the details of my offer (let us know in the comments if you’ve received something different):
  • Book and fly one round trip: Get 2,000 bonus points
  • Book and fly a second round trip: Get 4,000 more points
  • Book and fly a third round tripL Get 6,000 more points
• Log in to your account at Southwest.com and check your “promotions” tab to see if you are targeted.

Key Terms

• Earn up to 12,000 Rapid Rewards® bonus points on Anytime or Business Select Fare flights when you register and book between 1/22/2020 and 3/31/2020 and travel between 1/22/2020 and 3/31/2020.
• Only the Rapid Rewards® Member who received this offer from Southwest Airlines® is eligible for this promotion.
• Offer is nontransferable.
• Registration must be completed prior to booking and commencement of travel.
• Member’s qualifying flight must be an Anytime or Business Select fare and must be booked through Southwest Airlines between January 22, 2020 and March 31, 2020 (such period the “Booking Period”) for travel between January 22, 2020 and March 31, 2020 (such period the “Travel Period”).
• Member’s Rapid Rewards account number must be entered at the time of booking Member’s qualifying flight(s) to earn Rapid Rewards bonus points for that flight.
• Valid on new reservations booked within the Booking Period.
• A qualifying flight is a round trip revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city and back to the originating airport or carrier-recognized co-terminal.
• Points will be deposited within four days after completion of entire ticket.
• Travel booked or flown prior to registration for this promotion is not eligible for the Rapid Rewards bonus points offer.
• Rapid Rewards bonus points are in addition to the standard flight points earned through Rapid Rewards.
• Rapid Rewards bonus points will not count toward A-List, A-List Preferred, or Companion Pass qualification.
• Charter flights, group travel, Companion Pass, Southwest Vacations® packages, and reward travel do not qualify for promotion. Valid on Southwest Airlines published scheduled service. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase may eliminate qualification for promotion.
• This promotion cannot be combined with any other promotion. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply.

Quick Thoughts

As you can see, my offer is to get bonus points for each of 3 round trip flights booked and flown by March 31, 2020, but the catch is that they must be Anytime or Business Select fares. My wife received the same promotion. To see if you are targeted, log into your account at Southwest.com and click on the “promotions” tab.

While I don’t fly Anytime or Business Select fares often, there have been a few times when I’ve needed to reserve a flight last-minute and they have been my best option. While I think it is unlikely that I’ll find myself in that situation between now and the end of March given a pretty light travel schedule this quarter, I’ll still register just in case.

Notably, the promotion excludes travel booked prior to registration, so make sure you register now so you don’t forget about this until after you’ve booked a qualifying trip. Also, the terms indicate that round trip travel is required. That may be the nail in the coffin on this promotion for me as I very rarely make a round trip booking, preferring separate one-ways. Also keep in mind that these bonus points will not count toward Companion Pass or A-list qualification, so they are purely redeemable points. With a value around 1.5c each (and maybe more — see this post), the rebate may actually be an incentive to book an Anytime fare over an option with another airline, particularly if you get to the second or third booking, where you’re looking at around $60 / $90 worth of bonus points for booking with Southwest.

Overall, this won’t get me to change any of my plans, but I’ll register right now to make sure I receive credit if I end up in the circumstance to need an Anytime or Business Select fare.

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