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Questions on booking with points and cash on Southwest


NOSaints1
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We're cruising on the Dream out of New Orleans in April, we've got enough points for one way on Southwest to New Orleans for two people, can you book using points on the way down and book a return flight paying cash for the return flight? And how does it work and is this a good way of booking a flight without spending a lot of money. Our Hilton hotel was 400 a night so we used 120,000 points for the 3 nights prior.

 

 

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When selecting the flight, there is a payment option, one is for points.

Even with roundtrip booking, you still select a flight with fare/points each way. So regardless of how you pay, you can always book a one way flight.

 

 

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Southwest is fine and many people swear by them, but they are not my preference. First of all, even with free bags they are rarely cheaper for me than Delta. Also, they don't fly to Europe, so I prefer to keep my points/miles with an airline that does, for greater travel flexibility. I also prefer choosing my seat at the time of purchase, rather than playing the boarding order roulette that Southwest plays.

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How do you know which aircraft is used when you book? I know they fly the 737, but how do you know which model is being used.

 

Since there is no assigned seating on WN, does it make much difference? Especially since they can easily do an equipment swap at any time.

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As usual, FlyerTalker is correct, until you reach the end of the jetway, you won't know which model of a 737 you are on. I fly Southwest fairly regularly and even with the app for my phone, I have found that they must be changing equipment fairly late in the game. When you check in, the app tells you if the plane you are on is WiFi enable (Free TV!) but 10-15% of the time, I will board and find out that the particular plane doesn't have wifi.

 

NOSaints - If this is your first time flying Southwest, then I suggest reading on Southwest's website about their boarding system so you are familiar with how it all works. If you are like me and are too tall to be comfortable in a regular seat, and are willing to risk $15 each way, consider purchasing early bird boarding - with this, the airline assigns you a boarding number and typically you will be among the first 60 to board - this doesn't quarantee you will get an exit row but you stand a much better chance....this works for me about 40% of the time. If I don't get the exit row, then I usually pick the row right behind it as it seems to me it has a smidge more legroom. Row 1 also has more leg room, but because of the curvature of the side walls near the front of the aircraft, the seats are slightly narrower so for us wide-ettes, I prefer to sit elsewhere. Other things to know, Southwest doesn't charge a change fee and if your airfare goes down after you purchase your ticket, you can get a voucher (good for future travel) through the website.

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Do you know when they will release the schedule for April

 

 

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They just posted their schedules up to January 7, 2018. On their site, scroll down to "Contact Us", and choose email. Send them an email asking when they plan to open up their schedule for your time frame. That is what I do, and they have always responded, letting me know the date, so I can mark my planner for that day.

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If they don't assign seats, do they overbook?

 

 

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Southwest does not overbook. When you check in 24 hours prior to flight, you are assigned a boarding number. You board according to that number. There is no first class, but you can pay an additional fee, just to board in first group to grab a seat more up front. It always seems we get stuck at the back of the plane! Keep in mind, that the later you check in, the higher boarding number you will have, and you will be the last group to board. So, go online EXACTLY at the 24 hour prior mark and check in. There will still be plenty of people boarding before you, because they may be paying the extra fee to board earlier. Plus handicap and families with young children board first. You grab a seat wherever you can find one once boarding. I fly Southwest all the time, as you cannot beat their customer service, low fares, and 2 free checked bags.

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Grandmarnurse is almost completely correct....families with small children board after the first 60 boarding numbers (A group) and before the second 60 (B group).

 

There are three ways to get a low boarding number - buy "Business Select", this gets you one of the first 15 boarding positions (and a free drink) OR buy "Early Bird" which automatically checks you in before thd T-24 hour mark - you should end up in the A boarding group (but not guaranteed) and I typically am somewhere between A20 and A50 OR as Grandmarnure stated check in at EXACTLY T-24 hours before your flight. I stopped doing this when they started Early Bird and so many folks pay the $15 each direction and found I was getting higher numbers which meant I never was able to get an exit row. If you aren't tall or wide then you shouldn't worry about the Early Bird as you will typically get a boarding number that will allow you to choose seats together.

 

In answer to your question about using points - unlike other airlines, the points convert into dollars and once you "buy" your ticket whether with points or dollars everyone is in the same pool (except for Business Select) to get their boarding numbers. If you want to use points for Business Select, you can - it will just cost you more points.

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What about IROPs? WN does not interline when they have problems? (put you on another carrier)

For me at 6'8" I'll take the extra inch width and 2" pitch other airlines provide.

While WN flies only Boeing 737 they currently operate four versions and the 700 its 31" pitch the others are 32/33. 800 seats 175 (its longer) the other 145 all 17" width.

 

737-300 Evolve

737-300 V2

737-700

737-800

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As usual, FlyerTalker is correct, until you reach the end of the jetway, you won't know which model of a 737 you are on.

 

Actually, if you can see the fuselage from the terminal, you can tell if it is an -800 or not. If there are 2 emergency exit windows over the wing, it is an -800. If there is only one, it isn't.

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