Southwest

December 17, 2014

Save 20% When Redeeming Points on Southwest!

Southwest just sent me an email with a unique promo code offering me the opportunity to use 20% fewer points when redeeming them for a Southwest award flight. This might be targeted but make sure to check your inbox (and junk folders in case) for an email for your code.

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Reading the terms and conditions, here are the key details:

1. Flights must be booked by December 22, 2014.

2. Valid for roundtrip travel only from January 6th to February 12th. There are blackout dates around MLK weekend from January 16-19.

3. The 20% point savings is only valid for Wanna Getaway Fares purchased 7 days in advance (aka the cheapest level of fares).

4. Valid only on domestic flights and flights to Puerto Rico. No international flights included.

This promotion should work with those using the companion pass as well as I don’t see anything in the terms of conditions preventing that. I’m not in front of a computer to test this but I wonder if it is possible to get the discount on one flight if one falls outside the range (i.e depart Feb 11 but return Feb 13 after travel window is over).

Share your experience if you got an email with a code. I don’t think I’ll use mine so I’ll raffle it off to anyone to who comments by Friday night the 19th, 11:59pm EST. There is no guarantee this code will work if used outside my account (basically I don’t know if the codes are linked to a specific account and will only work for points used in that account) but if it does, someone will get my code.

July 6, 2014

Quick Deal: How To Get 15% Off EVERY Southwest Flight!

UPDATE: Deal is Dead per commenter Yana. TwoSmiles seems to have pulled Southwest gift cards off the site.

Earlier this week I posted two deals on how to save 20% on Frontier Airlines flights (now expired) & 20% on JetBlue flights (still ongoing) but there were restrictions around the dates you could travel.  Well, I just saw a post from Just Another Points Traveler that you can now take 15% off Southwest Flights without any travel restrictions!

The way this deal works is you are buying Southwest Gift Cards at 15% off through gift card site Two Smiles when you use promo code FIREWORKS15 at checkout. Southwest Gift Cards have NO expiration date or inactivity fees so you can use them for any flight in the future!  The only restriction on this deal is you must purchase the gift cards via the Two Smiles website by tomorrow night, 7/7/14. 

15% Off All Gift Cards Above Including Southwest Airlines!

15% Off All Gift Cards Above Including Southwest Airlines!

If you have any upcoming travel you need to book on Southwest or you know within the next year or so you will be flying Southwest (remember they fly international now), I recommend purchasing the gift cards now. It is rare to find this large a discount on Southwest flights so unless you are using Southwest points, this is the next best deal to take 15% off ALL Southwest flights.

 

July 2, 2014

Point & Center: $50 Off Hotels, Southwest Flies International & More…

Point & Center is a new feature here where I share some of the big news and offers in the points and miles world that necessitate their own blog post. Think of it as a 60 second summary of some of the highlights in the points and miles world today.

1) Expedia is offering $50 off a hotel booking over $200 if you book via their mobile app. Via Million Mile Secrets, click on their special 4th of July coupon link here and enter your cellphone number to get a unique coupon code. Book your reservation via their mobile app (download it first if necessary) and enter the coupon code Expedia texted you to take $50 off if you book by July 7th and stay before December 31st.

2) As of yesterday, Southwest Airlines now flies international to several destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico. Based on your travel needs, I think this could drastically increase the value of Southwest points for some of you. Legacy carriers like American, United and Delta all charge 35,000 miles roundtrip but I’ve found many itineraries on Southwest to be pricing significantly cheaper. Here is an example from Long Island, NY to Aruba in September pricing out at only 24,220 points!  Before you book your next Caribbean or Mexico getaway, remember now to always give Southwest a check as well for the best deal (both in dollars or points).

Only 24,200 points roundtrip!

Only 24,200 points roundtrip!

3) As highlighted in Points & Miles 101, Starwood SPG points are quite valuable as they can transfer to airlines at a ratio of 1 SPG point to 1.25 airline miles if you transfer in increments of 20,000 points. Well American Airlines has announced a promotion where you will receive a 20% bonus on the miles transferred from Starwood to American Airlines. So if you follow my advice and transfer in increments of 20,000 points, you will end up with 30,000 American Airlines miles instead of the standard 25,000 miles. I wouldn’t make any speculative transfers but if you need miles to book an AA award, this is a nice little bonus to save you some valuable SPG points.
UPDATE: This works for US airways as well!

4) Frontier is giving away 20 $100 gift cards and $1,000 off Frontier flights to one winner for celebrating their birthday by liking them on Facebook. I don’t heavily promote contests like these but it literally took 8 seconds to enter it, so why not? The link to enter the contest can be found here – Frontier Birthday Bash.

I hope you enjoyed the inaugural edition of Point & Center – feel free to let me know your thoughts on this and I can make this a more regular post!

May 20, 2014

Roundup of Four Offers for Free Points & Miles!

This has been a good week for free points and miles as several deals appeared this week. I’ll give a brief rundown of each.

1) Create a Southwest Frequent Flyer Account and Earn 750 Miles! Hopefully most of you followed my advice previously and created your frequent flyer accounts already but if not, Southwest is offering 750 miles for signing up for an account. I have a referral link I can send you directly to signup in which you will receive the 750 miles and I will receive 500 miles for referring you. Please contact me if you’d like me to refer you!

2) 500 United Miles –  United has a dining program in which you can earn 500 miles just for signing up! I’ll go more in-depth on airline dining programs in another post but basically you link your frequent flyer number and credit card and if you go out to eat at a participating restaurant, you get extra miles! Once you signup and link a credit card, there is no extra work – just pay with that credit card at the restaurant!

3) 2,000 Marriott Points Per Month via Social Media. Marriott just launched a new program called “Plus Points” in which members can earn up to 2,000 Rewards Points per 30 days for participating in specific social media tasks on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare. This includes liking hotels on Facebook, tweeting certain hashtags and more. The Points Guy has a good rundown of the info here. If you did this for a few minutes each month, you could potentially earn 24,000 points a year which is a free hotel room up to category 5!

Free hotel room for playing around on social media!

Free hotel room for playing around on social media!

4) 500 IHG Points! The hotel program for Intercontinental, Holiday Inns and more is offering 500 free points for taking 3 really short quizzes (seriously it takes 20 seconds each). Here are the links to the quizzes (below just click the quiz) and here is a separate link to the answers (c’mon how easy can this get).

1. 300 Point Quiz 

2. 100 Point Quiz 

3. 100 Point Quiz (#2)

Now of course none of these deals alone will get you enough miles for a free trip but every little bit helps. You never know when you might be 500 or 1,000 points short. Remember the points and miles game is a marathon, not a sprint and every little bit helps.