Planning to guide a visit in 2024? Nicely, flying to your subsequent vacation spot by way of Southwest Airways has simply gotten a little costlier — at the least in relation to utilizing your Southwest Fast Rewards factors.
In case you are a Southwest Fast Rewards member, it’s possible you’ll casually skim (or skip altogether) studying each phrase in your Fast Rewards account assertion.
As first reported by Frequent Miler and confirmed when this TPG author checked the underside of her Fast Rewards account assertion e mail on Nov. 10, Southwest just lately issued the next discover:
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, for flights bought utilizing Fast Rewards factors, the variety of Fast Rewards factors required per greenback of base fare will improve by roughly 4%.
So, what does this imply for vacationers?
Associated: Southwest revamps Fast Rewards by decreasing thresholds for standing
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Southwest Fast Reward factors can be price much less in 2024
“We just lately shared with Fast Rewards® Members that starting Jan. 1, 2024, they’re going to see a modest improve within the variety of Fast Rewards factors required per greenback of the bottom fare to redeem Wanna Get Away®, Wanna Get Away Plus®, Anytime, and Enterprise Choose® fares,” a Southwest spokesperson informed TPG in a press release. “We proceed our concentrate on enhancing the Prospects’ experiences and stay dedicated to delivering nonstop Southwest Hospitality. We’re making this transformation as a standard course of enterprise to adapt to the present atmosphere and elevated value pressures.”
Although Southwest is giving its prospects ample discover relating to the change, this isn’t the primary time the airline has devalued its factors program, which already ties the variety of factors required to the money value. In 2021, the loyalty program decreased the worth of Fast Rewards factors by 6%.
Associated: One of the best Southwest Airways bank cards
Backside line
Whereas a 4% improve within the variety of factors wanted to guide an award flight will not be an enormous loss, it is attention-grabbing that an already revenue-based program would see a devaluation like this. With the present sample, although, it would not shock us if this occurs once more with Fast Rewards in one other couple of years.