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This has been the year of the Southwest Airlines promo sale. I started blogging in 2015, and I haven’t seen the volume of flash sales and promotions as I have this year ( you can see a list of them here ) for Southwest which indicated to me that perhaps we were in for a shift. Were things working that well if the airline needed to almost perpetually offer sales? Yes… Southwest is known for these flash promos, but it’s been very heavy this year. I had my suspicions we were going to see some big changes, and big changes are coming ( full presser here ).
Southwest has been known to be one of the most profitable airlines since its inception, employing an open seating model alongside a point to point route network. This point to point network lead to the Christmas IT meltdown in ’22, and Southwest was one of the only airlines unaffected by the Crowdstrike IT collapse last week that still has Delta planes on the ground and thousands stranded nationwide. Back in February Southwest unveiled refreshed cabin interiors and rumors began circulating that investors, alongside customers, were wanting seat assignments, possibly a different routing network, etc.
Customers apparently hate the open seating
The research is clear and indicates that 80% of Southwest Customers, and 86% of potential Customers, prefer an assigned seat. When a Customer elects to stop flying with Southwest and chooses a competitor, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the change. By moving to an assigned seating model, Southwest expects to broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future Customers.
And so we have it…
- Seat Assignments are coming
- Unclear when, but it’s coming in 2025
- New Premium Seating Is coming
- Extra Legroom
- Plans are for 1/3 of all seats to be premium
- Redeye Flights bookable now, start flying Valentine’s Day 2025
- Initital Routes
- Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando;
- Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville;
- Phoenix to Baltimore
- Initital Routes
Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the Company,” said Bob Jordan, President, CEO, & Vice Chairman of the Board.
See ya in September
There you have it folks… Assigned Seats and Premium seats are coming to Southwest. I’ll be attending a media day in late September where I’m hoping i’ll get a first hand, up close look at the the new offerings in Dallas which according to Southwest ( below ) seems to be the timeline.
The Company will share further details about product designs, cabin layout, timing, and incremental financial value at its Investor Day in late September. The move to assigned and premium seating will be significant. In addition to incorporating new technologies and procedures for a seamless transition, the new cabin layout will require approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration. Southwest expects to make bookings available in 2025.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- $300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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