I had no idea this was in the works, but according to this Flyertalk.com thread, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) and Southwest Rapid Rewards are now partners.  You can earn .5 Rapid Rewards credits per qualifying stay at any Starwood hotel and transfer your Starwood points to Rapid Rewards at the rate of 1,500 points per Rapid Rewards credit.  This is one more travel option for those of us that carry the fabulous Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express.  More details on the partnership here.

I’m a big fan of the Starwood Amex card, and carry it as my primary credit card.  Starwood points are among the most versatile of frequent traveler currencies out there, and I highly recommend that all travelers at least consider the Starwood Amex for their primary card.   Starwood points transfer 1 to 1 into most airline frequent traveler programs, United and Continental being notable exceptions.  While I’m not a big Southwest flier, this new partnership with Rapid Rewards is just one more feather in Starwood’s cap.  Visit spg.com/transfermiles for more details on the points to miles transfer program.  And oh yeah, you can use those Starwood points for hotel stays too. 

ETA: I just noticed Ric at Loyalty Traveler has weighed in on this topic.  Check out his post for more insight.

I’ve posted previously about my experience with Southwest’s Early Bird Check In (EBCI).  I thought I’d share the scoop on my most recent EBCI experiment.

Mrs MJonTravel and I took a trip from BWI to Columbus (CMH) over Mother’s Day weekend.  About 2 weeks before, I knew that I would be in the middle of a business trip at the 24 hour before check in point, and really in no position to check in for the next day’s Southwest flights.  Furthermore, at the 24 hour mark before our return flight, I would be sitting in the middle of a Church service and I really didn’t want to be whipping out the iPhone to check in, lest I be frowned upon by less understanding folks.

Seems to me that situations like that are exactly what EBCI is made for, so I went to Southwest.com and paid for it.  For the record, on the way out, we were A26 and 27, and on the return, A33 and A34.  I don’t think $10 dollars per person each way is at all unreasonable to ensure some peace of mind, and overhead bin space.  Flying Southwest?  Don’t forget to think about EBCI.  This is one extra fee that really is value-added.

Courtesy of Mrs MJonTravel, and possibly (probably since she received a mailer) targeted, so your mileage may vary.  Sign up for The Rapid Rewards Report and The Rapid Rewards E-mail Update at southwest.com/rremail by 5/31/10, remain subscribed for 3 months, and earn 2 Rapid Rewards credits.  No promises, but worth a shot if you aren’t receiving these emails already.

I’m actually sitting on an airplane now blogging via GoGo.  I’m traveling with 2 other colleagues whom I’ll spend the week with in Seattle on a project.  I’ll be there for a week, but both colleagues will actually be traveling on to Los Angeles for another week of work while I return home.

One had the misfortune to pack 57 pounds of clothing for her 2 week business trip, and was dinged by Delta for a whopping $90 dollars for the extra 7 pounds.  Frankly, I was shocked the fee was that high.  $50 dollars seems more the norm, at least that’s what I paid American back in February when returning from a cruise.

Our conversation inspired me to check the fees other airlines are currently charging for overweight baggage.  I started with American, and their fee for 51 to 70 pounds remains a far more reasonable $50 dollars, and $100 dollars is the going rate for bags in the 71 to 100 pound category.  For reference, Delta’s fee for bags between 71 and 100 pounds is a whopping $175 dollars!  Then I looked at United.  $100 dollars for bags between 51 and 70 pounds if you’re not an elite customer.  (Note: I like that UA elites get a 70 pound per bag allowance.)  Continental charges $50 dollars for a bag weighing 51 to 70 pounds.  Continental does not accept baggage weighing more than 70 pounds.  In contrast to these airlines and in keeping with its history of simple and easy to understand policies, Southwest charges $50 dollars per piece for baggage weighing between 51 and 100 pounds.

The meaning of all this?  Learn to pack more efficiently.  I can handle a 5 day business trip with nothing but my 21″ Samsonite roller.  It takes a little practice, but its well worth your time and money.  And remember, it’s not a sin to do a little laundry on the road from time to time.  It’s certainly cheaper to do that than pay $100 bucks for your extra 7 pounds of clothes.

Widely blogged about all over including View From the Wing and One Mile at a Time, but I had to post this.  Southwest Rapid Rewards is offering double credit for flights between now and May 26, 2010.  Register here.  I agree with Lucky.  No way does this mean the other airlines are doing a double EQM offer like last year.  I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it.  If you haven’t flown lately, take a look around you next time you do.  You won’t be alone.

I received a targeted offer this evening for double Rapid Rewards credits through May 31, 2010.  Be sure to check your inboxes and spam filters.  Definitely worth registering.  I’d post the link but it seems pretty tied to my Rapid Rewards number.  Check those emails!

I’m rarely in unanimous agreement with Chris Elliott’s take on the airlines.  That said, I think his piece on the airlines’ hunt for ancillary revenue is close to spot on.  Except at the end where the word “re-regulation” appears, which is a bandwagon I’m never gonna board.

I don’t mind paying extra for something that truly is a value-added service.  Like Elliott, I think that many of the new buy on board food options and internet meet this threshold.  I’m also a fan of Southwest’s Early Bird Checkin product.  Heck, I don’t even mind the pillow/blanket packages, and certainly not the confirmed flight change fee American recently rolled out.

On the other hand, I know you’ve heard me preach on the sin of paying a fee for the first checked bag.  I’m sorry, but one bag is an inherent part of travel and I continue to believe that JetBlue’s policy of including one checked bag as part of the fare is the right one for not just JetBlue, but the entire airline industry.  The other airlines, except Southwest (2 bags for free), obviously do not agree with my opinion.  And don’t even get me started on charging a fee to purchase a ticket from a person, which I maintain is the silliest idea in the history of mankind.  Even worse than the first checked bag fee.

In summary, I remain unopposed to the concept of unbundling in principal as long as the service that is now being “charged for” can legitimately be considered a “plus up” to the travel experience.  Unfortunately, far too many airlines have fallen all over themselves in charging for any and everything they can think of in an attempt to return to profitability.  And for those airlines, I have a question: How’s that workin’ out for ya’?

I think it’s pretty clear to regular readers that American and AAdvantage are my primary airline and mileage program.  But I have to tell you, Southwest Airlines just seems to have a knack for marketing and spunk that is hard to beat.  I mean, has any other airline ever sent you a birthday card?!  I know, it’s not like Herb or Gary signed my card, but still.  I think it’s kinda fun that they send their Rapid Rewards members birthday cards, even if they are pre-printed and mass mailed.

I admit it, Southwest just has something that others don’t.  But alas, they aren’t flying me to Rome in Business Class this summer.  Nonetheless, I still love LUV.

I don’t fly Southwest Airlines very often.  By that, I mean that I fly them 2 to 3 times a year, sometimes a little more.  It’s not that I dislike Southwest, I certainly don’t, it’s just that between my work (which has no contracts with Southwest) and personal travel (which I tend to use to pad my elite qualifying status) I just simply don’t have that many occasions to use Southwest.  I suspect if they were ever to see fit to add Washington National (DCA) to their route map, I might fly them more often, but until then, I will likely not fly them enough to become an “A Lister.”

In any event, I did fly Southwest down to Tampa this weekend, and I thought I’d share the details with you.  I don’t offer my experience as any kind of evidence of anything other than the fact that I had an uneventful and pleasant trip.  I’ve had 2 Rapid Rewards tickets sitting around for sometime now, and I thought this to be an ideal opportunity to use them.  I booked the flights, BWI-TPA-BWI a few months ago with a Friday, January 8 departure, and Monday, January 11 return.  Standard Rapid Rewards inventory was widely available when I booked, and I had no problem securing the seats.

About a week before the trip, I received an email reminder from Southwest of my upcoming trip.  That reminder included a bit of advertising, including an offer to try Southwest’s new Early Bird Check-in (EBCI).  If you buy EBCI, Southwest will basically check you in at 36 hours prior to departure, giving you early access to a better boarding group number in theory.  I was curious to try the product, so I bit.  The cost is $10 dollars each way, so a total of $20 dollars for the flight down to Tampa for Mrs MJonTravel and I.  I only bought EBCI for the flight to Tampa since I just wanted to try it out.  More on how it worked out in a minute.

As luck would have it, Mrs MJonTravel had a work conflict come up that caused us to need to return on Sunday instead of Monday.  I thought to myself “fabulous…I’m sure there won’t be any Rapid Rewards seats left.”  I grudgingly went to Southwest.com, and much to my surprise, all but one return flight on Sunday had Rapid Rewards availability, standard availability at that!  Southwest.com is just one area where Southwest really sets itself apart.  I changed our return reservations myself online, and I promise you, it took less than 5 minutes!  It was so easy.  Kudos to Southwest for making it that way.  No change fees, add collects, or drama.  Yay!  Better yet, had these have been purchased tickets, I could’ve changed our return with no $150 dollar change fees, only paying the difference in fare if there were any.

After changing our flights, it was time to print our boarding passes.  There was no need to rush to the nearest computer at exactly the 24 hour mark since I had purchased EBCI.  Southwest had done the work for me.  I’m sure glad they did, because even with EBCI, our boarding positions were A43 and A44.  Better than C, but not that great, especially considering that we got almost the same boarding positions on the return without paying extra for it.  In their defense, it was a busy Friday night, and our flight was packed.  Furthermore, EBCI is first come, first served and I didn’t buy it until a few days before our flight.  But it still makes me wonder if Southwest might not need to consider a limit on the number of EBCI slots made available?  I think that’s something they may need to think about.

I won’t bother with reviews of my flights.  They were fine.  The inflight staff to/from Tampa were polite, pleasant and friendly, just like you’d expect from Southwest.  We did not check luggage for this trip, and since we had checked in online, we did not interact with ticket counter staff.

Rapid Rewards – Southwest’s Frequent Flyer Program

Rapid Rewards is a fairly straightforward frequent flyer program.  If you are a purely domestic flyer, don’t care about using miles to travel internationally, and live near an airport that Southwest serves, Rapid Rewards is an extremely attractive program.  Fly 8 roundtrips (1 Rapid Rewards credit per flight), you get a Standard Award (16 credits) deposited into your account, no muss, no fuss.  Add the Rapid Rewards Visa to your wallet, use any of their partners, and add credits to you account at a “Rapid” clip.

I was mildly amused when waiting for our flight to Tampa on Friday.  A passenger whom I overheard saying she flew the same flight almost weekly was blathering about how she could never use Rapid Rewards tickets anymore unless she used a Freedom Award (2 standard awards for last seat availability).  I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I was traveling on a standard award (and so was Mrs MJonTravel).    So, those tickets are available.  In fact, a bit of poking around the Southwest website with some test bookings seems to indicate to me that award availability is pretty good.  I’m sure it varies from market to market and time of year, but I didn’t see anything that indicates to me that there is any kind of real difficulty in finding standard award seats on Southwest if you’re the least bit flexible.

The Bottom Line

Southwest works for a great many people, including myself.  Southwest’s great people, simple product, and reasonable policies for changing your travel plans cannot be beat.  While American and AAdvantage will continue to be my primary airline and frequent flyer program for the foreseeable future, Southwest is a compelling option for many, especially if extensive international travel isn’t on your agenda.

We’re here.  Mrs MJonTravel and I flew down Friday afternoon on a Southwest nonstop from BWI.  Our flight was a little late leaving and then we had 135 knot headwinds all the way.  Otherwise, things were fine.  Great actually.  Southwest’s inflight crew was super, passing down the aisles for 2 official rounds of beverages and requests for 3 rounds were cheerfully delivered to whomever asked.

I’ll post a complete trip report next week, with thoughts on Southwest’s new Early Bird Check-in (which I used on the way down), Rapid Rewards (traveling on RR tickets this trip), and Southwest in general (which doesn’t charge $25 dollars to check one bag like Delta now does).

If you haven’t noticed, the $25 dollar price-point for checking one bag is on my radar.  I’ve been soft on bag fees.  Why?  I don’t have a huge issue with “unbundling” in general, and baggage fees in particular…to a point.  Not to mention, as an elite member of 2 mileage programs, I don’t pay baggage fees anyway.  I’ve posted previously that I think the “sweet spot” for bag fees is JetBlue’s policy of allowing the first checked bag free of charge.  Shockingly, other airlines have not caught on to my obvious airline industry genius and continue to pile on.  Apparently because travelers are either buying into this  by paying the fees with joy or annoying the rest of us when they try to sneak all of their crap on the airplane.  Sooner or later, the airlines are going to discover the top end of what travelers are willing to tolerate in regards to bag fees.  Only time will tell if travelers stop flying them before they figure it out.