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“Prepurchasing” Southwest tickets to meet bonus requirements
Hi all, i just got my Southwest credit card and I need to spend X amount of dollars in the first 3 months to get my bonus.
I should be on track for that but in case I’m short as time runs out, I was thinking I can book some flights on Southwest, pay with my card (where I get bonus points), and then just cancel my tickets and get flight credits to use for another time while still fulfilling my spending requirements on my card.
Has anyone done this before? I understand flight credits are only good for a year but I fly enough throughout the year to make that work. Feedback appreciated. Thank you!
Welcome [USER=6069]@Cornflakes[/USER] – the spending requirement doesn’t have to be spent on Southwest itself, it’s for any spending you do on that card. So I’d put all my everyday spend on that card and if toward the end of the time you don’t think you’re going to make it I’d check out grocery stores and office supply stores that sell SW gift cards (or any other type of merchant gift card) and top off my spending that way.
And don’t forget about Plastique and Amex Bluebird/Serve which can be used to pay bills (like rent/mortgage) that you typically can’t charge to a credit card.
Good call on the gift cards! Thanks for your reply! Part of the reason why I was thinking of buying Southwest tickets then cancelling is I get 3x the points so my “pre-purchase” gets more bang for the buck but gift cards are a pretty safe bet, especially with a place like Amazon where I know I can spend a lot of money especially come Christmas time!
The SW idea should work too, and the bonus points might come in handy. It’s essentially the same concept as buying a gift card.
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