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Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager
Solution

Hi @Snappy,

 

Thank you for joining the Southwest Airlines Community and for posting your question. Because adressing your particular situation would require visibility to your Rapid Rewards Account and the various balances therein, I encourage you to contact our Customer Relations Department at 1-855-234-4654. 

 

One of our Representatives will be able to walk you through the specifics of the Companion Pass and how requalification works. Reach out to us - we're here to help! 

 

Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

Snappy
Explorer A

Thank you, Lindsey.

WHen I first contacted RR through email, I was disheartened by a rote response from someone repeating the rules in the fine print.

I now understand the fine print and the specifics of the Companion Pass "SYSTEM"as laid out in the fine print but I am quetioning the arbitrariness of such a rule and the misleading Dashboard.

I will call them and I hope I can reach someone with enough authority to make exceptions considering the spirit of the program instead of the letter of the fine print. My 1/1/2017 statement from Chase Visa consists entirely of 2016 transactions and happened before the RESET!

 

Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

Snappy
Explorer A

I am on hold with Customer Relations 1-855-234-4654 . Remember Option 3 gets you to RR and fine print repeaters. I was told to choose Option 5 (description is really vague).

After 20 minute hold, reached a Supervisor who kept repeating the same fine print and didn't seem to understand the crux of my issue. I told her to read my email and get me a Manager who can override. Still no go. Apparently they don't make any exceptions.

I put up good arguments that

1) I have no control over the posting date

2) Chase Visa posting dates are arbitrary

3) They should fix the System so that Visa reports poitns by earned month

4) Dashboard is completely misleading when the RESET really happens

I managed to extract a promise of a callback from a manager who can do something about this and not just repeat the fine print in T&C.

All in all, frustrating and disappointed that they would treat a nearly 20-year customer of SWA and RR Visa like myself in such an unsatisfactory manner! What good is human discretion if it cannot compensate for the failure of a poorly designed computer system which follows arbitrary calendars! 😞

Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

Snappy
Explorer A

I don't know why Lindsey gets to mark this as SOLVED even though I am the Original Poster!

NOTHING IS SOLVED!

I still think ordinary, reasonable, loyal LONG TERM Customers of Southwest were desceived by the misleading Dashboard which tempts you into thinking the goal is near and achievable but with a T&C written by a lawyer weasel who twists himself into a pretzel to claim points in multiple or numerous transactions over a month could be excluded from consideration based on some arbitrary posting date over which the customer has no control!

This is what happens when you let a CART drive a HORSE. When you let mediocre IT and its deficient systems drive company policy. No amount of lawyer weasel language can cover up the poor design misleading loyal customers. Total mishmash with no consistency in calendars or treatment of points earned from different sources.

No, noting is solved.

I plan to write to Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines. I expect more of an innovative Southwest Airlines started by Herb Kelleher! I doubt he would tolerate such mediocrity or such poor customer service.

Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

Snappy
Explorer A

Here is the nub of the problem:

Points are earned in single transactions at the completion of an EVENT. Travel, end of a Partner transaction such as car rental, Hotel stay etc. and EVRY SWIPE of the RR Visa Card as they proudly claim. EXCEPT that in the case of the swipe of the card, the earned points are treated differently! Why? Because, SW is constrained by a mediocre IT department which can't or doesn't want to pinpoint when the points were earned but allow multiple EARNING events to be consigned to an arbitrary posting date over which the customer has no control! That is a fair system? Because you got some some weasel lawyer to twist himself into a pretzel to write some weaselese in the T&C to blatantly subject these earned points to disparate treatment! Totally unacceptable! Especially from SWA!

Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

AshleyMainz
Employee
Employee

Good Morning, @Snappy

 

Thanks for your contributions to the Southwest Airlines Community. On behalf of our Community Team, I wanted to provide some clarity for you and other members as to why your original post was marked as solved. You asked for a contact to discuss the Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program, which Lindsey provided. As a Community Moderator, Lindsey has the authority to mark a post as solved when a question has been answered.

 

As stated in our Terms of Use and User Guidelines, this Community is not a formal Customer Service channel. The Community is a place to share your knowledge about Southwest and learn from others through friendly, productive discussions. If you need Customer Service support, you still have several options for reaching Southwest that you can find here

 

Understandably, the subject matter here has been lively so I want to thank everyone for keeping the conversation respectful. 

 

Ashley Mainz

Southwest Airlines Community Manager

Ashley
Community Manager
Southwest Airlines Community

Re: Manager Contact for Rapid Rewards Companion Pass program needed to appeal for discretion

Snappy
Explorer A

Hi Ashley,

 

I guess you are right. I asked for the Manager contact to solve my problem. Lindsey provided the contact phone. (Select Option 5). So, asked and answered, even if my problem remains and I am still waiting for the promised Manager Call.

 

Perhaps I should open a new thread to discuss the Companion Pass issues where NOT all earned points are treated qually. RR Visa points are LESS EQUAL in terms of counting towards Companion Pass (and possibly other perks) qualification. As an IT professional, I will also suggest solutions to rectify this deficiency.

Thank you.