I received a few emails from friends alerting me to a series of targeted promotions that were showing up in their accounts.  I was not targeted however this flyertalk thread compiles the various promotions that were sent out and also the very interesting update that the promotions have since disappeared!

What happened

The varying offers were all for activity between September 16, 2013 and November 21, 2013.  The fact Southwest rolled out an active offer and then removed it obviously creates a significant issue for those who booked flights intending to receive the seemingly genuine targeted offer.

The wide variety of targeted offers makes me speculate Southwest intended to roll out a promotion similar to Marriott Megabonus where everyone gets something but there are a handful of different options Southwest chooses for you based on the type of customer you are.

What I think

Now that the rollout was botched, I speculate we’ll be seeing a simplified nationwide Southwest promotion for all flights between September 16, 2013 and November 21, 2013 as both goodwill and to have a promotion during a period where they had originally intended.  Southwest generally likes to keep things simple so I was actually surprised they attempted to run a more complex promotion.

After I initially wrote up this post, a contributor in the flyertalk thread passed on a message that they received word from an agent that suggests a nationwide double points promotion may be in the works.  That is actually the exact style of promotion I had envisioned.

What it means

As is the case with every Southwest promotion, you have to book after you have registered for the promotion.  As a result, you may want to hold off on booking in the next couple days (if you don’t think the price will increase) to see if the promotion does indeed materialize so you can collect.  You can always cancel and rebook but that can be a real pain sometimes.

The bottom line

Again this is purely speculation but my Southwest Sense tells me something is coming.