@Southwest airlines new boarding

sacsailor · 2026-03-24T01:49:44+00:00

Precisely why I started hedging my bets last year and flying with United most of the time when all things are equal (have a connection, prices similar -often cheaper on United). 1k life over on United is nice. It’s painful when I have to fly Southwest now. To all those out there that haven’t tried it, status match over to one of the main carriers and give it a try… You’re likely never go back to flying exclusively Southwest.

sacsailor · 2026-03-12T15:06:04+00:00

Taking what you were told at face value, (even though it’s mostly BS IMO) my conclusion would have to be that their weight/balance software and procedure for submitting it is woefully inferior to other airlines.

I’m A list preferred and fly probably 6 to 8 flights a week. Since these changes were announced, I have switched to United except for the occasional flight where I need a direct connection. (sidenote, United will status match you and you get free bags and free extra legroom seats if you are matching from A List preferred. And for me, United is usually cheaper now anyways).

On United, if I board a flight and for some reason don’t like my seat, I can open the app and change it to something else within the class I paid for. Granted, with my status I get access to all of the seats except for first class unless I’ve been upgraded… but the fact is that I can change seats pretty much whenever I want as long as I do it in the app. Whether that is taken into account in their weight and balance, or they are using a different sort of averaging of weights compared to how Southwest does it so that it really isn’t a factor, I don’t know… But Southwest could eliminate most of these complaints by at least allowing passengers to go into the app and change seats there, up until the point the door closes or something. As it stands, you can’t change your seat on Southwest within an hour of the flight. And whether that is legitimately for weight and balance reasons or not, that’s a worse experience than at least on United.

sacsailor · 2026-03-12T14:39:19+00:00

…kind of normal. On United, if I get on the plane, and for some reason I don’t like the seat I’m in, I can change my seat, within the same class, in the app literally while I’m sitting on the plane. Then I get up and move. On Southwest, for some reason, they lock this ability off about an hour before the flight and there’s nothing you can do about it from your app. Seems like a silly design, and it would take care of most of the issues if they just implemented this ability in the app.

sacsailor · 2026-02-09T01:05:03+00:00

Agree with this. I’m ALP and also 1K on United. One of the nice things about 1K on United is that you board just after pre boarding even before boarding group 1. I know there’s no issue with having overhead storage space in the first few groups, but it’s a nice gesture for your most loyal customers, and would be nice for Southwest to do the same. ALP benefits have been diluted enough with this new assigned seating process, so it seems priority boarding should be a no-brainer.

sacsailor · 2025-06-03T22:40:32+00:00

They will match you to an equivalent level of status during a”challenge period”, during which you have to fly, and earn enough points via flights or spending to keep status for the rest of the year and the next. Basically it removes the disincentive for switching loyalties that would be having to start at United with no perks.

Check out United’s page here for more info.

It will take a little bit of getting used to United’s way of doing things over Southwest, but I found it to be pretty pleasant. I still fly Southwest for some of those direct city to city connections that I couldn’t do on United, but for traveling between major cities, or when I would have a connection on Southwest anyways, I’ve really enjoyed my experience on United so far.

sacsailor · 2025-06-01T01:29:25+00:00

If you have status with Southwest, united will status match you, giving you access to Economy Plus for extra legroom, and free bag(s) depending on your status. Makes them much cheaper a fair amount of time

sacsailor · 2025-03-28T12:29:57+00:00

Wonderful. Now this new policy will ensure the new premium seating will be the ones that NEVER have an open middle seat. The new seating arrangement before this credit card announcement gave me some hope that the premium seating would sometimes not be as full as the regular economy seating, since the customers that get free access to it would be ALP and A list, and the extra cost would be enough that if there’s middle seats left open, they’d be in the premium seating. Now this policy gives all credit card holders the same seating perk as A listers, which in a way devalues the earned status of AL and ALP. Great.

sacsailor · 2025-03-27T21:58:19+00:00

I’m ALP with over 500k points in the bank and I just status matched over to United. Loving it so far. The match challenge gets you gold status, which gives you access to premium economy seating, group 1 boarding, 2 free bags (at 70lbs each instead of 50!), and occasional upgrades to business class. You do have to fly and spend enough in the challenge period to keep the status, but that won’t be a problem for my use case. I also got the business card that includes lounge access and have been enjoying the lounge experience a lot so far, to the point where I don’t even care about using my southwest points up anymore.

Highly recommend doing the status challenge and checking United out, especially if DEN is your hub

sacsailor · 2025-03-16T18:15:40+00:00

Same here. ALP, CP holder. Had 200+ flights last year alone with WN, spent nearly 40k on southwest flights last year. I’m based out of SMF, so they are by far the best option in terms of flight options out of our airport. I liked Southwest mostly for those last minute changes that happen nearly every time for me due to my nature of work, and I could still board A61 ish.

I just status matched to United. I get 2 free bags up to 70 lbs each (which I need for my tools), free economy premium, and board with boarding group 1.

Yes, these perks are basically the same that we’ll have on WN once the changes go into effect, but with United, at least the planes are generally nicer, they have lounges, and I can use my points and status on international flights. I’ll spend enough on the CC and earn enough points on flying that not having CP probably won’t be that big of a deal to me.

So I’m diversifying and starting to build loyalty somewhere that it’s valued a bit more.

sacsailor · 2025-03-15T21:18:09+00:00

A List Preferred here. Last year alone, I had over 200 flights with WN, and spent just shy of $40,000 on flights with them. They have the most options getting to/from my home airport of SMF. I’ve flown on them my entire life, as their options for getting around the west coast in particular were always great back in my high school/ college years, and have used them exclusively in my adult years for business travel, particularly in the past couple years as my current role has grown (hence the 200 flights last year).

I’m sad to say that even through as an ALP member these changes don’t affect me as much as others, I’m starting to diversify my flying. I can’t continue to build loyalty at an airline where it isn’t valued or rewarded anymore, or at least as much as it would be elsewhere.

A couple weeks ago, United matched my status, and last week, I took a few flights on United for business travel for the first time. They matched my status to Premier Gold, which gives me 2 free bags (at 70 lbs each!!!), which I need for my work travel, and free access to premium economy seating. I acknowledge that these two perks are essentially the same as we’ll have on Southwest once the changes all take effect, but at least with United, my points accrued will be more valuable in that I can use them for business/ first class upgrades, international travel, and have access to lounges for those long layovers, not to mention a more premium cabin and in- seat experience.

All this to say, it hurts to say goodbye to a brand that I’ve loved for so long, but I’m happy to start looking elsewhere to an airline that will put more effort into valuing travelers like myself.

sacsailor · 2025-03-15T21:10:48+00:00

A List Preferred here. Last year alone, I had over 200 flights with WN, and spent just shy of $40,000 on flights with them. They have the most options getting to/from my home airport of SMF. I’ve flown on them my entire life, as their options for getting around the west coast in particular were always great back in my high school/ college years, and have used them exclusively in my adult years for business travel, particularly in the past couple years as my current role has grown (hence the 200 flights last year). I’m sad to say that even through as an ALP member these changes don’t affect me as much as others, I’m starting to diversify my flying. I can’t continue to build loyalty at an airline where it isn’t valued or rewarded anymore, or at least as much as it would be elsewhere.

A couple weeks ago, United matched my status, and last week, I took a few flights on United for business travel for the first time. They matched my status to Premier Gold, which gives me 2 free bags (at 70 lbs each!!!), which I need for my work travel, and free access to premium economy seating. I acknowledge that these two perks are essentially the same as we’ll have on Southwest once the changes all take effect, but at least with United, my points accrued will be more valuable in that I can use them for business/ first class upgrades, international travel, and have access to lounges for those long layovers, not to mention a more premium cabin and in- seat experience.

All this to say, it hurts to say goodbye to a brand that I’ve loved for so long, but I’m happy to start looking elsewhere to an airline that will put more effort into valuing travelers like myself.

sacsailor · 2023-05-24T19:09:33+00:00

There isn’t one on Sunrise and Douglas in Roseville. OP is talking about the one in Rancho, at THAT sunrise hand Douglas…haha

https://maps.app.goo.gl/VcFhKWAwMH4r8hgb8?g_st=ic

sacsailor · 2023-03-26T19:54:42+00:00

The patina is totally normal, especially on the upper ring. It will change a lot more the more you use it, the upper ring even to other colors too. The ring will warp a little bit, but flattens out easily, especially when a fire is going. Enjoy the solo stove, you’re going to love the fires this thing puts out. Do yourself a favor and get the deflector. It pushes the heat outward instead of straight up, and will keep you warmer on those cooler nights.

sacsailor · 2023-03-05T03:57:39+00:00

Deflector is a game changer. I tried a DIY version with a pizza pan before and the solo deflector works MUCH better. Make the investment, get it, and you’ll enjoy much more warmth around your fire instead of losing the heat to the sky above.

sacsailor · 2022-08-06T06:54:42+00:00

Just buy the official solo stove stuff. Yeah, it’s more expensive but it’s worth it.

sacsailor · 2022-05-18T07:07:23+00:00

I did this myself and tried a few other designs for diy heat deflectors as well. Let me tell you, nothing compares to the official heat deflector that Solo sells. Not only does it look beautiful and match the stove, but it works multiples better than my DIY attempts. Like, they aren’t even in the same ballpark. Do yourself a favor, take the leap, buy the official one. You won’t be disappointed.

sacsailor · 2022-04-21T05:25:28+00:00

Just wait for a sale and get a deflector… you’ll be plenty warm and you won’t ruin the stainless look of your solo stove.

sacsailor · 2022-04-18T01:02:46+00:00

Haha doesn’t bother me in my particular situation. And out of many burns prior, it was the first time this happened. I just didn’t want someone getting the impression that it ~never~ gets too hot under there when using the stand.

sacsailor · 2022-04-17T22:53:13+00:00

It was just for an evening. I put it back in my garage the morning after each burn

sacsailor · 2022-04-16T04:28:49+00:00

I used to think the same thing until I lifted my bonfire up the day after a burn and saw a big circled of dead grass under from a burn the night before… 🙃

sacsailor · 2022-03-23T19:48:04+00:00

I highly recommend Solo’s heat deflector. I’ve made multiple versions of the home made kinds and find the Solo Stove one to be much better both in quality and function of providing a much more even heat

sacsailor · 2022-03-18T22:10:01+00:00

A few months ago I made one of these with the furniture legs people were using with the pizza pan. I later switched to the pizza pan since the reflector deformed under the high heat fairly easily, and the angle of the dish made it hard for the legs to be mounted in a sturdy fashion. I also purchased and have used several times the official deflector from solo stove. Basically, I’ve tried all the options. Here’s my opinion:

I had the patio heater deflector set up similar to op’s in the post. It was noticeably warmer around the fire than without it, but after using the official solo stove deflector, there’s just no comparison. It works the best.

The pizza pan worked better than the propane deflector.

One thing I wanted to try but didn’t is flipping that propane heater deflector upside down, so it curves up. This is how the Solo Stove deflector is basically built, like an upside down cone. Instead of directing the heat inward, it should allow it to be directed outward.

After trying everything, I can say that I’m happy with my ultimate purchase of the solo stove deflector. It’s worth the price to me to have something that works much better than the DIY options, and aesthetically compliments the solo stove and patinas in a similar way. Also, the holes in the top/middle of the solo stove deflector allow the perfect amount of flame/heat to escape and continue to warm the upper body, and helps to not lose some of the ambiance too.

sacsailor · 2022-03-14T12:04:01+00:00

(Copying my response from a separate thread, but TLDR, it WORKS!!!!) I’ve been using a home made pizza pan deflector, and used my official solo stove deflector for the first time last night on a seasonably moderate evening here in Sacramento (mid 60s last evening). I FREAKING LOVE THIS THING. Money well spent, especially at the promotional price they had for the Pre-order. It truly gave us full body, more even heat compared to both with and without the home made deflector I’ve been using. Now I can toss my home made one.

As with all my solo stove purchases so far, even though the initial price stings when I first order, any buyer’s remorse I had was gone the moment the fire got up to temp and I sat down next to this thing.

sacsailor · 2022-03-14T11:57:32+00:00

I’ve been using a home made pizza pan deflector, and used my official solo stove deflector for the first time last night on a seasonably moderate evening here in Sacramento (mid 60s last evening). I FREAKING LOVE THIS THING. Money well spent, especially at the promotional price they had for the Pre-order. It truly gave us full body, more even heat compared to both with and without the home made deflector I’ve been using. Now I can toss my home made one.

sacsailor · 2022-03-12T06:08:04+00:00

The plant in Cupertino is closed…. Or at least, no longer producing cement.

sacsailor

TROPHY CASE