Southwest has mildly devalued its Rapid Rewards points by about 3%. What's alarming isn't the size of the devaluation, it's that:

Southwest gave no notice, only some sleuthing by FlyerTalkers sussed it out
This is the third devaluation in third years, something which is completely unnecessary for a revenue-based program like Southwest

The Devaluations
Southwest points used to be redeemable for any "Wanna Get Away?" fare at a rate of 60 points per dollar of the fare.

My law school buddy, Ray, asked to write a piece about his experience getting $4,000 worth of flights for $257 with the Southwest Companion Pass. Of course, I said yes because I have never been able to personally review the best deal in travel hacking. I've added a section at the bottom about how you can get the Southwest Companion Pass today and copy what Ray and his wife have done.

Longtime reader Caveman is offering one lucky reader a $51 Southwest gift card.

Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter, and you can enter both ways.

If you live at an airport served by Southwest, the Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best deals in travel. Every time you fly Southwest--whether on a cash or award ticket--your designated companion flies for free plus taxes: $5.60 one way in the United States and a little more internationally.

Here's how to open two credit cards and get the Southwest Companion Pass for almost all of 2016 and 2017.

The Southwest Companion Pass previously allowed three changes to your designation of the companion. Now you get three changes per calendar year.

Longtime reader Caveman is offering one lucky reader a $51 Southwest gift card.

Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter, and you can enter both ways.

Southwest is offering $49, $99, $129, and $149 one way fares if you book by tomorrow (June 4) and fly between August 25 and December 16. Fridays, Sundays, September 3-5, September 7, and November 20 - December 1, 2015 are blacked out.

For other restrictions and all the city pairs, see the sale page. Here are the $49 fares from Baltimore:

There are even a few sale prices under $49.

If you prefer to fly with another carrier, check to see if they are matching the sale.

Longtime reader Cave Man is offering one lucky reader a $51 Southwest gift card.

Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter, and you can enter both ways.

Southwest currently has a purely fixed-value rewards program. For every dollar of the base fare, you have to redeem 70 Rapid Rewards to get your ticket (plus you pay a $5.60 per direction government tax on each redemption.)

That's about to get worse, much worse in my opinion.
Current Rapid Rewards Scheme
Let's look at an example. Here are the pries for tickets from Los Angeles to Tampa this March. They vary greatly by day from $207 to $334 to $607.

If you select a day with $211 fares, not all fares that day are $211.

Longtime reader Cave Man is offering one lucky reader a $51 Southwest gift card.

Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter, and you can enter both ways.

Longtime reader Cave Man is offering one lucky reader a $51 Southwest gift card.

Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter, and you can enter both ways.