The old Southwest Airlines free drink coupons had no expiration date. The new ones do. So as a savvy traveler, I was using the new ones first expecting that the old ones would never expire. On a recent flight I was informed that the old ones are no longer being honored. This was the first I had heard of it. Now I am left with 15 worthless coupons.

I liked how the old ones had funny conversation starters on them. Lots of other customers must have complained because on November 8 they mailed me 4 coupons out of the blue.

Southwest Airlines has my email address. They send me offers to purchase travel all the time. You would think one of those messages would have said "Drink up. Old coupons are about to expire." Although I might not have been able to consume them all, I could have shared the remaining ones with fellow passengers.

Getting ready for AU travel is alive in the lab.