Southwest Helps Newlyweds Fly To the 50th State on Their Bucket List

Image: Southwest Airlines Pilot wearing a COVID-era face mask. (photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines)
Image: Southwest Airlines Pilot wearing a COVID-era face mask. (photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines)
Laurie Baratti
by Laurie Baratti
Last updated: 10:22 AM ET, Sat June 5, 2021

Southwest Airlines has just helped a pair of newlyweds realize their dream of visiting all 50 states, which was within their grasp when their plans were derailed by the pandemic last year.

Not long after they met, local Cleveland couple Mack and Mary turned their intense love of travel into the ultimate adventure-a shared goal of visiting all 50 United States. Last year, they had gotten engaged and would have succeeded in seeing every single state if they'd been able to take their intended honeymoon trip to Hawaii. But, plans for both their wedding and honeymoon, along with their finances, were ruined when COVID-19 struck.

The pair told KYC Cleveland that they did end up tying the knot in 2020, at a park in the town where Mary grew up, but had to cancel their reception. They now live in Lakewood, Ohio, and-like so many Americans amid the pandemic-have been concentrating on projects around the house instead of jet-setting to new places.

In a feel-good turn of events, Southwest caught wind of their story and stepped up to help the couple make up for the unmade memories and travel moments that they missed out on in 2020.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase gifted them 100,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points (which never expire), A-List status and Southwest's coveted Companion Pass benefit, valid through the end of 2022. That's more than enough points to get the newlyweds to Hawaii and back! Chase and Southwest even equipped Mack and Mary with a GoPro so that they can document all of their upcoming adventures.


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Laurie Baratti

Laurie Baratti

Assistant Editor

Laurie Baratti is an Assistant Editor for TravelPulse. She is a San Diego-based journalist whose work has previously appeared in publications like TravelAge West, SPACE, Modern Home + Living, Montage, and Sandals Life magazines. Travel writing has long been her passion, and she is always looking for excuses to explore the world outside of her native California. Laurie is also a lifelong equestrian, a proud pet-parent, and an underground advocate of the Oxford comma.

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