Early Bird Check In, no refund

[theautopilot]

EBCI (or, Early Bird Check In) is not refundable even when I am required to make a small change to the booking.

I was booking one of my friend's flights for the first time and spelled the name wrong (it had a capital letter in the middle which I did not capitalize). I cancelled it so I could fix this error, as is the typical process, and suddenly found I was paying $50 for this mistake since I added EBCI to the original flight. There is a reason that there is a 24 hour cancellation policy! Also, this was not at all obvious from the booking screen that EBCI is not included in the typical 24 hour cancellation policy, nor in the cancellation screen. This predatory behavior from Southwest should not be tolerated.

I see that the community has learned a way to avoid this by instead rescheduling a flight into the future and then re-rescheduling a flight back to the flight time when they might have made an error. In that case, this is basically a tax on the uninitiated.

This is a matter of law. I recommend anyone who is impacted by this problem to file a complaint as stated here: https://secure.dot.gov/air-travel-complaint and see https://www.cntraveler.com/story/24-hour-flight-cancellation-rule 

[theautopilot]

See also the 24 hour section in this article: https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/refunds

[bec102896]

If you made a simple type-o on a reservation all that would need to be done is a call to Southwest and as long as it’s not the whole name your changing they should be able to fix it and you wouldn’t need to cancel and rebook. 

you could reach out to Southwest and see if they can add the EB back or issue a voucher for the cost of the EB if was just a simple mistake hopefully they would help 

[DancingDavidE]

---

@bec102896 wrote:

If you made a simple type-o on a reservation all that would need to be done is a call to Southwest and as long as it’s not the whole name your changing they should be able to fix it and you wouldn’t need to cancel and rebook. 

you could reach out to Southwest and see if they can add the EB back or issue a voucher for the cost of the EB if was just a simple mistake hopefully they would help 

---

I second @bec102896 to call and ask, or reach out on social media. 

The intention is that the terms state it is non-refundable, but in this case you rebooked for a new flight I think you'll have a good chance of reaching someone sympathetic in this case.

When you canceled it the airline doesn't know if you will be rebooking right away or never again.

If the flight is changed instead of canceled then EBCI is retained, so what you are asking meets the intention of EBCI sales.

[theautopilot]

Thanks.

Unfortunately, I was on hold for a good two hours before I had to go. I suppose I'll keep calling.

Doesn't change the legality of it.

[cheyenneallgood]

Hey @theautopilot so sorry to hear of your frustration! While this is a Customer-to-Customer forum, I'm happy to hopefully point you in the right direction. If you're unable to hold for a phone call, our Social Care Representatives are available to assist on Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for contributing to the Community!