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Where is my refund÷

a_van22
Explorer C

I booked a flight using my SW miles. I received an email saying that they had to cancel the flight and that I would be receiving travel vouchers. 1. My points were NOT refunded to my account. 2. When you book with miles, you are supposed to be refunded the tax to your credit card. 

I have tried calling several times and have even done the thing where they call you back but even then there was never anyone on the other end. I looked to see if the flight was still available for booking and the SAME flight was. Now I don't even want to go because it will probably get canceled due to Covid, I just want my points back and my money refunded to my credit card. 

 

In the email it also said it would turn into vouchers, well I tried to look them up and there was an error message.

 

Any suggestions on how to get this problem resolved?

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Where is my refund÷

bec102896
Aviator A

I would reach out to Southwest on Facebook or Twitter in a DM that way they can look in to your flight and see what is going on with the missing points. 

 

One thing to remember the points will go back to the account they came from originally. 

 

-Blake 

Re: Where is my refund÷

dfwskier
Aviator A

In the event of a flight cancellation, Southwest typically rebooks passengers on the next available flight.

 

Check your SW account upcoming flights to see if that happened to you. If it did, that would explain why nothing has been refunded to you. If you don't want that flight, simply cancel the flight and points will be refunded to your RR account, and fees will be refunded to the account that was used to pay them.

Re: Where is my refund÷

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:

In the event of a flight cancellation, Southwest typically rebooks passengers on the next available flight.

 

Check your SW account upcoming flights to see if that happened to you. If it did, that would explain why nothing has been refunded to you. If you don't want that flight, simply cancel the flight and points will be refunded to your RR account, and fees will be refunded to the account that was used to pay them.


 

FYI: For points bookings, it appears they're no longer rebooking customers, just cancelling outright. I'm not sure if this applies to every points booking, but I've seen multiple reports in the last few days. I suspect that, due to the very limited schedule, they're focused on rebooking cash customers only, as a way of reducing refunds given.

 

Here, taken from another online forum (and emails I've received from friends), is the language used in a points booking cancellation message, followed by ones for a cash booking cancellation and a cash rebooking. Note that the points one doesn't rebook or even direct the customer to do so. And that neither cash ones ever mention anything about the DOT required refund option.

 

Points booking:

We want to make you aware that your upcoming flight (Confirmation #AAAAAA) has been affected by changes we made to our schedule and we were unable to rebook you on a similar flight within three days of your original departure date.

 

We're refunding your Rapid Rewards® points to your account and processing a refund of the taxes and fees to your original form of payment.* While refunds are processed by Southwest® within seven business days, depending on the financial institution, it may take up to 30 days for the credit to appear in your account.

 

We're sorry your plans were impacted by our changes. Today and every day, we're committed to reconnecting you to the people and places you love. We're in this together and thank you for your patience as we navigate through these changing times.

 

Stay Heart Strong,
Your friends at Southwest Airlines®

 

Cash booking, cancellation:

We want to make you aware that your upcoming flight (Confirmation #AAAAAA) has been affected by changes we made to our schedule. As a result, we were unable to rebook you on a similar flight within three days of your original departure date.

 

Therefore, your payment has been turned into reusable travel funds. We’re sorry your plans were impacted by our changes.

 

If you're ready to rebook, we encourage you and any of the original Passengers on the reservation to visit Southwest.com to rebook your travel using your travel funds. If your new itinerary costs more than the funds you have available from your previous reservation, we're happy to cover the price difference as long as:

 

  • Your new trip occurs within 60 days of your original travel.
  • Your origin and destination airports are the same (i.e., the same trip).

 

If you would like to pursue this option after you've confirmed online that your new itinerary costs more than the original, call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792).


If you're unsure about your future travel plans
If you’d like to wait to rebook, rest assured the funds used to pay for this trip will be available to the Customer(s) named on the ticket(s) to use and fly by June 30, 2021.

 

Once you're ready to use your funds, simply use AAAAAA to access these funds in the future (similar to "store credit" at most retail establishments*).

 

Today and every day, we're committed to reconnecting you to the people and places you love. We're in this together and thank you for your patience as we navigate through these changing times.

 

Stay Heart Strong,
Your friends at Southwest Airlines

 

Cash booking, rebooked:

We want to make you aware that your upcoming flight (Confirmation #AAAAAA) has been modified due to changes we've made to our schedule, and we have proactively made a change to your reservation.

 

Rest assured that your reservation is confirmed and no further action is required.

 

See new itinerary

 

If you'd like to change your Itinerary

We're sorry your plans have been impacted by our schedule changes—if you'd like to rebook this itinerary, please visit Southwest corn/rebook.

 

You can change your travel to a date within 30 days from the original date of travel without paying any difference in fare if you are traveling between the same origin and destination. Look for flights that are marked as "Available" as flights that display a price point aren't eligible for change without paying the fare difference.

 

If you'd like to cancel your travel

If you decide not to travel, simply cancel your flight at least 10 minutes before its scheduled departure time and the funds used to pay for a nonrefundable ticket will be available as travel funds for future use.


In recognition of the current travel environment, we are extending the expiration date of some travel funds beyond their normal availability period: Customers' funds that have expired or will expire March 1-June 30. 2020 will now expire June 30, 2021


Today and every day, we're committed to reconnecting you to the people and places you love. We're in this together a. thank you for your patience as we navigate through these changing times.

 

Stay Heart Strong,
Your friends at Southwest Airlines