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If Flight is Changed not Eligible for Refund

jsbauma
Explorer C

So here is the timeline of events that happened to me with a very frustrating ending.

 

Around 1/17/2020 I booked a flight for myself, my wife and my dad to Travel from MDW to RNO for my dad's 50th anniversary of his bowling trip.  From January to March flights went down so we rebooked at a cheaper rate.  Then COVID-19 happened.  Our trip was moved from 4/14-4/18 to 7/21-7/24. 

 

Southwest then cancelled our flight on 4/27/2020.  I called on 5/19/2020 and had the funds refunded to my credit card with the only caveat being that since we rebooked at lower rate the original funds could not be refunded.

 

 5/24/2020 - The bowling tournament was back on so we booked another trip on 9/29-10/2 from MDW to RNO

 

6/30 - Southwest changed our flight from 1 stop to 2 stops.  We received an e-mail saying if we weren't happy to change our flight so we did.  I called and mentioned that the early bird check-in did not transfer over so the lady I talked to was able to move 1 early bird check-in over and refunded the other and immediately rebooked the other early bird check-in.

 

7/15 -  Our trip was officially cancelled and Nevada is on a non travel state for MDW.   So I called and talked to someone and that person said since it was a wanna getaway ticket it was not eligible for a refund.  I said our in April was the a wanna getaway ticket but you still gave me a cash refund.  She put me on a brief hold.  She came back and said because we can not determine who changed your flight we will give you a cash refund and it will be processed in 7-10 business days.

 

7/22 -  I called Southwest again because I did not see the refund yet and I was told it would be there in another week.

 

7/29 -  I called Southwest again because I did not see the refund.  The woman I talked to told me to call 855-234-4654 and press option 5 because they would be able to address this.  I did so and I quote, "BECAUSE YOUR FLIGHT WAS CHANGED YOUR CASH REFUND IS NULL AND VOID."  No where in the e-mail we received when Southwest changed our flights did it mentioned anything about taking a cash refund.  No where on the website does it say that because you chose a different flight your are ineligible for a cash refund.  So now here we are out $617.88 because of a technicality on Southwest's Part.

 

So now I have to appeal this refund to get my money back.  All I was told is that this money is eligible to you until September of 2022 so that's good right?  I guess I could always cash it in for rapid rewards and see if my car loan company will accept that as payment, or my cable company, or my water company, or mortgage lender right?  That way the cash I need right now is available to me right now.

 

1 REPLY 1

Re: If Flight is Changed not Eligible for Refund

chgoflyer
Aviator A

If Southwest cancels your flight, you are entitled to a full refund (back to the original form of payment).

 

If you cancel your flight, you are entitled to travel funds, with the extended expiration date of September 7, 2022 (currently).

 

You say, "7/15 - Our trip was officially cancelled and Nevada is on a non travel state for MDW."

 

Did you cancel, or did Southwest?

 

(Also, there are no "non-travel states" for MDW. Chicago has instituted quarantines for travelers coming from specific states , but that does not mean travel from those states isn't allowed. Southwest is still flying to those states.)

 

It sounds like you've already discussed this with Customer Relations, so, unfortunately I doubt there's much that can be done at this point. Sorry I can't offer any other advice.