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Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

sharonrose
Explorer B

EXACTLY!  They are allowing the people who know the secret rules to game the system to get their money in new tickets.  But the ORIGINAL rules for tickets was even if you booked NEW tickets with travel funds and then cancelled they would still only extend to the ORIGINAL date they would have expired -- in my case December 10th.  I've tried repeatedly to extend them through 2021 and been denied.  I'm nearly 70, a widow with limited funds.  The tickets were to be used to visit aging family.  When they steal my funds on December 10th, 2020 that eliminates my chance to see them in 2021 before they die.  I've just received anonymous form letters from Southwest with generic answers.  No one suggested I book NEW travel and then cancel it during the arbitrary timeframe.  Why would I have done something underhanded like that knowing I couldn't travel.  So even though Southwest received MILLIONS in taxpayer money they want to screw a widow out her funds.  How is this ethical?

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

Southwest may allow you to convert expired travel funds to LUV voucher for a fee, per voucher (last reported at $100). 

 

If would help you to get the travel funds combined into a single travel fund if you can find a flight that is a matching value. 

 

Sorry that you may not have known you weren't going to fly these funds yet when you could have made a booking earlier this year and then canceled it and received an extended expiration date for your funds.

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

nschone
Explorer C

I am reading this blog and realizing that my 1667 dollar tickets for a soccer tournament in Las Vegas have been taken from me by SW.   I am totally upset , my girls senior year, senior soccer tournament cancelled and no flights going anywhere.   I kept checking as well  and it said we had until december 2020 to decide what to do - we booked another flight to florida only to have to change that as well.   

 

We can not fly and I lose my 1667.   This is horrible .   Southwest you are not the company I thought you were - and I hope you go out of business if this is how you treat your customers.   

 

So wrong! 

 

 

 

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

dfwskier
Aviator A

@nschone wrote:

I am reading this blog and realizing that my 1667 dollar tickets for a soccer tournament in Las Vegas have been taken from me by SW.   I am totally upset , my girls senior year, senior soccer tournament cancelled and no flights going anywhere.   I kept checking as well  and it said we had until december 2020 to decide what to do - we booked another flight to florida only to have to change that as well.   

 

We can not fly and I lose my 1667.   This is horrible .   Southwest you are not the company I thought you were - and I hope you go out of business if this is how you treat your customers.   

 

So wrong! 

 

Sorry to hear that.

 

So your travel funds have expired? 

 

If so the best you'll be able to do is use the airline's unofficial policy that let's you convert expired travel funds into vouchers. The cost is $100/travel fund to do so. You have 6 months from travel fund expiration date to do so. The resultant voucher is good for 6 months.

 

As a side note  the airline did give everyone with a travel fund created between 3/1 and 9/7 a way of  extending the expiration date of the fund til 9/7/22. The offer was in effect for at least 4 months and expired on 9/7/20. I guess you did not hear about it.

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

nschone
Explorer C

I am sorry for the previous post - I totally misunderstood - Southwest finally called back and straightened out the issue.   I am terribly sorry for the frustration I was feeling and realize I am wrong.  

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

dfwskier
Aviator A

@nschone wrote:

I am sorry for the previous post - I totally misunderstood - Southwest finally called back and straightened out the issue.   I am terribly sorry for the frustration I was feeling and realize I am wrong.  


Glad to hear it.

 

Southwest really does try to do right by it's customers.

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

tjsazwnflyer
Explorer C

Same Southwest response received here - and I am a 30+ year Southwest frequent flyer who earned A-list and a Companion Pass during my business days! Obviously they don't care. I may have misunderstood  their extension info as my funds were credited last November and I didn't use for new tickets as both planned weddings were cancelled due to Covid, and our Hawaii vacation is still on hold until things settle a bit over in Hawaii. Not sure I fell into that extension category.

I guess it's good that I'm only out $82.00 but it's the principle of it - my non-usage was 100% Covid related but no luck getting Southwest to cooperate.

Maybe they'll see the light and reconsider but I'm not holding my breath.

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

dfwskier
Aviator A

Southwest is burning $12 MILLION in cash a day (September #) due to COVID. It lost  $1.2 BILLION  in the third quarter due to COVID. Other airlines did even worse.

 

It will lose money this year for the first time in it's history and it will lose A LOT of money.

 

No airline is refunding fares that the respective contracts of carriage do not require. Southwest did more than every other airline when it allowed customers a way to extend travel fund expiration dates to 9/7/22. It gave customers over 3 months to do it.

 

I guess you missed it.

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

Cathypod
Explorer C

I'm in sand boat as you, mine expire 12/02/20, only 84.00 but were tied to a flight that was during early Covid and things haven't changed enough for people to feel comfortable again.   I can't even imagine how much SW is keeping in all of our travel funds due to people not wanting to risk flying during covid.  Why they can't just turn these into points for flights scheduled is beyond me.  It's better PR than what they are doing by keeping all these funds.  Maybe someone will start a class action suit... 

Re: Can't use Travel funds by Expiration due to Covid

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@Cathypod wrote:

I'm in sand boat as you, mine expire 12/02/20, only 84.00 but were tied to a flight that was during early Covid and things haven't changed enough for people to feel comfortable again.   I can't even imagine how much SW is keeping in all of our travel funds due to people not wanting to risk flying during covid.  Why they can't just turn these into points for flights scheduled is beyond me.  It's better PR than what they are doing by keeping all these funds.  Maybe someone will start a class action suit... 


Southwest did offer the ability to extend travel fund expiration and the ability to convert travel funds to points, you just missed the deadlines to do so. Mentioning suing makes you sound ridiculous when you are talking about non-refundable fares and since Southwest did offer everything you are asking for. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat