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Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

ALISTLUV
Explorer A

My SW Luv is wavering.  Didn't think I'd ever say that.

Booked a $500+ flight for New Years 2019.  Trip was cancelled.  Funds turned in a 12 month credit.  Pandemic hits less than 90 days later.  Obviously tough to use that credit in 2020.  It expires at the end of 2020.

2021 I get it re-issued, but SW takes $100 and now it expires in 6 mths.  Pandemic.  Still not traveling much in the first half of 2021.  Expires again. 

2022 I get it re-issued and it now expires in 3 mths.  No problem, I am going to PHX in February and can use the $ basically immediately.  

Except they don't issue it within 10 days as promised, as outlined in email communication.  I don't get to use it on this PHX flight.  I call back in March and they say "oh, it got denied down the line, lets resubmit and it will get approved".  "I don't understand, I have am email here saying it was approved". Request is resubmitted.  Nothing happens again.  Call back in May and finally this one sticks and it is reapproved.  

1 written request, several follow-up calls to get this thing re-issued.  Now I don't have a flight to use it on, and it expires.  Now I'm really annoyed they didn't initially send it to me as promised so I could use on PHX flight.

 

I request a call back.  Missed call, they leave VM saying its already been extended a final time.

 

I request another call back.  Nothing.

 

I request another call back.  Speak to someone this morning. 

The CSR doesn't fully understand what happened, offers $100 voucher.  I explain the situation again.  Offers $150 and then immediately changes it to $200.  Me:  "Why are we dealing with whole numbers, can we not just re-issue the full amt?"  In not so many words she explains how that if I had just booked a flight with the voucher, then cancelled the flight, the funds wouldn't expire (under a brand new policy) - thanks for the loophole tip, now that you know that exists don't you think its fair I receive the full amount?  Especially since we're dealing with a pandemic for the period of time we are talking about.  Falls on deaf ears.  

They are basically saying, sorry you didn't take advantage of the loophole to extend your voucher and turn it into a credit.  Now we are going to take another bite out of it, $88, after already taking $100 out of it.    

I kindly explained to the CSR that apparently the money is more needed by SWA.  They can keep the full amount and I will be evaluating my relationship with SW.  A List, Companion Pass for 8 yrs (spent over $1,000,000 on the cc in that time which I'm sure they profited handsomely from).  

This policy is really head scratching given that the new policy is that credits don't expire.  It makes zero sense to me and is really frustrating.

27 REPLIES 27

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Bummer you've lost funds, but I don't know that you'll get much sympathy here. You've had a lot of time to fly and chose not to. Southwest offered you extensions and you still chose not to fly. There were even opportunities to extend travel funds out until 2022 or convert travel funds to points, but you apparently didn't take advantage of those. Yes, travel credit expiration policies are more forgiving now, but the policies at the time made expiration dates clear. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

ALISTLUV
Explorer A

Gonna have to disagree middle seat.  Not many people were willing to travel in 2020.  I mostly fly with my family and I was not going to put everyone in that position.  The extensions were short and I did in fact have an opportunity to fly with the credit had their re-issue been emailed as promised without the need for 2 more calls into them and 5 months lapsing.  

 

This is just bad policy all around, surrounding a pandemic and policy change.  Why issue LUV Vouchers at all if you can just book a flight you'll never take and cancel?  Why is  the onus on the customer to know how to circumvent their expiration date/policy?  Would have been good to know!  

 

They need to dump LUV VOUCHERS and just issue credits.  The bifurcated process is only meant to get people's money for providing no service.  SW is not a company that I associate with such practice.

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Extentions were short? Any travel fund created between 3/1/20 and 9/7/20 didn't expire until September 2022. That's a 2 year extension! Travel funds created before that extension could easily be extended too. 

 

And now travel credits no longer expire so there is no worry about converting to vouchers.

 

Again, I believe that you had ample opportunity to extend and/or utilize the credits that you had. Sorry you didn't take advantage of the opportunities. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat

 

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

ALISTLUV
Explorer A

The flight in question was for Dec 28th 2019.  It had a year to use the credit, 10 of the 12 mths of the period was during the height of a pandemic with no vaccine.  

 

It was reissued for 6 mths.  The bulk of that time, again pandemic with no vaccine.  

 

It was reissued again for 3 mths, which is a pretty short amount of time to use.  But again, no big deal, I had a flight to use it on...Yay!  HOWEVER they did not issue the voucher as promised and I had to call back 3x to get it reissued after I was already told it was approved in the communication below.  How in the world do their internal processes allow that to happen?  This email was in January.  I didn't get it until May 19th after following up several times. 

 

Even though your ticket and associated funds expired and, therefore, had no value, I have made an exception and have issued a $380.98 Southwest LUV Voucher that will be valid for 3 months which will arrive in a separate email within the next 10 days. Instructions for use will be printed on the voucher.

THEN, they tell me "dummy, had you just booked a flight and cancelled it the next day your funds would never expire - didn't you know how to circumvent our policy?".  Thanks Southwest.  Way to really help the situation.  

 

I assumed they valued A-LIST members who have held a companion pass for 8 years.  Guess not.  They value that $288.53 a lot more.  They can keep it if it is that important to them.

 

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@ALISTLUV wrote:

The flight in question was for Dec 28th 2019.  It had a year to use the credit, 10 of the 12 mths of the period was during the height of a pandemic with no vaccine.  

 


One small step by you would have resulted in the travel fund being extended until September 2022.  Sorry you missed that opportunity.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

ALISTLUV
Explorer A

What small step?  Please elaborate.  I called in several times, spoke to several agents, CSR on the topic of this voucher.  What small step?  They never mentioned any small step to extend my credit through 2022.

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

As I said, you missed the opportunity so no point in me detailing it.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

ALISTLUV
Explorer A

You made comment that was for funds issued March through December 2020.  Except my flight was booked on Dec 7th 2019.  It was a credit from December 2019 to December 2020.  It was a LUV Voucher for the two extensions.  It would be helpful if you outlined what opportunity I missed.  

 

I'm reading about this extension you mention with the Sept 22 expiration.  Didn't look like those folks had to take any action.  I'm not sure your information is accurate or what the point of you coming into this thread beyond to say, 'sorry, not sorry'.  

 

Your point sounded like "you had time".  You're right! And I did have a flight in February of 2022 to use the funds.  But SW failed on their promise to get me those funds within 10 days of the emailed communication.  But it doesn't matter what I say, you are convinced this is all my fault and there is no moving you off that perch.  

 

So, please, explain to me what opportunity I missed.  That would be helpful.

Re: Issues with LUV Voucher / Credit

jksobonya
Aviator A
Solution

@ALISTLUV wrote:

What small step?  Please elaborate.  I called in several times, spoke to several agents, CSR on the topic of this voucher.  What small step?  They never mentioned any small step to extend my credit through 2022.


All you had to do was book any flight between March and September 2020, then cancel it, and your travel funds would be extended to September 2022 instead of the usual one-year-expiration. This policy was clearly outlined on Southwest.com for months. 

 

--Jessica