Thanks for the vote of confidence for Southwest, @SWPosterChild! Southwest is continuing to adjust policies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold. They are absolutely looking out for all customers whose travel plans have been affected by this 🙂 Thanks, Jessica
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There's no need to wait. There are 3 options available to you: 1) rebook your flight 2) don't rebook your flight and you will get travel funds that expire June 30, 2021, or 3) request a refund. Let us know if you have any further questions. --Jessica
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@ODETYMES wrote: Big disappoint so far. Booked in Feb for a family trip of 4 in July and find the due to the BOOKING DATE we are not eligible for the extension and thus forcing us to use expensive vouchers before Feb of 2021. I would hope this too is extended otherwise a cheesy way to keep our money.......Southwest are you going to step up? This is incorrect. Per the travel credit extension guidelines, if you *cancel* a flight between March 1 and June 30, 2020, your resulting travel credit will be extended to June 30, 2021. See the blog post referenced above. Thanks, Jessica
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04-16-2020
10:43 AM
04-16-2020
10:43 AM
But they are extending the credit, if you cancel a flight from now until June 30, OR if you have any existing travel credit that will expire by June 30, is being extended to June 30, 2021. It takes awhile for the system to update because they are doing it *manually* from what I understand. Be patient. Post explaining travel credit extensions: https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Blog/Policy-Update-amp-Clarification-Extending-Travel-Credit/ba-p/103844 Thanks, Jessica
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Hello, Considering flight capacity is extraordinarily low at the moment, it is very easy to social distance on a plane right now. Eventually, planes will need to fly at full capacity again. When that might happen is anyone's guess. IMO, we can't be afraid to sit next to each other forever. We are going to have to learn to practice safe hygiene a little more than we typically would. --Jessica
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Hello, Travel credit would work the same as travel credit for a canceled flight - let's say your travel credit was $500 for your tip. You can use this $500 for a future trip - obviously, depending on when you book, your trip might cost more than $500, or it might cost less. You won't know until you look at the new dates. If your trip costs $450, then your $500 credit will cover the trip with $50 left over to use on a different trip (by the expiration date). If your trip was $600, you would need to pay $100, and so on. Good luck on rescheduling! --Jessica
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IMO now-May is probably safer to travel the airlines than most other times, with so few going to the airports - less traffic and less people to deal with in general. I think you would be fine. --Jessica
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04-09-2020
09:53 AM
If you do not plan to reschedule your flight or use the travel credit by June 2021 (very generous, I might add), you can contact Southwest and ask for a refund. Thanks, Jessica
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Hello, Try contacting Southwest privately via one of their social media channels like Facebook or Twitter. I have a DM going with them whenever I have issues and they are always quick to respond there. I did have a similar issue like the one you reported (but before the pandemic, this was back in November/December) and they were able to adjust my flight for me in minutes. Thanks! --Jessica
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04-01-2020
09:45 AM
04-01-2020
09:45 AM
Hi, Here is what Southwest says on their web site regarding travel funds: https://www.southwest.com/Coronavirus/?clk=CORONAVIRUS_TA&cbid=4348124 If you simply rebook your flight because of a flight reduction and receive travel funds, I believe those adhere to the normal expiration date. But if you cancel your flight between now and May 31, those resulting travel funds will have an expiration of June 30, 2021 🙂 Thanks, Jessica
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03-31-2020
09:05 AM
03-31-2020
09:05 AM
Ironically enough, it's just for that one week, and the very low fares do continue into mid-June now. --Jessica
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03-31-2020
07:28 AM
03-31-2020
07:28 AM
First of all thank you for your service and continued willingness to serve! You may want to check Southwest Careers for any open positions. I don't believe they are hiring at the moment, but I am sure things will pick up soon. Here's a link: https://careers.southwestair.com/ --Jessica
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This is a great question, I personally don't know what the restrictions are for color-blindness but you might want to contact Southwest (there are links at the bottom of the page) and ask them. I am sure they can provide an answer for you. Good luck! --Jessica
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I've noticed the first week in May is higher too (coming from PHL). I am sure they are adjusting their schedule all the time based on when they think 'normal' business may return. --Jessica
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03-29-2020
02:57 PM
03-29-2020
02:57 PM
I would argue that Southwest is hardly profiting right now, even with government assistance (source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/business/airlines-bailout-outlook-coronavirus/index.html) - if your flight was cancelled your travel funds should expire in June 2021 which should hopefully be plenty of time to go on whatever trip you were planning to take. I would hope that things will return to normal long before the summer of 2021 - hopefully by THIS summer we'll get things back to as they were before. You may also want to contact Southwest privately via social media (Twitter, Facebook) to see if you get a different answer than who you spoke to on the phone regarding your travel funds and getting a refund. --Jessica
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03-29-2020
02:42 PM
03-29-2020
02:42 PM
Hello, If you cancelled your flight after March 1, the travel funds should have an expiration date of June 30, 2021 - this change is not automatic in the system and it may take a little while for your funds to reflect the new expiration. https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Blog/Policy-Update-amp-Clarification-Extending-Travel-Credit/ba-p/103844 Thanks, --Jessica
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Please refer to the latest information Southwest provides: You can cancel your flight any time between now and May 31 and your travel funds will be good until June 30, 2021. Plenty of time to reschedule a trip. More: https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Blog/Policy-Update-amp-Clarification-Extending-Travel-Credit/ba-p/103844 Thanks, Jessica
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Per Southwest: Any newly created travel fund because of a flight cancellation between March 1-May 31, 2020, will have an expiration date of June 30, 2021 This includes flights you cancel yourself within this time frame. Hope it helps! Source: https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Blog/Policy-Update-amp-Clarification-Extending-Travel-Credit/ba-p/103844 --Jessica
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Hello, If you cancel your flight you can use those funds for up to one year from the date the flight was purchased, so you can use those funds to book a new flight. You can do this as many times as you need until the funds expire. The flight must be booked and completed prior to the travel funds expiration. --Jessica
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03-23-2020
08:28 AM
03-23-2020
08:28 AM
My pure guess is that it's some sort of temporary / manual change for the affected travel funds for now. But, maybe in light of this situation they can work on the travel fund system and provide easier options systematically for extensions in the future. --Jessica
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Hello, Travel funds can be used within 1 year of date of the purchase of a flight. Southwest charges no fees to change or cancel your flight, which is why you have travel funds to use in the first place. No other airline does this because they charge as much as $200 to change or cancel flights. In addition, if you apply a travel fund from a previous reservation to a new reservation, the new reservation will take on the expiration date of the travel fund. This is current policy and has not changed, as well. If Southwest decides to extend travel fund expiration past 1 year, we will hear of it when they make an announcement. Let us know what other questions you have.
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It's safe to travel now, airports are open and planes are infinitely safer than cars. Good luck with your future travels 🙂 --Jessica
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Hold off, especially if you just booked your flight. If it gets closer to that time and there are any flight restrictions or cancellations, Southwest may cancel your flight which would in turn give you a refund. In addition, if you decide to cancel yourself, the money you spent on your flight can be used towards future travel for a year, so if you booked last month you would have until February 2021 to book a flight with those funds. --Jessica
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Hello, When did you book your flight? If you need to cancel, travel funds are good for one year since the day you booked your flight, so you may still have many months left to use them. --Jessica
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"They need to honor what they promised." What is Southwest not honoring? No other airline offers travel funds like Southwest does, and no other airline lets you change your cancel your flight *completely for free* like Southwest does. Southwest has been ahead of the game for years and the other airlines are only following what Southwest already does thanks to this weeks-old pandemic. Regarding travel funds use, they are good for one year from the date of ticket purchase (not when you fly). If your travel funds expire this month, this means you originally made your flight purchase in March of 2019. You have had a year to fly. That is their policy, it has not changed, so I fail to see what they are not honoring. They are doing exactly as promised. If Southwest decides to be even more flexible with their travel fund policies, an announcement will be made. --Jessica
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@megan86a wrote: I called in due to having to cancel my flights out of the country. I had SW credit that needed to be used by 3/30/2020. We booked this Spring Break vacation with our kids using the Travel Funds. The credit did not cover the entire flight cost, so we paid additional dollars to complete our reservation. Today I called in & asked about what would happen with my travel funds if i canceled. I was told that there was NOTHING that could be done except to call in the day after my travel funds originally expired & then they would extend the expiration date MINUS $200 (extension fee) for 6 months. If I don't remember to call in after credit has expired, then I lose it all. Our resort has refunded us our entire amount for our trip already, why can't Southwest work with us on these Travel Funds ???? I am extremely upset and disappointed! I was not asking for a refund for any of it ! We are going to rebook for this summer!!! I just wanted ALL of my travel funds to be extended without penalty since this is beyond our control! I mean this is a pandemic! Hello, Assuming your travel funds expired on 3/30/20, this means you purchased your flight on 3/20/19. You had up to a year to either go on your current flight or cancel and use the funds on a different flight prior to 3/30/20, which is standard policy for Southwest (no other airline does this, for the record). Currently there are no extensions to travel funds for more than 1 year, although you can pay $100 to extend your travel funds expiration, as you have found. Again, no other airline is as flexible as Southwest already is, and they don't charge fees to change or cancel your flight as well. Other airlines are now waiving their own fees to change/cancel, but Southwest doesn't have to do this because they don't charge fees. If Southwest makes any changes to their travel funds policies, it will be announced on the web site. Thanks, --Jessica
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@chrishamilton23 wrote: I called to cancel my flights expecting Southwest to fully refund our purchase price. I was shocked to find out all they would do was issue a credit for future flights. We have nearly $1,000 that is now sitting on Southwest's books that we can not use to purchase groceries, pay our mortgage, etc... Southwest prides itself on being loyal to its customers and treating them well. This is making me rethink my loyalty to this airline. Most if not all domestic carriers have waved change fees and are fully refunding cancelled travel due to this pandemic. I expected Southwest to be the leader in this area and fully refund its customer's cancelled travel. Boy was I wrong!!!! No, this is incorrect. No airline is offering refunds on non-refundable fares. All they are doing right now is waiving the fees to cancel flights - which Southwest already does. Other airlines are also issuing their own versions of travel vouchers to use towards a future flight - which again, Southwest already does. No one is issuing credit card refunds on non-refundable fares at this time. Southwest's Wanna Get Away fares are always non-refundable. If you cancel your flight, what you paid for your flight is issued to you as a travel fund to use within 1 year from the date you purchased your flight. Other airlines charge up to $200 just to cancel your flight - Southwest does not charge any fee to cancel - so Southwest is by far the leader, and ahead of anyone else with their already-established practices. --Jessica
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