Southwest Airlines Community

Frontier with The Works, which includes the extra legroom seat, free bags and full refundability (among other perks) is often much, much less than Wanna Get Away on Southwest. An upcoming flight is less than half of the WGA price, all in. (During the holiday travel period, when Southwest has chosen to jack up prices to an unreasonable level.) I wouldn't fly Frontier in a regular seat for any flight over an hour in length, but the bigger seats are awesome.   AA and United are often the same price as Southwest. Southwest wins when these are my choices.   JetBlue and Delta regularly beat Southwest's fares on my routes. JetBlue's overall passenger experience is head and shoulders above Southwest's.   Alaska and Virgin only cover a couple of my routes, but their fares are often the same as Southwest's, and both provide better passenger experiences.   It didn't used to be this way. It was so much easier to be loyal to Southwest when fares were low and reliability was high. 😞 ... View more

Southwest has an unofficial "flat tire" policy that allows someone who is late to their flight to get on the next available flight without an additional charge. This is at the discretion of the employee so smile and ask nicely when you are checking your bags. The check-in agent may refer you to a gate agent as they tend to have more control over standby passengers, but since you're checking bags, start with the agent at check-in.  It's a good idea to know your flight options before you go, is there a later flight? Perhaps you can reach your destination via a connection instead of a non-stop? If you miss the last flight of the day you may be out of luck.  ... View more

Without more specific information such as where you're flying to and when, there's no real way to answer your question about the fares. Perhaps Southwest doesn't have a non stop flight and other airlines do? That would most likely make a the other airline cheaper. Southwest is not always the cheapest, but is still my preferred airline.  ... View more

Instead of double posting, let's use this other post.  https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/General-Travel-Policies/Howto-get-lower-price-when-the-airfare-drops/m-p/59899/highlight/true#M2247 ... View more

Southwest doesn't fly to Gulfport, so your 2nd leg must be on another carrier? If so, no -- your bag(s) will not be checked through, as Southwest has no interline agreements with any other carriers. You'll need to claim your bag(s) and then check in with the carrier flying you to Gulfport and then re-enter the secure area of the airport. You may also need to change concourses, depending on the carrier.   Medications should always be carried on. Be aware that may trigger some additional screening by TSA, so allow extra time if possible. ... View more

Thanks ... View more

Thank you very much.   ... View more

Anytime. The usual points/account inactivity expiration rules apply, but no rules specific to the refunded points.  ... View more

THANK YOU all for your help! ... View more

Also the cost for the BS upgrade might be incremental - buy a WGA fare and reimburse that if this is for work, but then out of pocket pay the extra for BS upgrade which may be quite a bit less than $1,000 in net.   Note that if you upgrade from a WGA fare, then BS fare will not be refundable. So you can wait until things are certain, but do it more than 36 hours prior so that you get the boarding position.   The other question is how many of the remaining trips this year will the companion fly on - if it is a lot then it may be good timing to push the pace. If the rest of the trips this year aren't big candidates you could wait and do a strategic upgrade in October/November if needed. ... View more

@scstev wrote: Same happened to me, most recently a few days ago.  I didn't have a bad position, because I happened to check in manually when I opened the app, about 24 hours early.  However, I did receive an email today from Southwest acknowledging the problem and offering a credit to RR account for 1500 miles.   I will note that I think this problem has been off and on for at least a few months, because I have noticed that sometimes I get a notice that I've been automatically checked in and here's your boarding # and sometimes I get nothing, or even a notice that's it's 24 hours in advance and time to check in!   I mentioned it at least two months ago to an agent, who didn't have anything to say.  So I'm glad the sent the email, surprised actually, but I'm not sure they realize the full extent of the problem yet. 1500 miles credit !!! Just like give you $24 (1500 x $0.016) SW is so cheap!!! ... View more

Compared to other airlines who charge change fees and don't let you get credit when the price of a reservation drops, it's a pretty generous policy.  ... View more

Yea # 2 I was wondering about.... on the SW hotel part.... when I click HOTELs...and book a hotel that way and it says earn up to xxx for stay....that means it goes toward  companion pass?? ... View more

Thank you for your response, I know we might be split but i'm just really hopeful that we can just sit 2 and 2 wherever, thank you so much again!! ... View more

Ok, lets say you go from Denver to San Diego non stop.  That's one flight. Then you go from Dallas to Boise with a layover, changing planes in Denver. That's one flight. When you return from Boise back to Dallas, that's one more.  If those flights are all paid for with cash or travel funds they count towards drink coupons.    If you went from your home airport to Aruba and back to home on a paid ticket that should be two flights. You also should ensure you are opted in to receive coupons in your RR profile.  ... View more

Make sure you track all flights taken during this "glitch," as it's possible you'll need to request proper credit for the A-List points multipliers after the fact. ... View more

No, if you use travel funds to purchase all or a portion of an Anytime or Business Select fare and then cancel the reservation, the travel funds used will return to you as travel funds. Any cash portion of the purchase would be refunded as cash. Allowing what you asked about would provide a very easy way to convert travel funds to cash, and that's not going to happen.    You can cancel/change any fare up to 10 minutes before the flight (that's pretty flexible if you ask me), but only cash paid for Anytime and BS fares is refunded as cash.  ... View more

Yes, based on those dimensions it would be considered oversized and you would be charged $75.  Just make sure total L+W+H doesn't exceed 80 inches.  Here's the policy:   Southwest will accept the first two checked bags for free provided that the bags do not exceed 50 lbs and 62 inches (L+W+H). Overweight items from 51 to 100 pounds and oversized items in excess of 62 inches but not more than 80 inches will be accepted for a charge of $75.00 per item one-way. ... View more

Yes, but you'll have to call in to do it. ... View more

The senior fare is a discounted Anytime fare so you get a better deal on a refundable ticket, but your best price in most cases is still going to be a Wanna Get Away fare. If refundability is important, then a senior fare might be a good option.  ... View more

I understand completely. Thank you for the tip! ... View more

Despite the confusing naming & branding, "Southwest Vacations" is not Southwest Airlines, it's a travel agency named Mark Travel Corporation, doing business under a licesnsing agreement. You earn RR points on Southwest Vacations packages, because Mark Travel buys them from Southwest (at a low cost) and gives them to customers as a purchase incentive. Mark Travel doesn't redeem RR points because Southwest won't pay them enough for the points to cover their costs.   Mark Travel doesn't have the best reputation, and Southwest Vacation packages come with many limitations and restrictions. If there's an issue and you attempt to contact Southwest, they will just refer you back to Mark Travel. I'd recommend using Southwest Vacations with caution.   Separately, if you have the Rapid Rewards Visa Card you can book hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages using your RR points through More Rewards. This is also a 3rd party product, and the redemption rate is quite steep, but it's an option.   The best use of RR points remains booking Wanna Get Away fares on Southwest.     ... View more

No indication that you need to notify Southwest:   Southwest Airlines will not accept human remains as checked baggage; however, a Customer may take cremated remains onboard a domestic U.S. or international flight as a carryon item under certain conditions. We recommend that cremated remains be presented for transport in a temporary plastic or cardboard container. Note: Customers may take cremated pet remains onboard as carryon items under the same conditions. ... View more

Same situation as the original poster, it's a determination TSA makes, perhaps randomly.  ... View more

Thanks for the reply! I dont want cash refund because it would just go back on company cc. I just want to make sure when I cancel my flight I will get same amount in travel funds. I'm planning on using them to take several trips.... His company will be paying for me to fly several times and although they pay for BS class I dont need it and would rather have the travel funds!    ... View more

Full size bottles are ok for checked bags. I would recommend placing them in ziploc bags or something else that seals, bottles sometimes open up with the change in air pressure and you don't want a whole bottle of shampoo emptying in your bag or leaking onto other people's bags. Have a great trip! Hopefully the hurricanes stay away.  ... View more

Redeposited, yes.  Expiration is the usual points expiration policy, your account would need to be inactive for 24 months. No expiration date specific to the refunded points.  ... View more