Southwest Airlines Community

@buzzchris wrote: In my last post about a woman saving all the bulkhead seats, I forgot to add:  She said if I am disabled, I shouldn't be flying in the first place.  Yes, she said that.  !! But she was also preboarding?! Oh man I wish we had a way to rate the other passengers. Yikes.     ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: Have you tried to top of page click flight then check travel funds and type in there names? That's right - you'll have to look each one up by confirmation number and their own names, the funds will be issued to each passenger for Wanna Get Away fares.     ... View more

@leadtheway wrote: Yeah if this is going to be their new policy, I will just start flying other airline.  You can't have A-list group AND open seating if you're going to let family regardless of the boarding position board.  They obviously aren't concerned with their reward members Is this impacting your flying habits in a big way?   This was maybe 2-3 of my flights last year where I had to use this perk. I mean I want to still have it, but hardly a deal breaker to go behind the families.      ... View more

@bec102896 wrote: Who books a flight for 6am then returns 3 hours later: ME! In fact I just did it 2 weeks a go to get the companion pass and 5 people right around me on the plane were doing the same thing it’s actually more common than you think which is why an airline won’t assume you made a mistake and auto cancel same day returns.  it’s always best to look at your email confirmation when it arrives to avoid these issues  I love taking a day trip!   It's certainly not the majority of passengers but plenty of people do it every day. Or especially business days, maybe less on weekends except for @bec102896 and others making points runs.         ... View more

@Lostclimber wrote: So as a weekly flyer with Southwest I used to get drink coupons in the mail after 4 flights or so but now nothing … I can only presume that everyone else around me had these now luxurious coupons from past negative experiences but come on why do you stop rewarding your loyal customers?? I also give them the chance to take my expired coupons as well which they often do.   And don't offer the coupon until they ask for it, maybe it is a free day?   *Be prepared to offer a coupon or pay if the FA does come back for it.         ... View more

@MELLOWMYRA61 wrote: I booked a flight for Miami from Baltimore. The itinerary should have said Leaving on Oct 4 2023 and Returning October 6, 2023 for two passengers. But without me reading the itinerary I assumed that it was right. On Oct 6,2023 we go to the MIA airport and to my surprised wa told that my flight left the same day I came in.  Who does this? Leave 6:55 am to Miami and comes back three hours later? I ask for another boarding pass and was told NO REFUND two hours after the flight departs. Then I was told I could purchase another boarding pass for $1,200.  Are they crazy? $1,200 for a two hour ride? I believe I should get a refund.  When the customer service lady had me on the phone, she should have ask questions to confirm the Arriving and departing dates.  I then had to pay $517.00 to rent a car for a 18 hour drive home.  I didn't plan all this for a two day vacation.  If this is how Southwest takes care of it's customers, then maybe I should go to another Airline next time and don't worry about points reward. Now My bank account is Overdrawn by $517.00. Thanks Southwest.  What can you do for me before I go tell the world my experience with Southwest? How did you book it? You should have a confirmation email and if you need to make a change within 24 hours of buying a ticket due to mistake (or any reason) you can.  *as long as you are buying the ticket more than 24 hours in advance.   If you are using the app or a third-party app like TripIt you would have gotten a "check-in" notice as well that would alert you about the mis-booking - I think this happens sometimes and there are always some seats that come available at T-24 as people who forgot they were flying realize they need to change a flight.     ... View more

@StAugustine wrote: I leave my winter coat in the car. Walking from the parking garage only takes a couple of minutes and I can put up with the cold for the sake of not having to lug a coat around. People have certainly seen me waiting in the vestibule at Economy Parking garage at MDW without any coat since I was headed somewhere warm and wouldn't need it.   The main risk of this is for late flights back to MDW sometimes the buses have been off schedule and a long wait and long line, and you can't wait in the vestibule going in that direction or you'll never board while there's a long line. In that case one time I called an uber, went out to the median and yelled over towards the line "who wants a ride to the economy garage?" and actually had a pilot hop out of line to ride over with me. Glad to help him get back to his home earlier!    ... View more

@adamsusa wrote: And when credit does NOT automatically appear after 3 billing cycles...  do I contact the Visa CC, Southwest Rapid Rewards, or ? Contact Chase for any questions about billing or credits. Southwest Rapid Rewards just holds your points and they "sell" the points to Chase to give to you and other interactions so I would ask Chase what they know first.   Contact Chase Customer Service  ... View more

@adamsusa wrote: And when credit does NOT automatically appear after 3 billing cycles...  do you contact the Visa CC, Southwest Rapid Rewards, or ? Contact Chase if you have questions about the billing/reimbursement.   Contact Chase Customer Service  ... View more

No, unfortunately none of the tax/fee line items are sales tax so I don't believe you can avoid any of these based on being a non-profit company.        ... View more

@sethuel1 wrote: I just checked in for a flight. My party is traveling on 2 record locators, one for myself and my 8 and 10 year old daughters, and another for my wife (companion). We checked both reservations in at exactly 24 hours out. On the first flight, despite my daughters and I being on the same record locator, I was assigned B26 and my daughters were assigned B57 and B58. My wife was assigned B27. For the second flight we are all sequential. I got A45, my daughters got A47 and A48, and my wife got A46. How does such a large gap in boarding positions happen on the first flight, with my daughters and I being on the same record locator? It's not supposed to do that. Did you have any other factors EBCI, A-list, etc.? and/or does your wife have any of those?         ... View more

@Bill5303 wrote: That’s assuming, of course, that there are any upgraded boarding positions for the companion still available 24 hours in advance, right?  If none are available, at least with Early Bird, the companion would get a better boarding position than without Early Bird, right?  Maybe B rather than C (if the plane is pretty full).  Combining a couple of your posts, I wanted to dig a little deeper on this: If you are currently A-List Preferred You are looking at BS fares to get the 12x points and make a run at re-qualifying   Then, I wonder if this would work for you: Buy your tickets normally, including any that you have already purchased now.  Wait until T-24 when check-in happens.  Then turn in your boarding pass and upgrade your fare to BS Your wife already has your sequential A-list position in-hand Change your ticket to Business Select to get the 12x points, same day.   If I'm misreading the situation and you were buying BS fare only to get the boarding position, then "upgraded" boarding is the way to go for sure. It'll be cheaper than BS but also doesn't include 12x points or drink coupon. You can add it for yourself and/or your wife either way. If you are still currently a-list she'll still have the boarding position originally assigned from there if you choose to upgrade yourself only.   The only way she's left hanging in the B's or C's is if you start off with BS already at T-24, then you'd have to either save a seat, have purchased EBCI (the earlier the better), or upgraded boarding for the most cost but least stress.   Honestly if you are buying BS fare just spring for the upgraded boarding for her - consider it as a companion pass that has a $40 charge - still a deal compared to buying a second ticket on other airlines and reserving a seat.           ... View more

@bec102896 wrote: Anyone else get this offer when looking at flights today?     Not popping up for me     ... View more

Sidebar: if you had bought Business Select from the beginning the CP also does not get sequential boarding. So it's consistent between BS fare and upgraded boarding - neither gets a sequential boarding position for the companion.         ... View more

@parpitt1 wrote: Nope, they will not, It's actually in the small print on your CP terms and conditions. You would have to upgrade the Companion as well.  Which should also be reimbursed if you use the same card.   It would be best to refer to it as "upgraded boarding" as opposed to full business select - you don't get the drink coupon, 12x points, refundability etc. - it's just the boarding position.     ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: Why no seasonal size limit? Methods to fold but not damage? If my outerwear is that bulky I bring an empty suitcase to the airport and check it.    Otherwise wait for the bins to fill, then put your coat on top of the bags that are in the bin. Don't put your coat in first as it will get dirty and mashed up.    Also put it under the seat if you didn't have something else to put under the seat.         ... View more

Great trip report, thanks for sharing! ... View more

@bec102896 wrote: @DancingDavidE wrote: @AlexM89 wrote: Hello everyone. I purchased four tickets for myself and three friends for Exactly as @DancingDavidE described it    I will add the new person would need a RR account to get the transferred credit  Good point @bec102896  - New and original passengers actually, if the original passenger had you buy the tickets because they didn't have an account they will also need to sign up to transfer the credit, the new passenger will have to sign up to receive it.     ... View more

@AlexM89 wrote: Hello everyone. I purchased four tickets for myself and three friends for a trip in less than two weeks from now. One of the friends moms ended up having an accident that required her to have major surgery on her arm, because of this that friend no longer has someone to watch her kids for our trip and she had to cancel out. I have another friend interested in taking her place, however, The tickets I bought for us are wanna get away. Now I’ve read other posts where people have said to cancel the flight for credit, then use the credit to purchase a ticket with get way plus to get the transferable credit to transfer to the other person. My problem is that to either upgrade or just purchase a new ticket for our flight with plus will cost an extra $200. What I’m wondering is, can I cancel the original flight and get the credit, then just find any other flight available from southwest going anywhere that cost the same price as the credit, (like say just a one way ticket priced the amount of my credit) buy that ticket with the get away plus, then cancel right away to get the transferable credit? The friend we want to transfer to already has credit on her account for another canceled flight, the credit she already has plus credit from this flight is enough for her to a buy a ticket for herself on our flight, that is why I don’t want pay $200 more, and then have an extra $200 worth of credit sitting there or sent to her.  Thanks in advanced.  I think what  you are describing is what was suggested for this other person which seems to have worked recently.   https://community.southwest.com/t5/Reservations/How-to-get-a-refund-for-reservation-paid-with-gift-card/m-p/163696#M7756   In simpler terms:   Original passenger cancels ticket, gets travel credit in their name only. Original passenger re-books another flight as close as possible in value as WGA+ using the travel credit. Original passenger cancels that flight, the resulting travel credit is now transferable. Original passenger transfers travel credit to new passenger. New passenger can book the flight with some extra funds since the price of the flight has gone up as we get closer to the date of travel.   If original passenger plans to fly Southwest anytime soon they could also just give you the cash that you paid for their ticket and pass it along. I assume the gyrations are because the original passenger didn't have the cash handy in the two week time frame or they aren't flying very often and would rather not carry the credit around.       ... View more

@GinaMLS wrote: I just wanted to close out this thread.  Thank you, all, for the suggestion. I did it. It worked. We only lost $4.01 in my mom's account that is not transferable.  I can live with that. Glad that it worked out and thanks for letting us know.     ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: then what makes sure you can not reuse reservation for free for life??? It's tied to that specific flight on that day, so if you tried to use it the next day even for the same flight number you'd get "bonk" noise again.     ... View more

@floridaguy wrote: Being confused, since it was right there within about 10 inches from her hand, I must have paused long enough for her to repeat, "hand me your ID please".   Did you say politely "yes ma'am, it's right there on the counter"  or did you just keep staring?   She's not supposed to magically find ID on the counter or somewhere else that might be yours to confirm someone's identity, it has to come from you as you are presenting it to be your own ID.          ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: Is credit card/ voucher charged twice? No, the scanning is only for the boarding passes and wouldn't retroactively go back to your card.     ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: thanks, if beeps what step next The correct passes are making a Ding, ding, ding noise as each person goes through.   If it's the wrong one it goes "beeeep - bonk" at a lower tone.   Sometimes people are at the wrong gate, I also have been known to show my boarding pass for a connecting flight at the earlier departure and it makes the same noise then also.   Scanning your young kid before you scan your own pass also gets the "bonk" noise.     ... View more

@Jennifer_Palm wrote: Thank you so much for the information.   One way to think of it is if you wanted to change and then canceled the companion pass ticket, made the change, then re-added the companion pass ticket on the new flight - logically the companion wouldn't be paying anything.    The trick is that you only want to change if you get two seats, not just one, so it isn't quite as simple as canceling the companion and making the standby request, and then adding the companion ticket back - what if you happened to get the last seat and there was not room for the companion ticket.    So the human intervention is needed to ensure two seats are open.     ... View more

@sabrina17m wrote: I have a flight today that was changed by Southwest. “We’re sorry we had to change your flight(s). A change to your itinerary has impacted your original reservation. If you don’t like your new itinerary, you can change it for free, up to two times.”  I want to change my flight today using my A-List privilege of free same-day changes (which I do regularly, and is a huge reason I fly SW), NOT one of the two changes listed above because (a) I have the same-day change privilege so I don’t need to use one of those two changes offered and (b) I want to be able to change the return flight the two times in case I need to.  I called customer service and experienced my first encounter with a painfully rude rep in the 15+ years I have been flying with Southwest: “Well guess what, it’s going to count as a change.” Anyway - does anyone know what my options are here? Are my A-List privileges waived when *Southwest* makes changes to *my* itinerary?    Once you confirm these changes, you'll still have your A-list ability to change afterwards.   This change has priority so the other change wouldn't apply until this one was resolved.        ... View more

@KnoxvilleFlyer wrote: I think I would rather sit in an airport lounge in BNA that on a bus for 3 hours. There is currently only a Minute Suites, but hopefully the expansions will provide space for another lounge in the near future.    However the airport is very pleasant, the new T gates are beautiful and spacious, the D gates have some new restaurants (and the minute suites), many of the restaurants down the C gates have live music and it is one of my favorite airports for a connection even without a lounge.     ... View more

@richwag wrote: I recently got a new iPhone and when I try to login to the iPhone app, I get an error. I can login using those credentials in the web app on my phone. I've tried removing the app, and redownloading it and it never lets me login. Any advise? Make sure that it's pulling in the correct password credentials, the autofill might be incorrect, try typing it in fresh.   Also try it with and without wifi on...I mean try on wifi and then if that doesn't work try it on cellular data.     ... View more

@cbcrompton wrote: Thank you thank you! Glad to help!   So I think the follow up advice then is that if you plan to swap the companion pass between husband and kids, you have to group the flights in a way that makes sense.   For instance if you were going to travel with the kids around the holidays, then you shouldn't book husband as a companion for a flight next April - you have the complete the holiday travel with the kids before you can change the companion back to husband and then add him to any applicable flights. And then while you have him booked for April you won't be able to change it again until after those flights - only one person can be named companion and have any flights booked at a time.   Good luck!     ... View more

@cbcrompton wrote: Ok I probably need to clarify. I have CP but we have 2 kids. So if I book my companion and buy both our kids tickets now, can he make one of them his companion in January when he earns it even though I’m the one who purchased the tickets? Sorry! i know this seems confusing  I'm leaning towards "no" here - if your husband is your companion, then the companion can't also use a companion pass on the same ticket. You can only add the companion ticket for revenue fares booked with cash, points, etc.   So if both adults will be companion pass holders, the companions should be the kids at least during the period of time the family is traveling together. (You can change the companion three times during the year - but can only change it when there isn't any companion pass booked.)   The way we do it is each parent gets a kid as companion then you'll buy tickets for both adults, and add the kid companion tickets when you earn the CP (one now, one later it sounds like).   In one weird scenario on a promotional companion pass we had one kid have the CP and little kiddo was the companion of the older one but that was a one off.             ... View more