Southwest Airlines Community

Very small waiting area in SAN, not many free seats when I was there a few weeks ago. I stood at the counter to eat a fairly decent burger and fries from The Counter which is in the middle of circular gate area. My attempt to get doughnuts in the other terminal didn't go as planned, got all the way over there, through security, only to find out they were sold out. The other terminal is really nice compared to Southwest's space.  ... View more

I usually stick with the big five car rentals due to their higher reliability.   Even for a discount company where you might find the car not to be as nice, difficult to pickup/return, hard sell on the extras, etc. it goes way across the line to blatantly lie to the customer and I'm glad that they refunded you.   I'm sure there are many others that have heard the same spiel and paid up without complaining though.     ... View more

Especially if it is a full flight it would be nice to forgo your seat at the point you know you won't be flying so they can take standbys or sell some BS fares. ... View more

Adding a flight to my calendar How to I change the default calendar selection? It automatically outlook and I need to change it to a new calendar. ... View more

If you can get a fklight with fa frank and Clancy. Do it! ... View more

I don't know all of the details as I'm only a consumer of the airline industry and not an insider - but if the pre-boarding rules don't distinguish then I think it would be allowable.   The best person to ask would be your "sponsor" since they would likely be accountable if you did anything incorrectly. (See news story from earlier this year about United which held back some nonrev passengers that didn't meet dress code.) ... View more

That is correct. I'd expect either another extension, or for Maine to get with the program in which case you'll need to go for an early renewal when the new licenses are available. ... View more

Even with a completely full flight, gate agents allow full size luggage that is much larger then the published carry on maximum size.  They just let these people to put these bags in sideways.  The bad thing is that this means that others may not have room for their carry on bags (that need to be put in wheels first) that meet the airlines carry on size requirements.  The orange bag in this photo is within the carry on size limits.  The green bag was obviously way too large to fit in the bin wheels first, and you could see it was way too large to fit in the overhead the way it was supposed to but the gate agents let it slide. ... View more

@vikkimac,   I hope you made it! That is so, so close!     ... View more

Rear would be better anyway, there are two lavatories, and you can stand in line to hold your spot, where you can't wait in front if it is occupied. Family boarding at "A61" should be fine for getting a position in the back. ... View more

At Midway you would hang to the right and get screened at the rear TSA station. Even if you see a longer line at TSA Pre than the general gates, stick with it - you'll save the time with shoes, laptop, etc.   Your mileage might vary at your own airport, but I've found it to be a consistent time saver at some of the larger locations MDW, LAS, MCO.   TPA was one where they let more people try it out, but still usually shorter than the regular line.     ... View more

If you click through to the purchase page @LindseyM, it will show the credit for the points already allocated - I think this may be what you are seeing where the starting page for changing the flight doesn't account for the points already dedicated to the trip.   When you get to the end, you'll see the quoted number of points and deducting the already allocated points, and the two should then be equal.   This is fresh in my mind having changed a trip just this morning and I noticed the same effect.   ... View more

If this ever happens to you again...for airline tickets or ANYTHING else involving money...put the phone on speaker when you get a representative and record your conversations. Not that it would guarentee you get the money promised, but you could replay the recording(s) on subsequent calls and it wouldn't be a he said/she said situation. You should let the rep know you're recording. ... View more

I'm thinking once TSA gives you the ok they're going to want you to continue through security, not go back to Southwest. And I doubt either gives you anything, but just accepts what is presented to them, with some additional questions perhaps. Just my additional two cents.  ... View more

Last night at Midway I didn't have a checked bag, but ended up waiting 20 minutes for the economy garage shuttle. (And only passed up one Red Lot shuttle during that time.)   That would be game over on the wedding right there! ... View more

I'm assuming you have your ticket already booked.   If so, book the companion using your points now as a safety net. Then when companion pass is activated before the 15th, you can refund the points back to your account and book the companion ticket. (Or book the companion from the companion's own points, either way.)   If for whatever reason CP isn't awarded by then, at least you have the ticket for the companion reserved.   If it isn't too late, book the flights in one-way segments so that you could cancel them indivdiually in case you got CP between flights or in the future when you need to make changes. ... View more

This sounds like a pre-board situation where you will be wanting to sit in the bulkhead row. I don't believe that this could be guaranteed for any particular flight since there could be multiple pre-boarders trying for similar positions. You'd be excluded from the exit row seats as a pre-boarder if that was the solution. ... View more

You have 12 months - if you had the card all year then the points from december spending in 2016 that  posted in January 2017 are included towards your 2017 CP qualification. Counting the points from December 2017 would be giving you 13 months.   Southwest doesn't want to get daily updates from Chase on every card holder purchase. There is also the issue of returns soon after purchase to game the system. I don't think this is an IT problem - they most likely don't want to do that.   An earlier poster didn't think the points were equal quality - why would they be? Southwest directly controls the points from flights, which is their core business - these are obviously favorable and reward the more frequent Southwest customers. Points from travel-related partners are also good, tie directly to Southwest's core business, and are relatively infrequent transfers of information (one hotel and one rental car per trip for instance. They can also be booked directly from Southwest's own website.     ... View more

I was confident - the A-list terms are pretty clear stating "take flight segments during a year" as opposed to companion pass points which clearly state "when points post" so I was pretty sure you would get it, if retroactively.     ... View more

I am experiencing issues with mine as well. Best to call SWA and light them up and hold them accountable. Lots of excuses being given for why they aren't honoring the CPs as quickly as they should be. I got approved (and was verified as being approved by a SWA customer service rep) back in mid-November and still no CP. When I called yesterday, she said it would "take up to 15 days to show up in my account". Not a lot of help for a flight I have next week, so I had to waste a disproportionate number of RR points so my fiancee can fly back with me. ... View more

I wish Southwest would offer this benefit again.    The ripoff isn't the rewards points charged, it's our government charging us extra in order to get a reasonable level of service at the airports. The absurdity is that anyone can buy their way out of security screenings.  I strongly suspect Tim McVeigh would have been able to get precheck after his honorable discharge.   Anyway, 9,000 points is a decent deal for a purchase made outside Southwest.  Gift cards are 1,000 pts per $10; and that penny-a-point seems pretty standard for most card point programs.  As an aside, getting gift cards is a pretty efficient use of points.  It's a bit of a process, but most items you can buy directly with points can be purchased for fewer points by getting a gift card first, then purchasing the same item through a retailer. ... View more

It's like Jeopardy, we guess the question!  ... View more

Assuming this actually happened as reported (which is a big assumprion), there are some possible reasons... he could have been a through passenger that deboarded for some reason, or on a Business Select fare but didn't get an A1-15 position because of the infamous Southwest "glitch," or a Upgraded Boarding passenger on a flight with no BS ones, for example.   ... View more

What was the verdict? ... View more

I have been please with one way tickets.  Works well! ... View more

So much info. Are you asking about flights, hotels, and Southwest information?   Disney in general? it's too much to list here...a few favorites:   You can book dining and fast passes at six months out I believe if you have your tickets in-hand. I know you mentioned being on a budget, but if you did want any of the premium dining options it would be best to book them as early as possible and change them later if your schedule doesn't line up. Staying at All-Star Music you may be using the Magic Express in the lower level of the opposite terminal from Southwest. Tag your luggage with the yellow stickers and they will go automatically to the room(s). If you have anything that you need in the morning or during the day bring it in a carry on as you may not want to wait around for your checked bags to appear before going to the parks. Bring your first day supplies with you in order to jump right in. For instance you'll want your magic bands to be with you and any change of clothes that you need to go inside. Which parks will you be going to? Are you going to anything non-Disney?     ... View more

It should should up as quickly as if the booking was for your companion - not quite instantly, but within ten minutes or usually faster.   It wasn't clear if you already did this and it wasn't showing up - if so and it has been more than a few minutes, you should call the 800 number with the RR# and confirmation# and see what's missing from the reservation while you still have the confirmation email handy. ... View more

Which I think should be obvious - if you have Path A to buy direct from Southwest, compared to Path B where another person handles the transaction as a business, of course Path B will be more expensive than Path A.   Great option to top off some points to get a reward flight, especially if your reward points were going to expire soon and you needed to use them.   Not recommended to purchase points for the majority of a ticket. ... View more

It's not likely that the points from a hotel stay would post on/before December 31, but certainly a good idea if it had been thought of sooner.  Book the hotel through southwest.com to ensure the points qualify for Companion Pass.   Purchased points do not count towards any status tier (A-List, A-List Preferred) or Companion Pass.   I agree with the others who posted, flying is probably the only way to ensure you get the points in time. ... View more