Southwest Airlines Community

Yeah, I did laugh out loud at that line:   @dontflyswa wrote: Time to switch to a more reliable and customer friendly airline line American Airlines....   To the OP: Yes, unfortunately there are no more accommodations being made due to the pandemic, and funds expire at their normal 1 year timeline. The only advice I might offer in addition to the above would be to wait and see if Southwest happens to cancel the flight before you do. If so you're entitled to a full refund. You have up until as late as 10 minutes prior to departure in which to cancel and retain your travel funds (although I wouldn't cut it that close).         ... View more

@ksoyini wrote: It is in fact a luv voucher and I even gave the rep my voucher number, but it seems he may have given me information for travel funds.   I thought I had to wait 24 hours to cancel though for it to be credited as travel funds. If I cancel within 24 hours wouldn't it be refunded to me. Though I'm not sure what I refund looks like in this case.   Flights booked using a credit card receive a full refund, back to the credit card, if cancelled within 24 hours from booking, but if you've used vouchers or travel funds the "refund" is made in the form of travel funds, no matter when you cancel.     ... View more

@Nlt3079 wrote: Hi All   I purchased 5 tickets 12/2019 for travel end of March 2020. We had to cancel our vacation due to covid. We cancelled 3/12/20. These travel funds are only available until 12/20/20. I keep reading how funds cancelled after 3/1/20 have an extension until 2022. I reached out to Southwest and they are telling me there is nothing then can do for me, they will expire 12/20. I'm confused..can someone please help me?   Thanks!     I'd suggest you reach out to Customer Relations to see if they can help you (this is a special department above the "regular" phone line representatives).   You cancelled on March 12, 2020, but it wasn't until March 20, 2020 that Southwest first announced special accommodations for customers impacted by the pandemic.   That said, on March 20, 2020 Southwest stated the following in an email sent to customers:     Additional Flexibility if You Need to Adjust Your Travel Plans With the unprecedented cancellations of events and foreign countries issuing travel restrictions, we understand your travel plans may change. So, we have made additional changes to our already very flexible policies. If you decide not to travel, as long as you cancel your flight before its departure, the funds used to pay for a nonrefundable ticket are normally valid for one year from the date of purchase. However, in recognition of the current travel environment, we are extending the expiration date of some travel funds: Customers' funds that have expired or will expire between March 1-May 31, 2020, will now expire June 30, 2021. Any travel funds created because of a flight cancellation between March 1-May 31, 2020, will have an expiration date of June 30, 2021. It will take our Technology Teams a few weeks to make these changes, and once you're ready to use these funds, simply reference the PNR number on the reservation and use it as you would use "store credit" at most retail establishments.   (Bolding mine.)   Later, on April 16, 2020, Southwest further updated that accommodation to extend the expiration date of funds through September 7, 2022:     Travel Funds: Previously, Customers' travel funds that have expired or would have expired between March 1 - June 30, 2020, or travel funds that were created because of a cancellation between March 1 - June 30, 2020, had an expiration date of June 30, 2021. We are now expanding the window of funds eligible for extended expiration dates and extending the expiration date of these funds. Funds that are set to expire or funds that are created between March 1, 2020 and September 7, 2020, will have an expiration date of September 7, 2022. This gives Customers who had travel funds created in connection with this pandemic–or who won't be comfortable traveling this summer–additional time to retake that same trip or explore a different destination. It will take our Technology Team a few days to make these changes and more details on this extension can be found at Southwest.com/RRcoronavirusupdates.     Since you cancelled on March 12, 2020, you do in fact have "travel funds created because of a flight cancellation between March 1-May 31, 2020," and therefore your funds should have an expiration date of September 7, 2022.   Hopefully, if you explain this situation carefully to Customer Relations they should be able to help you. Please do come back here and let us know how it goes. Good luck!   Contact Customer Relations      ... View more

I've found that your best bet for a quick reply is to reach out to Customer Relations via Twitter or Facebook direct message.  ... View more

ICU availability in Southern California at 0%, and it’s going to get worse, officials warn   😞             ... View more

Interesting article that I think helps highlight what many are thinking regarding travel over the next few months:   Why I’m canceling trips now after traveling the last several months   It does seem unfortunate to me that carriers aren't really extending any more accommodations due to covid, with the situation currently at it's worst point since the pandemic began. Other than eliminating change fees, which is admittedly a big one, but one that just puts the legacy carriers on the same footing as Southwest (which has never charged them in the first place).   If they were to offer a longer reuse period for travel funds, I suspect some people might be more open to at least booking potential travel for the months ahead. It would help offset some of the uncertainty.   It will be difficult to counteract the loss of customer goodwill for those who are finding their travel funds for flights booked a year ago now disappearing. This despite rebooking multiple times, in good faith, hoping to actually fly, only to now find the situation is worse than ever. I think these customers have a legitimate complaint, and it's being ignored.   That said, I think many people simply won't be traveling until they've received the vaccine themselves, and/or destinations are more open anyway.   ... View more

I received a secure message from Chase back in October with the subject: "Reminder: Companion Pass(R) earning deadline":   Reminder: Your annual earning cutoff date for Companion Pass® is approaching! Your December statement closing date will be the last date for purchases made with your Rapid Rewards® Credit Card to count towards Companion Pass for this year. Find out more information here.     The following message was included on my October and November monthly credit card statements:   REMINDER: Know your credit card's annual earning cutoff date for Companion Pass. Your December statement closing date will be the last date for purchases made with your Rapid Rewards Credit Card to count towards a Companion Pass for this year. For more details go to Southwest.com/rrterms.     This seems obvious. Points don't post to your Southwest account until Chase sends them to Southwest, and they do that once a month at the close of each statement period. Still, people somehow get tripped up by this every year.   Here's a great reference that shows in detail when points from various places will post with regards to Companion Pass qualification: 2020 Rapid Rewards® Qualifying Transactions for 2021 Status             ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: If you cancelled your flight you receive travel funds for 100% of the value of the purchased ticket.  EarlyBird Check-in charges are not typically refunded, but some exceptions have been made this year.  Any refund amount other than 100% of the airfare price is incorrect so either you are the only person that got the wrong refund amount, you did not get a refund for EarlyBrid Check-in, or you are otherwise mistaken.   Southwest offered customers several months to extend travel fund expiration out to September 2022 and even exchange travel fund credit into Rapid Rewards points that can be used by anyone without any expiration.  You missed those opportunities so your travel fund expires one year from the date of original purchase.  If you cannot use it before expiration, you then have 6 months after expiration to convert the expired travel funds into LUV vouchers.  There is a $100 reduction in the amount of credit for each travel fund converted and the newly issued voucher is good for 6 months.  You would need to contact Customer Relations (not reservations) to do this conversion or request an EarlyBird check-in credit (if it is still being offered).   --TheMiddleSeat   FYI: Sounds like they booked in October, so the covid accommodation never applied to them.   The OP should be aware that the travel funds are held in each passenger's name. The total of each passenger combined should equal the total amount initially paid for airfare (not including the EBCI fee, if purchased).   ... View more

It's sad that I have to say this:   The pandemic is far from under control, and in fact is at its worst in every measurable way right now.   The recently approved vaccine (along with other vaccines in various stages of approval) represent significant light at the end of the tunnel, but it will likely be months until their availability reaches most people. Or longer.    Anyone suggesting otherwise simply isn't paying attention to the facts.           ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: Actually, neither A-List nor A-List Preferred receive any more of a notification than anyone  else. Everyone finds out their boarding positions when they get their boarding passes   This is incorrect. Around t-24, A-Listers receive a pop-up via the app that tells them their position, and directs them to obtain their boarding pass.   ... View more

@jksobonya wrote: I am willing to bet my life savings there was small print somewhere in your offer that said you needed to spend a certain amount to get that $200 credit. Credit card companies aren't going to give you $200 on the spot just for signing up.   --Jessica   That would not be a smart bet. 😉   The "$200 statement credit" promo has been around, in one form or another, for many years. This is the promo offered by Chase during the flight purchase check-out process on the Southwest website and app. (Basically, a box pops up as you're checking out that shows you the fare savings you'd receive after the credit is applied to your new account.)     There's never been a minimum purchase requirement to receive the $200 statement credit, just that any purchase is made.   Years ago, the promo only included the statement credit. More recently, a points offer was added, presumably to make the promo more competitive with other points-only Southwest credit card offers. (80,000 bonus points, the current points-only promo, are worth at least $1,024.)   Currently, the statement credit promo includes two separate offers: $200 statement credit after first purchase 10,000 points after $500 spend in the first 3 months       With regards to the OP's situation: Assuming that they kept records (screenshots) of the offer they applied for and all of the confirmation screens, it shouldn't be difficult to straighten out the apparent confusion with Chase.   As I've mentioned many times on this forum, Chase offers multiple different promotional offers for those opening a new Southwest credit card, and the only way to make sure you're getting the offer you want is to verify that this is the case when you are applying for it.   If you click away to research other offers, for example, this could cause a different offer end up attached to the application. Some customers erroneously think that they can somehow obtain multiple offers, or be given the best parts of different offers. And some customers are just confused regarding which offer they applied for in the first place.   So again, it seems simple, but it bears repeating that the only way to make sure you get the offer you want is to make sure it's the one you're applying for. If you do this you shouldn't have issues. But, as with all financial transactions, document everything. That way you'll have references for your own peace of mind, and proof should you ever need it.   Added: Here are the terms and conditions for the current offer. It looks like the offer links are served dynamically, so it's basically impossible to directly link to them.       ... View more

For anyone reading who is interested:   ‘There’s No Place for Them to Go’: I.C.U. Beds Near Capacity Across U.S. ... View more

@jksobonya wrote: --Jessica     Unfortunately, from your reply it's clear that you're choosing to believe information that simply does not align with facts. I've sadly found it's often impossible to have a coherent argument in this type of situation so I won't waste either of our time.      ... View more

Which particular offer are you referring to?   Did you save any screenshots of the offer details to which you can refer? As mentioned above, the terms and conditions would be helpful.     ... View more

When you applied, did you take screenshots of all of the appropriate forms you had to complete, and confirmation screens that were shown to you?    When you apply for any credit card online you should immediately receive multiple confirmation emails. Did you save those, and if so do they show the terms of the account offer you applied for?   The only way for your flight purchase to have immediately been charged to your newly opened credit card account would be if you had indeed applied for the $200 credit offer as shown on Southwest's website. Are you able to show Chase that this in fact happened?     ... View more

@jksobonya wrote: Hopefully you will get to use your travel funds as they are good from one year from the date you purchased the reservation. With a vaccine on the horizon to be distributed by the end of this year into next year, I am hopeful we can put this all behind us in the next couple of months. The virus remains mild for most and most recover, and 1 in 5 have no symptoms at all. In my opinion we've dragged this out longer than necessary already, and it's time we get back to normal business and way of life.    --Jessica   Unfortunately, the virus doesn't care that people think we should get back to normal.   Just to be clear, infections, hospitalizations and deaths are all at their highest rates in the US since the pandemic began.   We don't just get to wish this away because we're over it.   Without further mitigation efforts those numbers will continue to increase. A more realistic timeline for widespread vaccine distribution is well into the first quarter of 2021, at a minimum.    Hospitals are already stressed. Imagine needing emergency care (because of a heart attack, or a car accident, or any number of medical needs) and not receiving it because of staff or facility issues due to covid. If people continue to disregard the very real problems this pandemic continues to cause that will absolutely happen.   It's also astonishingly insulting to those who have lost friends and family members (and the frontline healthcare workers who put their lives on the line everyday battling this disease) to suggest that the virus isn't serious. Especially when upwards of 2,000+ people are dying, and continue to die, every day.    ... View more

Sadly, now more than ever, it's a good idea to always get your news from reputable sources only, and to avoid repeating unverified rumors. It seems crazy that this bears repeating, but with certain powerful people choosing to manipulate the public with false "news" for their own benefit, vigilance and truth are our strongest weapons.   Yesterday President-elect Biden announced that once he takes office he was ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days.   Biden Says He Will Ask Americans to Wear Masks for 100 Days to Fight COVID-19 Spread ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: Southwest can't do what the DOT says it an't do. DOT says no ESAs will be allowed after 12/31/20.   Sorry.   There is one exception. If your ESA fits in  a carry kennel that fits under the seat in front of you, then it would be allowed. You would have to pay the normal pet fee to do this.   Again, this is incorrect. Nothing about the new ruling bans ESAs. The ruling removes the government protections that required ESAs to be accepted. But it does not ban any carrier from allowing them, and/or crafting specific policies for them.   I suspect most carriers will eventually refuse to accept ESAs, but I doubt anything will change on 12/31/20. Only time will tell what policies each individual carrier may implement.     ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: You are correct as I pointed out in another thread about whether SW would still allow ESAs.   There will not be ESAs.  and animals will be treated in accordance with the existing  pet policy   The statement "there will not be ESAs" is incorrect.   Just to be clear, as I think maybe you're still confused -- nothing about the new ruling bans ESAs. The ruling removes the government protections that required ESAs to be accepted. But it does not ban any carrier from allowing them, and/or crafting specific policies for them.       ... View more

@gsking wrote: Meanwhile, the CDC quarantine guidelines have dropped to 10 days.    So there's that.    Correct. Lots of detailed info available here:   When You Can be Around Others After You Had or Likely Had COVID-19   That said, with what we currently know about reinfection remaining largely undetermined, erring on the side of caution isn't necessarily a bad thing.     ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: and only dogs will qualify as service animals.   So says the DOT...   https://wgntv.com/news/say-goodbye-to-emotional-support-animals-in-airplane-cabins/     That article (and the headline here) are incorrect. ESAs won't be banned from airplane cabins by the new ruling.    The new DOT ruling just means carriers are no longer required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals, and may now treat them as pets, subject to their individual pet policies.    For a carrier such as Southwest, who does not accept pets in the cargo hold, this would mean that emotional support animals would be subject to transport in the cabin for a fee, under the rules of their pet policy.   I suspect clarification in the form of a policy announcement from Southwest is forthcoming.    This article has more information, along with a link to the actual 122 page DOT ruling. ... View more

As has been mentioned, one person may only hold a single CP at any given time.   The terms and conditions of that January promotion are here.   Note that earning the promo CP on top of a regular CP doesn't even give you any extra companion name changes.  ... View more

@SWFlyer007 wrote: @chgoflyer I don't think anybody has stated that SWA "is" relaxing the mask policy, but hoping that they don't relax it, as I'm sure you might agree.  IMO, the person who started the thread is just expressing that he hopes they don't.  I agree with you, the science does show promise in regard to the spread of disease on airplanes, and I'm flying in December, so it's not keeping me off a plane.  Sorry that us ranting crazy folks still have a concern on the mask policy.  See you in the air.   To be clear, the crazy people I was referring to are the anti-mask ones mentioned in the OP's first paragraph. I certainly wouldn't put you in that category, unless I've missed something. 😉 ... View more

Temperature checks instituted as part of security screening would likely have cost more than their value as a covid screening tool, primarily since the screening would miss asymptomatic carriers.  ... View more

@Lindamct wrote: Sad, I am flying tomorrow with asthma.  FACE MASKS DONT WORK! I will have to wear one even though I have the antibody.  It’s communism    Define communism.     ... View more

I've not heard anything to suggest that Southwest is considering relaxing the mask policy. Ignore the rantings of crazy people online, listen to the experts. Southwest is certainly smart enough to understand that the studies show transmission risk is low aboard an aircraft specifically when masks are utilized. ... View more