Southwest Airlines Community

Can you clarify what you mean? On the Southwest website, Points can only be used for booking airfare. You can't pay for rental cars using points, unless you're going through the "More Rewards" portal (only available to Southwest Visa cardholders.) ... View more

Yes, as long as all the new travel booked is completed by the expiration of the funds. ... View more

Sadly, the days of Southwest having consistently lower fares are long gone. Southwest's lowest fares can still be a good deal, but once those 6-8 seats are sold and the prices start increasing, often they're not competitive with other carriers, even adding in bag fees. These days, it pays to always check against other options.  ... View more

thanks!! ... View more

Setup Rapid Rewards accounts for each family member and add their numbers as well, and they'll each earn points. Later, the RR points can be used to book fligths for anyone. ... View more

Nevermind, I found the answer in the post you mentioned in your reply. Thank! ... View more

If it's under 24 hours since you booked, just cancel the flight for a refund and rebook with the correct name. ... View more

They are generic -- no personalization, can be used by anyone.   Be aware though -- Southwest's system limits the number of forms of payment that can be used on a single booking to three. So someone wanting to use, say, 4 or 5 $25 gift cards for one flight won't be able to. And there's no way to combine separate cards, or add more value to one. Also, once they are used, if you cancel that flight, the refund won't be back to the gift card -- it will be in travel funds, locked to the name of the original passenger and valid for one year from the booking date. ... View more

Actually, to cancel a reservation all someone really needs is the confirmation number and the name on the ticket. No credit card number is needed.     This may be related to the duplicate confirmation number issue Southwest is currently having as a result of the conversion to the new "next generation reservation system." Someone with a duplicate confirmation number may have cancelled your flight by mistake.   Your best bet to get this sorted out is to call Customer Relations at 1-855-234-4654 (not the regular number).   Good luck -- and please come back and let us know how this is resolved.     ... View more

You'll just need the confirmation number of the Southwest flight to check in online. ... View more

You can check in online or through the mobile app beginning 24 hours prior to departure.   EarlyBird Check-In is an additional fee product that automatically checks you in beginning 36 hours prior to departure. (Then you go online beginning 24 hours prior to departure to print your boarding pass, or at the airport.) The fee is $15 per person, each way. You can add EarlyBird Check-In here. ... View more

You mention two completely different things.   1) Southwest doesn't extend the expiration dates of travel funds. Ever. Reissue as a voucher (with the associated fee) is your only real option, short of using the funds before they expire (since you now travel frequently).   2) If you feel the compensation you received for the February incident is inadequate, you should contact Customer Relations.   Good luck. ... View more

Refunds from refundable tickets are credited back to the original form of purchase.   Exception: If you used a Southwest Gift Card you'll receive travel funds, linked to the original passenger, good for one year from the original date of purchase. (Summary: Never use a gift card to purchase refundable tickets.)   Note: A major recent policy change can affect refundability.   Limitations within the new "next generation reservation system" have apparently forced a significant policy change on "refundable" fares (Business Select, Anytime, Senior, etc.).     More info here. (Choose "Next Generation Reservation System" from the "Select Topic" menu on the left.)   Going forward, you should never change/modify a refundable fare. Always cancel and then rebook that fare. Otherwise you'll lose the refundability.   This means that you'll have funds tied up with Southwest (until the refund is issued), and you'll lose any EarlyBird Check-In fees you've paid should you need to cancel/rebook.   Most importantly, this is completely counter intuitive to how we've always managed reservations with Southwest. I suspect this new policy will trip up many. Beware.   ... View more

No, vouchers are only good for airfare -- not even taxes or fees.   I'm not sure what you mean by "Priority Check In." Southwest offers either EarlyBird Check-In or Priority Boarding, and the extra fees for both require a credit card only, since these are profit generators for the carrier.     ... View more

Chase used to send drink coupons to cardholders once a year around their anniversary date, but they stopped that for 2107. If you think you've completed 10 paid one-way trips and haven't received any coupons, contact Customer Relations. ... View more

If you cancel a flight, you'll have one year from the original date of purchase in which to complete travel.   An exception is if you've applied any Travel Funds or Vouchers to the booking. If so, the expiration will be the earliest expiration date of any funds or vouchers applied. ... View more

Travel Funds from a cancelled or re-fared flight can only be used towards future airfare, to be completed within one year of the original purchase date, by the originally named passenger. ... View more

You might want to give it a try, but franktravel's advice is most likely a waste of time, unfortunately. Non-refundable tickets are non-refundable. You'll probably just receive a form reply stating that. Southwest is very "by-the-book" these days.   You do have one option to recover some of the fare, if it's greater than $100. After the funds expire, call Customer Relations and request they be reissued as a Voucher. You have 6 months from funds expiration in which to do this, and the voucher will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue. The fee for this is $100, but the voucher can be used by anyone (for airfare only, no taxes of fees). These requests are granted on a case-by-case basis, and this non-published policy is subject to change at any time, including the amount of the fee. Good luck! ... View more

FYI: Infant Fares are a discount off of the refundable Anytime fare, and as such are usually much more expensive than the online Wanna Get Away fare. ... View more

Was it just you on the itinerary? If so, it's likely just another glitch.   If there was more than one person on the itinerary, it could be because Southwest doesn't offer mobile boarding passes on multiple-passenger itineraries. No idea why that should affect your notification preferences however. ... View more

Unfortunately, Southwest doesn't offer any way to share or combine Rapid Rewards accounts, such as how JetBlue does with it's Family Pooling. ... View more

You can, but you wouldn't want to.   You'd lose half of the value of your points (or more) by using them to buy a gift card. Points are worth 1.9 cents (at least, depending on fare) but if you spend them on a card you'll only get 1 cents worth of value per point. Plus, fares bought with gift cards aren't refundable, but points bookings are. RR Points can be used to book flights for anyone, so simply using your points to buy someone a flight is the best value. ... View more

If you make the change in advance, it is not covered by the new A-List free standby policy -- you'll pay the fare difference.   If you show up at the airport within 2 hours following your scheduled departure, most carriers will accommodate you on the next available flight for no additional cost. This is referred to as the unofficial "flat tire rule." ... View more

The loss of refundability is a new policy, caused by the new "next generation reservation system," and only applies to refundable fares (Business Select, Anytime, Senior, etc.)   There's much more info in this previous discussion.   Bottom line: For refundable fares, always cancel and rebook (don't change) in order to maintain refundability.   If you've purchased a non-refundable fare (Wanna Get Away), nothing has changed. Just use the "change flight" function and select the same flights, and you'll receive the difference as travel funds, good toward future travel for one year from the date of purchase, by the originally named passenger.   Note: When you apply those fund to a new booking, that new booking will take on the expiration date from the travel funds, meaning if you have to cancel that new flight, the funds will only be good for less than a full year.     ... View more

If a WGA fare happens to still be available, you'll want to make the same-day change yourself online. At the airport, they may tell you that same-day changes aren't available, and make you upgrade to Anytime and fly standby (depending on the passenger load for the particular flights).   Fare Rules   Wanna Get Away Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines for the originally ticketed passenger only. Should a passenger fail to apply the nonrefundable ticket toward the purchase of future travel within the eligibility period, the entire amount of the fare, which includes without limitation, all fees, taxes, and charges, will be forfeited. Standby travel requires an upgrade to the Anytime fare. Fares may vary as seats are limited and may not be available on all flights and dates. Limited seating, advance purchase, and other conditions may apply. Fares are subject to change until tickets are purchased and may be available for a limited time only. When combining fares, all rules and restrictions apply. Lower fares may be available. No Show Policy: If you are not planning to travel on any portion of your itinerary, please cancel your reservation at least 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure of the flight. Customers who fail to cancel or change a Wanna Get Away fare segment at least 10 minutes prior to travel and who do not board the flight, will be considered a no show, and all remaining funds on this reservation will be forfeited, including Business Select and Anytime funds.   ... View more

Thank you!   ... View more

From what I understand, the issues may be related to either the old booking system, or the conversion to the new one. One hopes that they dissapear once the new "next egneration reservation system" is fully integrated. ... View more