Southwest Airlines Community

I too grabbed a lower fare to TPA in Dec for my mom. A few weeks ago the points were ~8,066, last week ~9515. Yesterday at the beginning of the sale they dropped to ~4866. This morning 6515. ... View more

No delays to/from Jamaica. As a matter-of-fact, we left JA early! Grateful! ... View more

....and now the COVID testing requirements for international travel into the U.S. has been lifted as of Sun, Jun 12. ... View more

You do not need an account. The link below allows you to check in using your confirmation number https://www.southwest.com/air/check-in/index.html ... View more

I most certainly did misunderstand. Thank you! ... View more

Thanks @jksobonya. Darn! Oh well. As long as I get on the plane, I'll remain happy. ... View more

@jksobonya would you share the link where it is stated that Anytime fares booked after May 17 are grandfathered in for EB? I booked in April and was hoping the EB was retroactive if travel hasn't been completed yet. ... View more

If you still have the confirmation number given when the reservation was initially made you can check travel fund status here:   https://www.southwest.com/travel-funds/?msclkid=e3b741aed12811ec87b47dd9d6846403 ... View more

Always look for errors (particularly spelling) in an email that looks suspicious (spam). Should "Southwest" be two words? ... View more

I always take a screen shot of every transaction completed online just in case I don't receive a confirmation email. I practice this with every purchase I make (not only SW purchases). Gives me a peace of mind. ... View more

Is it that the points are 1) pending in your RR Shopping account but not confirmed 2) have not yet posted to your RR Shopping account OR, 3) have not appeared in your SW RR account?   If either 1 or 2 above, then by day 16, you should log into your RR Shopping account and then click on "My Account" from the top left drop down. At the bottom is a Contact Us link where there is an option "Order Inquiry or missing points". Complete all of the required fields. Within a few hours you should receive an acknowledgement email with the opportunity to attach additional info.  Then reply to the email with a copy of your receipt. Within 3 days it's usually resolved. SW indicates on some stores' landing page that you only have a certain number of days to dispute. It's best to do it at day 16. ... View more

Awesome! Glad you resolved it. Exposed Personal Identifiable Information (PII) can be damaging. ... View more

You should have the option under the wheel icon to "Edit Reply". Then highlight the image and delete. I just tried it and it works.   If that doesn't work then you may want to "Report as Inappropriate Content", although I'm not sure what impact that will have on your future posts.   ... View more

@chgoflyer wrote: @jksobonya wrote: My only word of caution is be careful cancelling a flight right now just to pay a different way, because flight prices have generally gone up and you might end up paying more than your original flight price.   --Jessica   FYI: Anytime (and Business select) prices for the same day/flight fluctuate much less than Wanna Get Away -- if at all. Hmmmm...the summer international flights have increased by at least $60 since February for BS, AT, and WGA. ... View more

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@gsking wrote: That is a very cheap fare.   I say jump on it.   You'll get a rebate if it goes down.    I'd have E buy the extra points on sale and book their own ticket.   Transfer isn't worth the cost.   From my calculation shown in my original post (or maybe my 1st reply), it seems like there is an actual savings with the international flights (but not domestic) if I use purchased points at the 65-75% discount. This is why I don't understand why the experts say don't buy.   Now I'm confused. I thought @dfwskier was saying it cost more to purchase vs transfer. Can you give me an example? I'm stuck on stupid right now. 🤔 This is what isn't clear to me.   The cost of taxes will be high,  particularly on the return.   They are paid in cash.   But fortunately,  all points and cash paid for taxes are refunded in kind if anything is canceled.   No risk.    Yes. Departure flight taxes are $49 but returning flight taxes are $98. This is why I have difficulty calculating what is the better option. It sounds like just paying cash. But this isn't the best route either because as I noted, neither Person A-E are frequent flyers. Next trip will probably be domestic in FY24 and beyond. No car rentals or hotel stays within the next 2 years. 😎   ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: @strgth wrote:   QUESTIONS 1. When is the best time to purchase airfare for international travel? 6, 3, 2 months prior?   There is no stock answer to that question. My only advice would be to NOT buy when the schedule opens new dates. That's typically when fares are highest. Example: Dallas/ Chicago lowest fare when February opened was $116. Today it is $64.   I did see that in other posts. Admittedly they jumped on the bandwagon when the schedule first opened last December. Then we watched the fare drop, then drop again. That is why some are stuck with travel funds. I'll forewarn them to wait. Thank you! 2. Should Person E purchase 2000 points to top off so that they can purchase their departure fare using their existing points OR Should Person E transfer 2000 points to Person A? Which option avoids the highest cost per transaction? What’s the calculation?   Is this a one way transaction. If so, how are you getting back?  Purchasing the departure and return leg separately. Focusing on using up everyone's points on the departure first.   I would do  nothing now. You're traveling 9 months from now. Take the time to earn a few points on your own (the other person could do the same). Lots of rent car companies give 600/1200/2400 points for a car rental. With hotels it's pretty easy to score 1000 points or more.    These are young adults who don't travel much, if at all, let alone book a car or hotel stay. Person A was able to accumulate points via RR Shopping.   Buying 2000 points will cost 3 cents a point. Transferring 2000 points will cost 1 cent per point.   So transferring points is the better route if one of the persons is short but if combined with another person, they'll have enough points. Got it!   3. When points are used to purchase a fare, how are points refunded when cancel a: 1)WGA, Anytime, or BS fares? How are the taxes and fees refunded when cancel?   Refunded points go back to the person that provided them - unlike money fares which go to the ticket holder.     ... View more

@elijahbrantley wrote: I don't think buying points is ever a good deal UNLESS you need just a couple thousand to get you enough to purchase a fare.    So here is the question: which is cheaper? Buy some points to top off what you need to book the trip on points (cost for those points) OR the cost of booking one way on points and then paying for the return leg in cash? With SW it is easy to book the outgoing and incoming lets separately, and there is no difference in the cost if you do that. Simply, is it cheaper to buy the extra points or book part of your trip in cash. Every situation is different, but I think that's the key question to help you decide.   Good luck!   Right now Person A is concentrating on purchasing the departing leg with points. Persons A-E will each purchase their own returning leg with cash. ... View more

Thank you everyone for the insight. So here is one scenario (NOTE: no one in the scenario is interested in accumulating points.; if anything, they're trying to use them up):   SCENARIO 1: 1. 5 ppl (Persons A-E) traveling internationally (Caribbean) in Summer 2022 2. The lowest departure fare at this time is 6059 points 3. Person A has enough points to cover departure fare for Persons A-D but is 2,000 points short to cover departure fare for Person E 4. Person E is 1840 points short from purchasing their own departure fare 5. All 5 people are NOT frequent travelers including Person A with the most points   QUESTIONS 1. When is the best time to purchase airfare for international travel? 6, 3, 2 months prior? 2. Should Person E purchase 2000 points to top off so that they can purchase their departure fare using their existing points OR Should Person E transfer 2000 points to Person A? Which option avoids the highest cost per transaction? What’s the calculation? 3. When points are used to purchase a fare, how are points refunded when cancel a: 1)WGA, Anytime, or BS fares? How are the taxes and fees refunded when cancel? ... View more

@elijahbrantley wrote: I don't think buying points is ever a good deal UNLESS you need just a couple thousand to get you enough to purchase a fare.    So here is the question: which is cheaper? Buy some points to top off what you need to book the trip on points (cost for those points) OR the cost of booking one way on points and then paying for the return leg in cash? With SW it is easy to book the outgoing and incoming lets separately, and there is no difference in the cost if you do that. Simply, is it cheaper to buy the extra points or book part of your trip in cash. Every situation is different, but I think that's the key question to help you decide.   Good luck!   Elijah, thank you. I sent you a DM with another question. For this one, what if it costs $247 for 14,850 pts but a one leg fare (international) is $284 (14,359 pts)? Isn't that a good trade off? ... View more

Paper boarding passes, confirmation emails, or RR account ... View more

The Costco gift card has no expiration but once you use it for air fare, then the travel funds policy kicks in and the funds expire? ... View more

The SW Community has so ingrained in my brain that purchasing points isn't worth it that I'm now questioning if a 10% discount is a good deal.   Can a gift card be used to pay for taxes and fees if using points for the flight?   If cancel a flight, does the refund go back to the gift card or as travel funds? ... View more

@jksobonya wrote: Check your e-mail - when Southwest changes a flight you are notified via e-mail and if you are not happy with the change you can modify it yourself to *any other flight* **for free**.   You can also log into Southwest.com or the app, view your flight, and you should see a notification that "Your flight has been modified" with instructions on how to change it.    You have to make a change within 72 hours of being notified.   --Jessica @jksobonya time limit for modifying seems to vary. In the email I received from SW for a flight change it stated "If your new itinerary won't work, you can change your flight date and/or time by up to 14 days from your original travel date at no additional cost." ... View more

@Kkuratko wrote: Very disappointed in the SWA app.  Unless you are connected to wi-fi, the app simply does not function.  This is very troublesome for most frequent travelers - this is an area in which SWA should reach out to United, Delta or American for training and adaptation. (All 3 of those airlines apps were connecting flawlessly without wi-fi, but not SWA).  I would give the SWA app an ‘F’ for usability. Please consult the other airlines for help on this poor performance.  If you're using an Apple device, go into Settings. Scroll down and select Southwest. Make sure Cellular Data is turned on. ... View more