Southwest Airlines Community

Using the same information (confirmation number and name) are you able to verify the funds on this page?  https://www.southwest.com/flight/travel-funds-search.html   Are you trying to use other funds, gift cards, or other payment methods in addition to the travel fund that is not working?   Does the trip you're attempting to book complete before the expiration date of the funds? ... View more

Points earned from hotel stays are not tier qualifying and do not count towards A-List or A-List Preferred status. Only points earned from flying and some credit card spending are tier qualifying.  ... 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

Purchasing points is useful for when you are trying to redeem your existing RR points towards a flight, but are short a few points.  You can purchase the few remaining points and then redeem all your points towards a free flight.  The option to purchase points is not meant as an alternative to directly purchase a flight using a credit card on southwest.com.  As you noted, you will pay much more for the flight if you buy 100% of the points needed versus just paying for the flight. ... View more

Using the information you posted, but SHOULD REMOVE ASAP, I was able to see that PreCheck is associated with your reservation and should be on the boarding pass. Reprint your boarding pass at the airport.      ... View more

Just some guessing here, but there are other machines and systems involved in the operation of a flight that might not function in the cold temperatures. So while the plane is ok, the vehicles used to do the de-icing or tugs used to move luggage and push planes might not be able to function properly. There's also a human safety element that needs to be considered, there's probably a certain temperature that airlines (and unions) don't want employees working in, at least not for prolonged periods of time.  ... View more

Yep, @LindseyD can change your name. Send her a private message with the request  ... View more

As someone who enjoys traveling and  spontaneous activities I've often thought about doing something like this, strolling through the airport and deciding right then to hop on a random flight. Ultimately i've decided while spontaneity is fun, planning even just a little bit ahead of time can be very beneficial. Flight loads are quite high nowadays, you'd hate to find no flights available to get on or find yourself stuck in an airport all day waiting for two seats to open up. There's also the issue of boarding position. If you're buying last minute you wouldn't get automatic check in associated with A-List status or EarlyBird Check-In or even be able to check in manually at T-24. Yes, if you are A-List you could still board after A60. Price is also often significantly higher at the last minute, booking even just a week before could save you lots of $$ or RR points.   My advice? Do a little bit of planning, booking at least a week ahead of time. You can still explore random cities, truly randomizing by picking out of a hat or work across the country state by state or even alphabetically. Maybe factor in the weather? I personally have no interest in going to Buffalo in the middle of the winter.  Perhaps find a nationwide calendar of events you enjoy (BBQ festivals, knitting exhibitions, art shows, etc) and go to them across the country. I'm thinking about going to see various orchestras performance in random towns next year.  Tons of ways to approach this, all can be tons of fun.    I'd love to hear more about your adventures if you decide to go so please post back.  ... View more

@Dr1JK yet you are allowed to insult employees? Please go, we don't want or need your horrible behavior. Merry Christmas  ... View more

@Dr1JK, by posting in a customer to customer forum you're inviting others to share their opinions. I agree with the other replies that it's nice to see when Southwest enforces their policies and usually reward those employees with a kick tail card instead of demanding they be fired. I also don't appreciate the name calling, no need for that here.  ... View more

Assuming you purchased Wanna Get Away fare tickets then yes, getting the money refunded as travel funds is your only option. You have up to one year from the original purchase date to complete travel using the funds and only the originally ticketed passengers can use the funds.   I know it's not much help for you, but the ability to cancel and have funds for later use offered by Southwest is much more generous than most other airlines who would either charge a large fee to make any changes or not allow any sort of refund.   If you purchased a different fare type, even a senior fare, then you have better refundability so double check that.  ... View more

Alternatively, if not officially group travel and you're trying to book online you could make two reservations (split half the people or split each leg of a round trip), putting each reservation on a separate card. Added bonus, booking as two one-way trips can be more convenient than booking a round trip if you need to rebook flights if a price drops.  ... View more

Haha, good memory @DancingDavidE! Gravy arrived in perfect condition, didn't even have to freeze it. Family was very appreciative of the effort and the wait at baggage claim wasn't bad. I was relieved when bags started coming out and they weren't covered in gravy. I hope your Thanksgiving went well.   The frozen food checked bag was from another dinner event. Suitcase had frozen steaks along with fresh fingerling potatoes, chopped bell peppers and onions, and freshly baked desserts. Dinner in a suitcase!  ... View more

As usual with Southwest flights, each ticketed passenger may check two bags for free as long as they aren't overweight or oversized. While additional bags can be checked for a fee when traveling to other destinations, no additional bags can be checked to Cuba, just two per passenger.  ... View more

I've put frozen food and ice packs in a soft sided cooler inside my checked bag and it's worked great. After several hours of driving and flying it made it to the destination still pretty frozen. I was actually hoping it would have defrosted more than it did. Just make sure each tub is inside sealed (ziploc) bags in case something leaks. Now that it's not summer I don't suspect you'd have problems. That must be some tasty stock! ... View more

Assigned at 36, not available until 24 like everyone else.  ... View more

A-List benefits are given/available to anyone who is A-List regardless of who makes the reservation if their RR# is given with their name when making the reservation. In your specific question, the travelers who are A-List will be assigned a boarding position 36 hours prior to departure. Other non A-List travelers on the reservation will not be automatically assigned a boarding position and would need to check-in sometime within 24 hours of departure. Non A-List travelers can purchase Earlybird Check-in to be automatically checked in if they would prefer not to check-in manually.  ... View more

If you do book it, please come back and update us to let us know if the points post as CP.  Thanks! ... View more

Everything I have read indicates that yes, if you are booking through the Southwest site, all points except for any bonus points offered as an extra for your first booking, would count towards CP.  If the hotel is saying it is 30,000 points for the booking then all those should count towards CP.  I have not done this myself so I can't guarantee anything, that's just what I've read on various forums. ... View more

Feel free to send expiring vouchers to your favorite middle seat traveler 🙂 Or anyone else you like who can fly last minute as they aren't tied to a specific person.    ... View more

No, it's up to the customer to track their own travel funds. You can reference cancelation emails or if you remember specific trips you canceled, use the confirmation email to find the confirmation number. I recommend using a spreadsheet if you do a lot of canceling/rebooking. I store mine in a Google sheet so I can access it from anywhere on multiple devices.  ... View more

Car seats can be checked for free in addition to the usual two free bags per ticketed customer. As the policy refers to car seats and strollers my guess is that the pack n play would count as one of the two free bags. So in your example, one passenger could check a suitcase, car seat, and a pack n play all for no extra charge. Any additional baggage would cost more. More people traveling with you equals two more bags for each ticketed person.  ... View more

I don't think OP was inquiring about carryon, but certainly all good and valid information. I hadn't seen the eBags listing with all the size information.  ... View more

28" is a full size bag, I wouldn't advise carrying it on. Definitely checking that one.  ... View more

You should be fine. The maximum size, L+W+H is 62" inches.  I suspect luggage manufacturers know that's the industry standard and design their bags accordingly. Additionally, as it's an actual suitcase and not a box or other strange packaging no one will give it a second thought about being oversize. If you showed up with a box with the same dimensions it might get measured.   Have a good trip!  ... View more

Extrememly unlikely that additional flights would be added now that the schedule has been released.  The only occasions I can think of where flights were added are for major events such as sports championships once locations are announced, other big news events that lead to an increase in travel on specific routes, or rerouting due to weather. ... View more

No additional flights will be scheduled by Southwest now that they have released their schedule for those dates.  You can book the flights now and if you see the price go down you can rebook the tickets at the lower price.  The savings will be refunded to you as travel funds that you can apply towards another flight that must be completed within one year of the original purchase.  Prices fluctuate all the time so it's not possible to say if prices will go down, up, or stay the same.  Sometimes early bookings save you a lot of money, sometimes prices start out higher than usual.  If you think the price is acceptable now I recommend you purchase now and just keep an eye on it to see if it goes down. ... View more

Yes, each person is allowed to check two bags.  They are free as long as they don't exceed the weight or size limits.   Maximum weight is 50 pounds and maximum size is 62 inches (length + width + height) per check piece of luggage. Overweight items from 51 to 100 pounds and oversized items in excess of 62 inches but not more than 80 inches will be accepted for an overweight and oversize baggage fee of $75 per item. ... View more

There are no "extra" planes or gates, same number of planes and gates as always, but schedules and number of flights to/from destinations are adjusted to create space on busier routes while reducing capacity on other routes that may normally be more utilized by businesses travelers who are not flying. It's quite amazing work to adjust such a large operation to meet the unique demands of holiday travel.  ... View more