Southwest Airlines Community

Unfortunately, if you've purchased with a gift card, your "refund" will be in the form of travel funds -- even on fully refundable fares. The gift card terms override the fare ones.   This is one of the multiple reasons I never recommend Southwest gift cards.   That said, if you push the matter you may be able to receive the refund on a gift card. It's rare, but it's been reported. I'd recommend using Twitter direct message, and clearly state that you had purchased a Business Select fare and would like a refund on a gift card.   Good luck. ... View more

Just FYI... Southwest does not send out any notices of expiring vouchers (or travel credits). It's up to the customer to track those. Vouchers clearly include the expiration date on them (if printed) or in the original email that contained the voucher. If you're actually meaning Travel Funds (credit from a self-cancelled or re-fared flight) then those amounts and expiration dates are shown in your online Rapid Rewards account. In general, these expire one year from the date the original booking was made.   Not arguing with you, just stating the facts regarding how things work.   Did you receive the $195 as a Voucher or was it Travel Funds? If it was a Voucher, then if expired it's now gone forever. If Travel Funds, you can recover $95 as noted in the earlier post above. ... View more

@ZevSupport wrote: Try reaching out to customer service to see if they can assist with this. Only the funds set to expire on April 1 will, not any combined (and later expiring) funds.   This is 100% incorrect. It might be a good idea to edit your post so that misinformation isn't spread.   As noted by others, when you co-mingle funds the earliest expiration date applies to all funds on the reservation. This may change someday, but this is how Southwest has always done it to-date. ... View more

@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. ... View more

If there was a remaining balance, then that should have been an indicator that the card total wasn't somehow transferred to your account (because that's not how it works on Southwest).   Southwest's gift card system is pretty rudimentary. In general, I do not recommend using Southwest gift cards. ... View more

Diet Dr. Pepper and Wild Turkey. (Someday, I hope.)   If an earlier flight, vodka & tomato juice. (Someday, I hope.) ... View more

If Southwest cancelled the flight the phone rep should have been able to issue the refund. You can try HUCA (hang up, call again) or my recommendation would be to reach out via social media -- Twitter direct message is likely best. Provide your confirmation number, state that Southwest cancelled the flight, and request the refund.   Good luck.   ... View more

You should have received a change notification email that explained everything. Since Southwest changed your flights, you're able to make a one-time change to any other flight to the same destinations +/-14 days at no additional cost. You can do all this online. There should have been a specific link in that email, but you can also just log into your account on the Southwest website. If you have no account, use the change flight function.     ... View more

Don't use the link that was sent in the change notification email. Log into your account as usual, then select the itinerary, then select only the return flight to change. ... View more

Does your husband have A-List? ... View more

It's possible that a plane swap occurred, from a larger 737-800 or MAX8 (175 seats) to a smaller 700 (143 seats). Unfortunately, it's no one's guess but Southwest's as to why your particular group was moved. But these things do happen, as said above it's all part of air travel.   Once your trip is completed, I'd suggest you reach out to Southwest via the web form "email." A short message highlighting the inconvenience you experienced may garner a small voucher as a customer service accommodation. ... View more

Try checking Flight Aware. A quick and easy to remember way to check is to type the code for Southwest (WN) and the flight number into the Google search bar, then scroll to the Flight Aware link (usually at or near the top).   WN 1234   If it says cancelled, it's cancelled. If it shows on time (or delayed) then I'd recommend calling Southwest to double check.     ... View more

Complaints about Southwest Vacations are frequent. Unfortunately, Southwest Airlines apparently receives enough ancillary income (and flight bookings) from them to offset any concerns about damage to their brand.   If one does decide to book through Southwest Vacations (which I don't recommend) they should be sure to carefully read all the fine print. ... View more

The ongoing relatively low load factors allow Southwest to offer a perk which doesn't actually cost them much, while receiving ancillary income from Chase. ... View more

@chronos wrote: In case anyone stumbles onto this thread, I have made this mistake recently and can confirm the issue.    I checked into my flight close to 24hrs before departure and received a C10.  Since I would be travelling with 7 year old who is too old for 'Family Boarding' but too young to really sit alone, I needed two seats together. The Southwest app let me buy Early Bird check-ins AFTER I was already checked-in.  My card was charged immediately.    It was a mistake on my part, and I thought I would be able to get a new boarding assignment, but no dice.  Nothing happened.  So now, I'm out $40 for a useless Early Bird, and now I have to pay another $80 at the gate for an A group boarding assignment.    The system won't sell you EarlyBird Check-In when it's less than 36 hours prior to departure. You'll receive an error message that it's unable to add to that specific flight. Was your booking for a round trip? If so, it's most likely that EBCI was added to the return flight. ... View more

@gsking wrote: ... which would mean the funds would be past expired and would instantaneously vanish...Poof.   Hmm...I wonder how that's going to work this year 🤔    I converted all my TF over to points.   O cancel my flights too much and didn't want to deal with it.    Hmmm. There's really no scenario in which the funds would vanish instantaneously.   1) Funds are good for travel through September 7, 2022, period. When cancelled they retain the September 7, 2022 expiration. You can't book a flight for any date past September 7, 2022.   OR   2) Funds are good for travel through September 7, 2022, and once used obtain a new expiration date of one year from the date of booking. If you were to cancel a reservation for say, an August 7, 2022 flight that you booked in July, 2022, you'd receive funds with an expiration of July, 2023. Any further bookings would retain that July, 2023 expiration.     To be clear, the 2nd scenario is how it's actually been working. Those with September 2022 expiration funds that used them to book new flights did find upon cancellation that they were now valid for one year from booking (effectively shortening their usability timeframe if booked prior to September, 2021). The funds didn't revert back to their September 2022 expiration. This is because Southwest's systems likely don't have the ability to retain two different expiration dates for each travel fund, and/or prioritize them correctly.   I suspect we'll see the same behavior going forward. Perhaps someone will post here with their experience. I do think that this only affects a small number of customers, as many converted their funds to points or have already used them to rebook.     ... View more

You apparently haven't needed to call Southwest lately.   What information are you seeking? There's a very strong possibility it's available online. And if it isn't, then the phone rep probably can't answer the question anyway.   (Like it or not, most companies are reducing their phone customer service and relying more on online options.)     ... View more

Please see the responses to your other post. (And keep in mind that posting the same thing in multiple threads doesn't do anything good for anyone -- which is why it's against forum rules.) 😉 ... View more

It seems that the various More Rewards offerings come and go these days, sometimes quickly and always without warning. Chase is still touting "international flights on global carriers" as a benefit of their Rapid Rewards Visa cards... so in theory this should come back someday. In addition to checking with More Rewards you might want to also check with Chase. Good luck.   ... View more

Southwest was pretty clear about how it's supposed to work when they first posted the September, 2022 extension policy, even including an example:     At that time, I reached out to a representative here, who responded to me via private message and verified that:   Once the travel funds are used to make a purchase, they will then expire 12 months from the date of purchase, overriding the original expiration date. So if you use the benefits August 2022 and for some reason the flight is cancelled, they will then expire August 2023. If not used, they would expire September 7, 2022.     Whether or not this means anything now (or more importantly, will mean anything in the upcoming months heading into September 7, 2022) remains to be seen.     ... View more

Sounds like there's some confusion here. Southwest's military fare is basically a discount off the Anytime fare. Anytime fares are fully refundable, but are not the lowest cost fares available. For the cheapest fare, book Wanna Get Away. If you need refundability, and qualify, book a military fare.   If you're booking last minute, the military fare can actually be close to or lower than the Wanna Get Away one. This is a good use of the military fare.     ... View more

To be clear, they'll not receive any "upgrade" because of the Business Select fare, but will receive their EarlyBird Check-In boarding position among all EBCI purchasers based on time of purchase.     ... View more

Every year we see posts from disappointed people whose spend hits in December instead of January. Your Chase account statement date is the most important factor here -- purchases made before the December statement will count in that same calendar year, while those made after the statement closes will post in the following year.     ... View more

Here's the offer and terms & conditions for reference. If you met the qualifications, why did Southwest say you didn't?     Terms and Conditions: Register for this promotion, then book one round trip or two one-way Southwest® flights between 8:00 a.m. on September 7, 2021 and 11:59 p.m. CST on September 9, 2021 for travel dates from September 7 to November 18, 2021 (the "Promotion Period"), and fly during the Promotion Period to earn a Promotional Companion Pass® valid for use between January 6 to February 28, 2022. To register for this promotion, you will need to provide your Southwest Rapid Rewards® account number at the time of registration. If you do not have a Rapid Rewards account number, you may register for an account by going online to Southwest.com/rapidrewards to become a Member. Rapid Rewards accounts are free. Member must register for this promotion, book a Southwest flight between 8:00 a.m. on September 7, 2021 and 11:59 p.m. CST on September 9, 2021 for travel during the Promotion Period, and fly during the Promotion Period. Registration must be completed prior to booking and commencement of travel. Valid on new qualifying revenue flights booked between 8:00 a.m. on September 7, 2021 and 11:59 p.m. CST on September 9, 2021 for travel during the Promotion Period and flown within the Promotion Period. Member's qualifying flight must be booked through Southwest Airlines® between 8:00 a.m. on September 7, 2021 and 11:59 p.m. CST on September 9, 2021 for travel that must be completed during the Promotion Period. Member's Rapid Rewards account number must be entered at the time of booking Member's qualifying flight to earn a Promotional Companion Pass valid for use between January 6 and February 28, 2022. A qualifying one-way flight for this promotion is a one-way revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city, including any intermediate stops and/or connections on Southwest Airlines. A qualifying round trip flight for this promotion is a round trip revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city and back to the originating airport or carrier-recognized co-terminal. Valid on new reservations booked within the Promotion Period only. Travel booked or flown prior to registration for this promotion is not eligible for this Promotional Companion Pass offer. Companion Pass, charter flights, reward and group travel, and Southwest Vacations® packages do not qualify as one-way or round trip revenue flights for this promotion. Changes made to any itinerary after purchase of a one-way or round trip revenue flight may eliminate qualification for this promotion. The Promotional Companion Pass is valid from January 6 to February 28, 2022 and allows you to designate one person to fly with you, free of airline charges* (does not include taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way) on flights purchased by you from January 6 to February 28, 2022, booked through Southwest, and completed between January 6 to February 28, 2022. No points or tier or Companion Pass qualifying points will be awarded for flights taken by the Companion when flying on a Promotional Companion Pass or Companion Pass reservation. You may change your designated Companion up to three times while you have Promotional Companion Pass. If you earn Companion Pass in 2022 by earning 125,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or flying 100 qualifying flights, any changes to your designated Companion during the time you have a Promotional Companion Pass will reduce the number of changes you can make to your designated Companion in the 2022 calendar year. For example, if you earn a Promotional Companion Pass through this promotion, change your designated Companion twice during the validity period for Promotional Companion Pass, and later in 2022 earn Companion Pass, you would only be able to change your designated Companion one more time in 2022. Companion Pass is not transferable. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms. Southwest® reserves the right to amend, suspend, or change the Rapid Rewards program and/or Rapid Rewards program rules at any time without notice. Rapid Rewards Members do not acquire property rights in accrued points. The number of points needed for a particular Southwest flight is set by Southwest and will vary depending on destination, time, day of travel, demand, fare type, point redemption rate, and other factors, and is subject to change at any time until the booking is confirmed. ©2021 Southwest Airlines Co. *Must include Rapid Rewards number during booking. Limited time. Restrictions apply.   The account information in this email is only an estimate for a specific point in time. Please reference your Rapid Rewards account on Southwest.com® for the most up-to-date information on available points, tier status, including tier qualifying points or flights, and Companion Pass® qualifying points or flights.   All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply.   Cualquier información publicitaria, promocional o de mercadotecnia contenida en este correo electrónico sólo será efectiva y únicamente será aplicable en los Estados Unidos de América.   This is a post-only mailing from Southwest Airlines®. Please do not attempt to respond to this message. Southwest Airlines 2702 Love Field Drive Dallas, TX 75235 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) © Copyright 2021 Southwest Airlines Co. All Rights Reserved.   ... View more

I strongly suspect that there was a miscommunication between the agent and the OP, and the usual process of reissuing expired funds as a voucher is what was actually referenced.   There's often confusion regarding travel fund "extensions" vs "reissue as a voucher." I try to always make that distinction for clarity's sake.   There's no "reinstating expired funds," and at this time Southwest hasn't announced any additional covid-accommodation extensions (and, IMHO isn't likely to, especially specifically "all travel funds of $100"). ... View more

@rich1954 wrote: The points guy claims RR points are worth 1.5 cents a point.   The points guy is a bit incorrect here. Bloggers often are. 😉 It's not untrue, but it's also not the full story.   Southwest charges 83 points per $1 of base fare. This means the literal value of a point is 1.2 cents.   But, as I mentioned above, since points bookings don't incur all of the taxes & fees charged on cash ones, the realized point value can fluctuate. You get better value on flights with lower fares since the taxes & fees represent a larger portion of the cash fare, which you don't pay on a points booking. Some people realize points values of as high as 1.8 cents per point. (Even higher if you factor in the Companion Pass, which some bloggers do, but which isn't particularly useful for anything other than allowing a high points value claim.)   Back in the good old days, savvy travelers often realized points values above 2 cents. Sigh.   Since realized point value can fluctuate depending on the specific fare, it's better to use the fixed value when making comparisons over time. For example, when Southwest makes changes to the Rapid Rewards program, which historically tend to be implemented about every 2 years. These changes reduce the value of RR points.   Note: We're overdue for a program change likely held back due to the pandemic, and April has historically been devaluation month. 😕   ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: You could increase the value of your travel fund.  Book a flight that is more than $100, I found a random flight from DEN to DAL for $104 by using the low fare calendar.  Use the travel fund you have and pay the remaining balance with a credit card.  Then immediately cancel the reservation and you will have a new travel fund for the higher price that still expires on 4/1/22.     Perhaps I'm being obtuse, but why in the world would anyone do that? To be reissued as a voucher once expired, the fee of $100 would still be deducted. ... View more