02-09-2017
05:52 PM
02-09-2017
05:52 PM
Some things to keep in mind: No Change Fees is a great policy, but it comes with a trade-off: Expensive standby. Many business travelers often need to make same-day changes, or fly standby on an earlier flight. Other carriers charge a small fee ($50-$75, often waived for standby) or change nothing ($0) to their elites for same day changes. On Southwest, you pay no change fee but you do pay the fare difference, which -- for same day changes -- can be significant. The difference between an advance purchase WGA fare and the Anytime fare is often an order of 6-8x (or more). Southwest's policy is the clear winner when making changes in advance of flying, but other carriers are better when it comes to standby or same day changes. You mentioned bag fees: Compare fares (difficult to do, I know, since Southwest doesn't participate in online booking services like all other carriers) and you may find that Southwest is consistently $25-$50 more for the same route. Just like a "free lunch," nothing "flys free." There's a cost involved and it will be paid for somehow. One other thing to keep in mind is that the legacy carriers often allow free checked bags to their elites and/or credit card holders. Glad you're enjoying Southwest! While not quite the carrier they were 5 years ago, they still do many things right.
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