Yes, it's difficult to understand what people are talking about until it actually happens to you. Let me preface my example by saying I love Southwest and do not, nor do I plan to, patronize another airline unless I must because SW does not fly there. However, this is an ugly little gotcha, IMHO. Date of purchase Trip description Amount Travel funds available 1/1 Trip1 $200 0 5/5 Trip2 $150 (Rebooked Trip1 to save $50) 5/5 Cancelled Trip1 $200 8/31 Trip3 $450 Applied $200; 0 remaining 10/20 Trip4 $300 (Rebooked Trip3 to save $150) 10/20 Cancelled Trip3 $450 12/1 Trip05 $350 Applied $350; $100 remaining Since I applied $200 to my reservation on 8/31, the system changes the reservation date to 1/1. However, $250 of that fare was actually committed on 8/31. The $100 of travel funds left on 12/1 must be spent by 1/1 or it is lost. I did not "forget" to use travel funds; however, I did not notice the date change on my 8/31 reservation. A more fair, albeit complicated, way to do this would be to track amounts by date. And to alert the passenger when funds are expiring. I can dream, right?
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