I'm so upset, did I screw up my SW reservation? (long)

[Liz]

Ugh, I'm a wreck! Here's what I did:

SW had a DING fare this morning from SLC to Orlando for $90. We were previously booked SLC to Tampa. I cancelled the Tampa reservation and went back in to rebook using the ticketless travel funds.

When I got on the screen I noticed it said $28 was refundable and I would still have enough of the non-refundable portion to pay for the new tickets. I didn't want them to take the refundable portion of my fare and apply it towards the new one because I wanted as little credit as possible because I probably won't use it before it expires. So first I called to get that refunded and then wanted to go back in and use the remaining part to book the new tickets. (Confused? Hope not.)

After the ticket agent processed the $28 refund over the phone I said I was going to go back in and book a new flight with the remainding funds. She said I couldn't do anything with any of those funds till Monday because Dallas wouldn't get the refund till then and remove it from the system.

I said I had to book the flight now because it expires in a matter of hours. She called somebody and they said there was no way to stop the refund request and I couldn't use any of the funds now.

I said what if I go ahead and book the flights anyway, then Monday wouldn't Dallas see the funds had been used and just cancel the refund request. She said they'd probably just cancel our WHOLE RESERVATION to process the refund!!!! She called someone again to check and they said go ahead and try it and hopefully Dallas will see we used the funds and just disregard the refund.

I'm a nervous wreck. What's going to happen Monday? Should I call SW Monday when Dallas is open and have them call and tell them to stop the refund? Will they likely cancel my reservation?

 

[LoveToDisney]

Liz, I am so sorry for you...sounds like something I would do. Here's hoping you can still make the reservation and then I would call SWA as soon as could on Monday am to check. Hoping all goes your way!

 

[riu girl]

Sorry, what is DING and ticketless travel funds???
Thanks,
Suzy
PS - Good luck on Monday morning.

 

[momoftwins]

Ding is the new downloadable program from www.Southwest.com that offers various flight offers throughout the day. When an offer is available, you will hear an audible "Ding" (if your sound card is turned up) on your computer. Then, just click on the icon that is saved to your desktop when you hear (or see a little envelope on the Ding Icon) to see the offers. The offers have expiration terms, so you must act before the expiration time.

As far as ticketless travel funds, when you cancel a flight or change to a flight that is cheaper the extra funds are placed into your account and they can be used for a future flight. My understanding - any SWA expert help would be appreciated, is the funds are available for use up to 12 months from the date of the original transactions. For example, if you booked your original flight on 12/1/2204, you would have until 12/1/2005 to use the funds.

Some posters here have reported they have been able to get these funds credited back to their credit cards. I do know that there are several "ticket" types available through SWA, and they each have their own terms and conditions. You should refer to their website for more info.

Hope this helps.

 

[Liz]

Just spoke with SW customer service this morning and still don't feel a lot better about the situation. The man I spoke to said if they process the $28 refund then our reservations WILL be cancelled. He put a note in the file saying to disregard the refund request and they SHOULD read the entire file before doing anything. That's real comforting.

I guess the only thing for me to do now is watch my credit card activity very carefully over the next couple of weeks and make sure no refund appears.

Appreciate the moral support from you guys!