Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[aokeefe]

Decisions, decisions…
I have only done one trip since the pandemic began and was very fortunate with my flights. Now that people are flying again and all we are hearing are nightmare accounts of cancellations, lost luggage and non-existent rental cars I am very concerned about my February trip.
We will be traveling to Sarasota and I am anxiously awaiting SW’s schedule release on Thursday.
So many variables to take into consideration:
*Fly direct to Tampa and have less concern about a weather delay at home causing a missed connection.
*Fly direct and have to make the drive down to Sarasota and back.
*Fly direct and if there is no rental car really have to scramble.
*Fly with a connect and have two flight to worry about.
* Fly with a connect and if we don’t have a rental we really don’t have to worry as the hotel has a shuttle, there is a free trolley in a small area and there is Uber.
I am very much overthinking this because I really need my winter vacations!
Help.

I have flown several times in the past few months- including Tampa and Sarasota (flew into Tampa and out of Sarasota). I wouldn't worry about February bc honestly, it's such a crap shoot of which flights are delayed, cancelled or take off without any glitches. I definitely would fly direct over a connect. As for Sarasota or Tampa- really it's your call. It's an easy drive from Tampa to Sarasota but the Tampa airport is huge compared to Sarasota. Personally I would pick a direct flight to either Tampa or Sarasota depending upon the cost.

 

[jkelly86]

Decisions, decisions…
I have only done one trip since the pandemic began and was very fortunate with my flights. Now that people are flying again and all we are hearing are nightmare accounts of cancellations, lost luggage and non-existent rental cars I am very concerned about my February trip.
We will be traveling to Sarasota and I am anxiously awaiting SW’s schedule release on Thursday.
So many variables to take into consideration:
*Fly direct to Tampa and have less concern about a weather delay at home causing a missed connection.
*Fly direct and have to make the drive down to Sarasota and back.
*Fly direct and if there is no rental car really have to scramble.
*Fly with a connect and have two flight to worry about.
* Fly with a connect and if we don’t have a rental we really don’t have to worry as the hotel has a shuttle, there is a free trolley in a small area and there is Uber.
I am very much overthinking this because I really need my winter vacations!
Help.

We rarely have a direct option to TPA anymore, so we usually opt for SRQ (we flew monthly into SRQ the last year or so). It is a much smaller airport at SRQ in terms of departure day and the TRAFFIC to TPA is awful. Some tips for flying with a stopover: do not check any luggage so you have flexibility if needed, do not take the last connection of the day, fly though an airport with additional flights to TPA, or an alternative airport, if needed. So far it has worked out ok for us (we fly from a small, regional airport to SRQ) but there have been hiccups along the way. If we had more options for direct flights to TPA, we would take them.

 

[snoopy352]

Noobie question - we have DVC and Annual Passes. We have a lunch ressie at Sanaa at noon later in July and are doing a day trip from our Treasure Island hotel. We are considering going to AK for a couple rides. Do we get free parking at AK? I know we get free parking for three hours at Sanaa but would like to know the best recommendation as to whether to bus it to AK or drive to AK before or after lunch for a couple hours. TIA!

 

[FCDub]

Noobie question - we have DVC and Annual Passes. We have a lunch ressie at Sanaa at noon later in July and are doing a day trip from our Treasure Island hotel. We are considering going to AK for a couple rides. Do we get free parking at AK? I know we get free parking for three hours at Sanaa but would like to know the best recommendation as to whether to bus it to AK or drive to AK before or after lunch for a couple hours. TIA!

You will get free theme park parking with your annual pass.

 

[snoopy352]

You will get free theme park parking with your annual pass.

thank you - last question as we are used to staying on site and taking the boats and buses - is there a tram that takes you to the front of the park? We have someone unable to walk a long distance from the parking lot to the front gate.

 

[AngieInOH]

Need an early drop on Thur....have a 2 hr meeting at 9:30.

 

[AngieInOH]

Question/Confirmation: If I'm buying tickets with points and buying tickets with cash I have to have two separate transactions, correct? I also will have to check in separately, as there is no way to link the reservations and check in all at once (so one group will probably get B boarding and the other group will likely get C). Thanks!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

as there is no way to link the reservations and check in all at once (so one group will probably get B boarding and the other group will likely get C).

Having a separate reservation doesn't mean one is doomed to a C. I'm almost always on a separate reservation than my husband, actually this Vegas trip is the first time in years I'll be on the same reservation as my husband lol and consequently it's the first time I'll actually get to benefit from the extension of A-list benefits to those on the same reservation. In the past it was because we had Companion, then it was how we were paying like using up travel funds vs points for us both vs cash for both.

Everyone just needs to check in at T-24 unless they purchase Anytime Fare which comes with EBCI or if they purchase EBCI separately where the system will assign them a position at T-36. How your Boarding positions end up depends on each flight but just by being on separate reservations does not mean you're doomed.

 

[AngieInOH]

Having a separate reservation doesn't mean one is doomed to a C. I'm almost always on a separate reservation than my husband, actually this Vegas trip is the first time in years I'll be on the same reservation as my husband lol and consequently it's the first time I'll actually get to benefit from the extension of A-list benefits to those on the same reservation. In the past it was because we had Companion, then it was how we were paying like using up travel funds vs points for us both vs cash for both.

Everyone just needs to check in at T-24 unless they purchase Anytime Fare which comes with EBCI or if they purchase EBCI separately where the system will assign them a position at T-36. How your Boarding positions end up depends on each flight but just by being on separate reservations does not mean you're doomed.

Thanks for the info. I will stay hopeful, but have typically found the boarding groups go pretty fast for my flights. Hopefully I have a bunch of people on my flight who don't know the importance of checking in at 24 hrs or they forget!!!

 

[CT Disney]

Question for you SW Experts:

Say I buy a $300 Anytime fare (which is fully refundable) and I put $100 on a LUV Voucher and the remaining $200 on my credit card...

What happens if the flight price drops to $250? Would they refund $50 to my credit card or to the LUV Voucher?

I just called Southwest to ask this question and the representative really confused me. At first he said the $50 credit would go back to my credit card. But then he said that I'd have to do it over the phone and that they would refund the ENTIRE purchase (so I'd get $100 back in new travel funds and $200 back to my credit card); and then they would have to completely repurchase the new flight using the new $100 travel funds, and the remaining $150 going to my credit card via a brand new charge.

Honestly, the way he described it seemed like a hassle especially if the flight price drops more than once (which it often does on Southwest).

Anyone do anything similar before?

 

[ultimatefans]

Question for you SW Experts:

Say I buy a $300 Anytime fare (which is fully refundable) and I put $100 on a LUV Voucher and the remaining $200 on my credit card...

What happens if the flight price drops to $250? Would they refund $50 to my credit card or to the LUV Voucher?

I just called Southwest to ask this question and the representative really confused me. At first he said the $50 credit would go back to my credit card. But then he said that I'd have to do it over the phone and that they would refund the ENTIRE purchase (so I'd get $100 back in new travel funds and $200 back to my credit card); and then they would have to completely repurchase the new flight using the new $100 travel funds, and the remaining $150 going to my credit card via a brand new charge.

Honestly, the way he described it seemed like a hassle especially if the flight price drops more than once (which it often does on Southwest).

Anyone do anything similar before?

I’ve been in the same situation once and the difference went back to my credit card. I actually think I made the change online and I could see the difference would be refunded (not credited) before I made the change.

 

[nekonekoneko]

Just a reminder that flights from Jan 5 to March 8 2023 will open up later today (Thursday)

 

[kristenrice]

I'm having an early morning brain fart...

Can I MODIFY a flight that I booked on points to depart from a different city in order to keep my EBCI??

I am currently booked on a flight from GRR-MCO that connects through MDW. We depart GRR at 12:15pm and land in MCO at 6:35pm. My friend and her family are also flying GRR-MCO on SWA, but they are departing on an earlier flight, also connecting through MDW, but they opted for a 4 1/2 hour layover. They will be landing at MCO at 3:10pm.

Since it is just DD19 and I and we are flying on points, I have been watching the cost of the MDW-MCO leg that my friend and her family are booked on. I am thinking that if the price drops LOWER than what I paid for our GRR-MCO tickets, I could switch us to that flight. We could drive to MDW the day before (it's a 3-hour drive after work, I have Marriott points to cover the hotel and a one-way rental car is $100) and we could get to Orlando 3 hours earlier. For an extra $100, it would be worth it to me to "surprise" my friend AND we could get the extra time at the resort.

 

[aokeefe]

Up and ready to book for February. I'm unable to log in to my Rapid Rewards account (also the low fare schedule isn't showing any fares for the current booking dates) so I'm guessing site maintenance but wanted to check to see if anyone else was having trouble.

 

[npcougar]

Can't log in either.

"

Rapid Rewards Maintenance​

We're making a few updates to the Rapid Rewards experience. As a result, Customers will be temporarily unable to access My Account or book or manage redemption travel online or on mobile platforms. We'll be back up and running soon."

 

[monarchsfan16]

Perfectly logical time to do maintenance

 

[aokeefe]

Hopefully this doesn't delay the release! I've never seen this maintenance before.

 

[scrappinginontario]

The maintenance error most likely has to do with uploading the code for the new flights being offered today. Not concerned with what we’re seeing.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Also, just a reminder that they normally load the Low Fare Calendar first. For those waiting for flights to drop, be sure to check there.

 

[jkelly86]

I'm still unable to log in