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

[FabFourteenFamilyFun]

Does anyone know- if 3 people are booked on southwest - coming from a cruise in ft. Lauderdale and their time is tight- should you do the 24 hour check in or wait until in port?

 

[wdwfan1]

I would go with Early bird check in if it is available.

 

[FabFourteenFamilyFun]

I would go with Early bird check in if it is available.

Thanks

 

[Krista72]

If I book SWA flights and pay with cash can I then use points and get a refund? I recently got the SW Visa and should have enough points to pay for my flights soon but I dont have them yet and would like to book my flights for November now.

 

[DisDadDVC]

If I book SWA flights and pay with cash can I then use points and get a refund? I recently got the SW Visa and should have enough points to pay for my flights soon but I dont have them yet and would like to book my flights for November now.

If you booked a Wanna Get Away fare, then you can not get a refund. But you can get the value of the flight as a travel credit that needs to be used within 1 year of your booking date.

 

[pschro1]

So the cost of our flights just dropped and I would like to get the credits on the flights. However I have some questions. How long do we have to use the credits? And if the price drops again can I get another credit?

 

[PerfessorZ]

So the cost of our flights just dropped and I would like to get the credits on the flights. However I have some questions. How long do we have to use the credits? And if the price drops again can I get another credit?

From everything I've read, you have up to 1 year from the date your originally purchased the tickets. More specifically, the travel you purchase with your credit must be completed by 1 year from the original purchase date.

And as far as I know, you can get another credit if it drops again.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So the cost of our flights just dropped and I would like to get the credits on the flights. However I have some questions. How long do we have to use the credits? And if the price drops again can I get another credit?

From everything I've read, you have up to 1 year from the date your originally purchased the tickets. More specifically, the travel you purchase with your credit must be completed by 1 year from the original purchase date.

And as far as I know, you can get another credit if it drops again.

Both of these answers are 100% accurate.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Prices have dropped for the return trip but they remain high for the flight down. I know I need to just bide my time, but it's a bit nerve-racking what with this being our first time flying as a family and the fact that I need 6 tickets makes me feel I can't afford to wait as long as a person who only needed 2 or something. We've looked into flying other carriers either out of our home airport (dsm) or some neighboring ones (msp, oma, stl) but there aren't obvious benefits so I'm sticking with dsm for now. No questions I guess, just sharing some random thoughts.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Okay, here's a question: The price for one-way flights on Friday is significantly cheaper than Monday right now ($172 vs. $348). Could I go ahead and book the Friday flight just to get something booked and then hope to change it to Monday if those prices fall?

 

[hippsmom]

Can you change just one leg of your trip? I cannot find how many points each leg was, only a total. I need to know if I have enough points to make the change.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Okay, here's a question: The price for one-way flights on Friday is significantly cheaper than Monday right now ($172 vs. $348). Could I go ahead and book the Friday flight just to get something booked and then hope to change it to Monday if those prices fall?

Yes - absolutely. FOR EXAMPLE: If Monday prices came down to say...$202 then you would just owe the extra $30 when you make the change.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Can you change just one leg of your trip? I cannot find how many points each leg was, only a total. I need to know if I have enough points to make the change.

You should be able to - when you go into the change screen you should be able to select which leg you're looking to change. As long as you don't click all the way through and confirm everything no change will be made and you can see if you have enough points that way.

 

[hippsmom]

The problem is that they had me book the 4 of us separately. I would hate to change some of us and not others.

You should be able to - when you go into the change screen you should be able to select which leg you're looking to change. As long as you don't click all the way through and confirm everything no change will be made and you can see if you have enough points that way.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

The problem is that they had me book the 4 of us separately. I would hate to change some of us and not others.

There are definitely ways for you to determine how many points each leg of each flight cost...and also ways to figure out how many points it would cost to make the change. Unfortunately I'm not sure I can figure out a way to put those steps into words without physically walking through it. Basically, If I understand your situation correctly, it would involve a series trial and error - going in to make a change, write down how many points the flight was, searching for 1, 2, 3, and 4 people on the new flights to see if there's any price change on the new flights depending on how many people you book, etc. Sorry I can't really explain it any better - it can get really complex (especially with the way SW pricing works). I would profess to be a Southwest Booking expert with well over 100 flights booked in the last decade though and lots of changes made to save points and dollars. If you want to send me a private message with more specific details about your situation I'd be happy to try to help you a little more.

 

[hippsmom]

Thank you! I was able to get my change done online and the others on the phone. Got a better flight time and points back! Yay! Now stalking the flights down for a drop.

 

[ah10is]

Our December return flights dropped today (Orlando to Portland, ME)! Originally we paid $175 each for return. This morning they were $10 ($165)cheaper on the return so I changed them. Then this afternoon they were $35 ($130) less from the morning prices. So I just changed them again! So now we have $90 in travel credits to use in the next year! Will have to figure out a way to go to Disney again before May 19th, 2017!!!!

 

[PerfessorZ]

I purchased tickets for my family to fly from ALB to MCO over Thanksgiving weekend (with points). I purchased one-way each way, but all 4 family members at the same time. Since then, the tickets have jumped 80% on the flight down and 100% on the flight back.

In the meantime, I have now qualified for CP. (I was less than 200 RR pts short at the time I booked).

If I try to use CP here, would I be forced to rebook all 4 tickets or would I be able to have just the points my companion used credited back?

TIA!

 

[DisDadDVC]

I purchased tickets for my family to fly from ALB to MCO over Thanksgiving weekend (with points). I purchased one-way each way, but all 4 family members at the same time. Since then, the tickets have jumped 80% on the flight down and 100% on the flight back.

In the meantime, I have now qualified for CP. (I was less than 200 RR pts short at the time I booked).

If I try to use CP here, would I be forced to rebook all 4 tickets or would I be able to have just the points my companion used credited back?

TIA!

You should be able to cancel the ticket for your companion. And then re-book them as companion. If you have any troubles doing it online, call in and they can do it for you.

 

[Anal Annie]

I wasn't able to look for our Tues., January 3rd departure until over the weekend so I missed the opening day prices and the 2 flights I was most interested in were at $103 when I first looked this weekend (the first 2 direct flights of the day). While that's not a terrible price I was hoping for $86 or $89 so I have been watching a couple times a day. Late this afternoon I searched (but I only left the default of 1 person) and the price was $86 for that 2nd flight of the day! I was completely elated!! When I went to book it and I changed it to 3 people it went back up to $103. Same for 2 people - $103. The only $86 fare was for 1 person. Not sure if I made a big mistake or not but I went ahead & snagged the ONE seat although I would have preferred to have them all on one purchase just for check-in ease. I figured I'd keep hawking the site for another drop on the other 2 seats. But now I'm wondering if I might find the drop on the FIRST flight of the day rather than the 2nd flight - then we'd be on 2 different flights. They don't always change prices on ALL flights. Now I'm second guessing my choice to jump on the ONE tix. DOH!!! I've really gone & complicated things in more ways than one haven't I?!