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

[kristenrice]

Was just coming to post the WOW50 sale, I just saved another $54, down to $117 roundtrip, which is fantastic! And I think I have enough points for another free flight for my next trip.

Just an FYI, I ended up having to call to have the change made because my current flight choices had the times change, and when I went to try and change to the cheaper fares, it would not work because of that, it would only give me other flights on the same days.

When you called, did you have any difficulty explaining what you wanted to do? I had a discount/price drop already and I called and the agent told me that I could not "modify" my trip just to get the sale price. I knew that I could so I tried to explain what I wanted to do, but she wasn't having it. I finally gave up and thanked her, hung up and called back. I realized that my flight has dropped by about 1300 points, but I also cannot change it online because there was a 5 minute schedule change which means that I can now change it for for free (yippee....), but I can also not "change" it to the same flight and get the sale price. I don't want to call and risk losing my EBCI (4 weeks before my flight) or mess something else up with my trip, and I don't want to deal with another hassle again...but it *is* 1300 points...that's about 15% of a one-way ticket from my airport....or one month of points on my SW Visa card....ugh...I think I have talked myself into a phone call

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

When you called, did you have any difficulty explaining what you wanted to do? I had a discount/price drop already and I called and the agent told me that I could not "modify" my trip just to get the sale price. I knew that I could so I tried to explain what I wanted to do, but she wasn't having it. I finally gave up and thanked her, hung up and called back. I realized that my flight has dropped by about 1300 points, but I also cannot change it online because there was a 5 minute schedule change which means that I can now change it for for free (yippee....), but I can also not "change" it to the same flight and get the sale price. I don't want to call and risk losing my EBCI (4 weeks before my flight) or mess something else up with my trip, and I don't want to deal with another hassle again...but it *is* 1300 points...that's about 15% of a one-way ticket from my airport....or one month of points on my SW Visa card....ugh...I think I have talked myself into a phone call

I had to call to get my points back for the most recent sale because my flight was also impacted by a time change that was giving me "free" changes online.

I explained to the agent that the flight had gone down in points but I wasn't able to take advantage online because it had been subject to a change. She immediately understood and got my points back in maybe 3 minutes? One of the fastest times I've had to call. I think your prior call was a fluke: this should be a typical transaction for the phone agents.

 

[titojackson84]

I had to call to get my points back for the most recent sale because my flight was also impacted by a time change that was giving me "free" changes online.

I explained to the agent that the flight had gone down in points but I wasn't able to take advantage online because it had been subject to a change. She immediately understood and got my points back in maybe 3 minutes? One of the fastest times I've had to call. I think your prior call was a fluke: this should be a typical transaction for the phone agents.

I had a similar experience for my trip last month. One flight changed time and i couldn’t change either on the app. Called, got it rebooked and got about 1500 back. It also gave me a new confirmation number and i was able to make changes on the app again.

 

[EACarlson]

When you called, did you have any difficulty explaining what you wanted to do? I had a discount/price drop already and I called and the agent told me that I could not "modify" my trip just to get the sale price. I knew that I could so I tried to explain what I wanted to do, but she wasn't having it. I finally gave up and thanked her, hung up and called back. I realized that my flight has dropped by about 1300 points, but I also cannot change it online because there was a 5 minute schedule change which means that I can now change it for for free (yippee....), but I can also not "change" it to the same flight and get the sale price. I don't want to call and risk losing my EBCI (4 weeks before my flight) or mess something else up with my trip, and I don't want to deal with another hassle again...but it *is* 1300 points...that's about 15% of a one-way ticket from my airport....or one month of points on my SW Visa card....ugh...I think I have talked myself into a phone call

HUCA, Hang Up and Call Again. It's pretty regular that savvy travelers know more than frontline CSRs, option are to HUCA or attempt to escalate. If hold times weren't bad I'll always HUCA.

 

[rangerxenos]

When you called, did you have any difficulty explaining what you wanted to do? I had a discount/price drop already and I called and the agent told me that I could not "modify" my trip just to get the sale price. I knew that I could so I tried to explain what I wanted to do, but she wasn't having it. I finally gave up and thanked her, hung up and called back. I realized that my flight has dropped by about 1300 points, but I also cannot change it online because there was a 5 minute schedule change which means that I can now change it for for free (yippee....), but I can also not "change" it to the same flight and get the sale price. I don't want to call and risk losing my EBCI (4 weeks before my flight) or mess something else up with my trip, and I don't want to deal with another hassle again...but it *is* 1300 points...that's about 15% of a one-way ticket from my airport....or one month of points on my SW Visa card....ugh...I think I have talked myself into a phone call

That was my problem, because the flight had changed times, I wasn't able to simply change to the same flight. I had no issue at all when I called, I explained to the person I talked to what I believe had happened, and she was able to simply change to the lower fare and I had the same flights and now a credit.

 

[ultimatefans]

I learned something new this morning and thought I'd pass on the info in case it helps anyone else. The upgrade to A1 - A15 is only available 24 hours before *the flight time*, which isn't necessarily at check-in. We have a connecting flight and this morning I had hoped to upgrade the second leg only which is the long flight. After checking in I clicked the "Upgrade to A1 - A15 button" but only the first leg was showing as an option. I noticed there were still a couple of seats available to purchase for Business Select so I thought it was odd that I couldn't purchase the upgrade but figured they must have been saving some positions for any last minute Business Select purchases. Turns out it's because it was too early and became available for purchase 24 hours before the second leg.

 

[titojackson84]

I learned something new this morning and thought I'd pass on the info in case it helps anyone else. The upgrade to A1 - A15 is only available 24 hours before *the flight time*, which isn't necessarily at check-in. We have a connecting flight and this morning I had hoped to upgrade the second leg only which is the long flight. After checking in I clicked the "Upgrade to A1 - A15 button" but only the first leg was showing as an option. I noticed there were still a couple of seats available to purchase for Business Select so I thought it was odd that I couldn't purchase the upgrade but figured they must have been saving some positions for any last minute Business Select purchases. Turns out it's because it was too early and became available for purchase 24 hours before the second leg.

Yeah you can “upgrade” before that but you are paying whatever the difference is. The under 24 hour one is like $30-$60. If you have the highest sw card, you can get 4 upgrades credited per year. But if there’s a layover, each leg you upgrade counts as one.

 

[TinkAgainU]

Really the only thing I worry about is my early bird on these seats. Crossing my fingers that the rebook does not lose our original place in line

I hate to say this, but even if the EB still shows on your flights, try to "check in" exactly 24 hours in advance. I've had a couple times my EB was showing, but it obviously was not active - I was told later, if a flight is cancelled or rebooked, there is some chance your EB is actually cancelled (and a credit is in progress). Had I not checked, I'd have been in the C Group! Can't hurt to be on the safe side ... so now I always checkin at 24 hours even with the EB

 

[rcs]

This article seems to indicate that Southwest is changing from a low cost airline. I think we're all experiencing this change as we see the escalation of fares. A shift from maximizing full planes to maximizing revenue with higher fares is a significant departure from the legacy of Southwest. Here's the article from The Street: Southwest Airlines makes a technology fix passengers will hate

Yeah… not feeling the luv any more. SWA offers nonstop from Manchester NH to Orlando. When the tickets for April vacation week went on sale, they jacked up the Anytime Fare… typically $256 one way, soars to $610 one way, I’m not paying $1200 for each of the 6 of us to get to Disney for a week.

Did Bob Chapek get appointed to the SWA board of directors?

 

[jkelly86]

Southwest pricing has definitely increased for peak times:
https://www.thestreet.com/travel/so...n-place-a-technology-fix-passengers-will-hate

Southwest Airlines has a new way to make money​

Airlines use demand-based pricing, which has become common in every industry where purchases are not made off a shelf. It would be impractical to change the price of paper towels based on demand or time of day, but with travel, like concert tickets, prices go up when supply decreases relative to demand.
It's not an exact science, but Southwest Airlines has a new tool to help maximize its revenue.
"We've also put in a new revenue management system and are very, very pleased with the performance of the system," Chief Executive Bob Jordan said during the 11th annual Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference.
That, he said, has helped the company maximize revenue specifically on close-in bookings.

 

[EACarlson]

That explains some of what we're seeing. A new RM system will certainly change the historical fares. Now they will probably swing too far the other way for a bit before finding their sweet spot.

 

[mmouse50]

Has anyone done the digital bag check that is offered? I am not sure if it is really saving that much time because you would still have to stand in line to get to a kiosk to print your bag tag. Would it really save time traveling out of MCO?

 

[piglet1979]

I have a question about LUV vouchers. I got one from our last flight and I know we are not going to use it before the deadline. Can I use it to buy a flight and then cancel the flight? Will this then turn them in points instead of the voucher?

 

[mrsstats79]

Has anyone done the digital bag check that is offered? I am not sure if it is really saving that much time because you would still have to stand in line to get to a kiosk to print your bag tag. Would it really save time traveling out of MCO?

We did this just recently flying out of Vegas. You still have to go to the kiosk to print the tags and then bring the bags to the counter. Not sure it was time saving at all.

 

[EACarlson]

I have a question about LUV vouchers. I got one from our last flight and I know we are not going to use it before the deadline. Can I use it to buy a flight and then cancel the flight? Will this then turn them in points instead of the voucher?

not points, but you can book a flight, cancel after 48 hours and you will get a non expiring travel fund.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I have a question about LUV vouchers. I got one from our last flight and I know we are not going to use it before the deadline. Can I use it to buy a flight and then cancel the flight? Will this then turn them in points instead of the voucher?

You can use it to buy a WGA flight and then cancel after 24 hours: this will turn it into a non-expiring flight credit for the person who you booked the dummy flight for.

If you do this on a WGA+ fare, then the non-expiring flight credit will be in the name of the person who you put on the dummy flight with the option for a one-time transfer to a different traveler.

 

[EACarlson]

You can use it to buy a WGA flight and then cancel after 24 hours: this will turn it into a non-expiring flight credit for the person who you booked the dummy flight for.

If you do this at exactly 24 hours it may result in a refund to original payment which would not achieve the goal of the transaction. Waiting for 48 hours is the best practice.

 

[piglet1979]

Thank you

 

[Gary2T]

If you do this at exactly 24 hours it may result in a refund to original payment which would not achieve the goal of the transaction. Waiting for 48 hours is the best practice.

No experience with doing this with LUV vouchers, but.... When I was converting/combining non-transferrable travel funds that I needed a to chip in a few $$$ in cash (credit card) I booked and then cancelled right away. During the cancellation process it gave me the option on how I wanted the cash refunded. Either back to the credit card, or added to the now transferrable travel funds.

 

[RedHead0186]

Has anyone done the digital bag check that is offered? I am not sure if it is really saving that much time because you would still have to stand in line to get to a kiosk to print your bag tag. Would it really save time traveling out of MCO?

Yes, I did on a trip last month. You're right, it doesn't really save much time. You still have to go to the kiosk to print your luggage tag, then get in the line to drop it off. The only thing I noticed was different was that when I scanned my boarding pass at the kiosk, it had auto-filled in the bag(s) I was going to check. So I guess maybe that saved me, like, 30 second, lol.

When I did the digital bag check offered in the app, I did notice the language said "click to reserve your baggage tag(s)." Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I found the use of the word "reserve" interesting. Made me wonder if there would ever be too many checked bags and Southwest would have to limit how many baggage tags they handed out for a particular flight? Please note that's my own musing, not something I've actually heard (from SW or as a rumor).