Quick....have ? about changing already booked Southwest flight

[mickeyluv]

If I see a great rate on Southwest RT, can I book it and then if our dates change, change it with no penalty? TIA

 

[svecchitto]

Yes, our last trip I switched days a few times with no issue. They will make you pay the difference in fare, or will credit your account if the price goes lower.

 

[mickeyluv]

Yes, our last trip I switched days a few times with no issue. They will make you pay the difference in fare, or will credit your account if the price goes lower.

Thanks so much!!!!

 

[DISbot]

The one catch to be aware of, is they credit your account and it expires 1 year from the first BOOKING date, not the flight. So, if you don't have additional flights coming up, or you booked the original flight 6 months out, keep an eye on the credit expiration date.

 

[Psychodisney]

Like DISbot said, they give you your money back in a SW credit with an expiration date, not back to your CC.

 

[KKB]

Yes, you may change it with no penalty. BUT you will received a SWA credit that must be used (TRAVEL BY) 1 year from the date of the original booking.
BE SURE to keep the reservation #...it can be a pain to get it to use the credit if you don't have note of it.
I keep a post it note in my personal planner with the name, reservation number, date it must be used by & amount.
BE CAREFUL when using it--I have used small amounts that were about to expire then tried to cancel a booking--then the ENTIRE amount of the new booking expires back to the original date!! (example...lets say I have one expiring 6/1...so I have to travel by 6/1. On 2/1 I book a flight for 5/15 using the credit. Let's say the cost of the flight is $200 & I use the $15 credit that I have. If I want to cancel that flight the ENTIRE $200 credit must be used to fly by 6/1!! Learned that one the hard way...)
I no longer use small amounts unless I KNOW we won't cancel the flight.

 

[jessrose18]

if you book with points can you cancel and get the full points back ? im thinking of reserving even though im not sure of dates

 

[KKB]

"if you book with points can you cancel and get the full points back ? im thinking of reserving even though im not sure of dates"
YES YES YES--it is WONDERFUL to book with points.
I need to start prioritizing...book those things I KNOW we won't cancel with $ & save points for those that I grab great prices for potential trips.
Sadly my point balance is terribly low right now...but did just rebook a couple we had booked with points at a lower rate. Got a couple thousand points back.

 

[kristenrice]

Just to clarify, you CAN change your dates without losing the funds from your original booking...but you are NOT locking in the price. If you book a $99 flight for Wednesday, you can't change it to Friday's $149 flight without paying the extra $50. I think this was assumed, but I just wanted to clarify.

 

[mickeyluv]

Thanks for all the replies! They were all very helpful!

 

[the5marions]

I think it is best to book 2 one-way trips. That way you can rebook each flight separately if the price goes down. If you book round trip and the flight going goes down but the flight returning goes up, you won't save anything.

 

[cassie58]

I think it is best to book 2 one-way trips. That way you can rebook each flight separately if the price goes down. If you book round trip and the flight going goes down but the flight returning goes up, you won't save anything.

We like to do this as well, and usually book one at a time, booking one when we see a good deal,or exact date/time we need, and then if it drops, and we rebook and get credit back, we can apply it to the second flight. That way we use credit right away so we don't worry about using it in 12 mo.

 

[Alexle2007]

I think it is best to book 2 one-way trips. That way you can rebook each flight separately if the price goes down. If you book round trip and the flight going goes down but the flight returning goes up, you won't save anything.

If you book as a round trip, you can just as easily rebook the outgoing or return flight without impacting the price of the other flight. When you go into change flight, the system allows you check the flight that you want to change and you go through the process of either rebooking the same flight for less or a different flight and you get the credit for a future flight that needs to be used by the expiration of the date that you booked the original flight. I've done this many times. My flight to Punta Cana dropped $40 yesterday and another $40 today so I now have an $80 credit.

 

[mickeyluv]

Thanks so much! It looks as if I'm going to be getting the same price so I'm happy with that!

 

[DebbieB]

I think it is best to book 2 one-way trips. That way you can rebook each flight separately if the price goes down. If you book round trip and the flight going goes down but the flight returning goes up, you won't save anything.

You can change one flight on a round trip. I recently got 1300 points back for May.