So upset...just do you know..RE: Southwest Travel Funds policy

[chocovrdmicears]

We have been using Southwest for years but I came across a new situation today. A very frustrating situtation. This may be commonly know...but wanted to share with others.

We booked a flight for May 2011 a month ago.
Flight was $138.70
$90.03 was using travel credit that expired in June 2011.
$48.67 was on our credit card.

Flight dropped to $82.70 giving us a $56.00 credit.


I assumed that rebooking at $82.70 would be:
use $90.03 credit - leaving $7.33 that would expire in June.
$48.67 from new fund from credit card used a month ago - would expire Jan 2012.
Nope - ALL funds used to book the orginal $138.70 revert to the oldest date.
So I will lose all $56.00 in June 2011.

so frustrating.

 

[Alexander]

Honestly? Just be appreciate that you were even able to get refunds from SWA. Not very many airlines do this. I know we have choices in airlines, but SWA isn't a choice for us.

 

[DebbieB]

We have been using Southwest for years but I came across a new situation today. A very frustrating situtation. This may be commonly know...but wanted to share with others.

We booked a flight for May 2011 a month ago.
Flight was $138.70
$90.03 was using travel credit that expired in June 2011.
$48.67 was on our credit card.

Flight dropped to $82.70 giving us a $56.00 credit.


I assumed that rebooking at $82.70 would be:
use $90.03 credit - leaving $7.33 that would expire in June.
$48.67 from new fund from credit card used a month ago - would expire Jan 2012.
Nope - ALL funds used to book the orginal $138.70 revert to the oldest date.
So I will lose all $56.00 in June 2011.

so frustrating.

That's correct. When you buy a ticket that uses TTF, the entire new ticket amount expires on the date of the oldest credit. If you would cancel the ticket you bought last month, you would have to use it by June or you would lose the entire amount.

 

[bytheblood]

Honestly? Just be appreciate that you were even able to get refunds from SWA. Not very many airlines do this. I know we have choices in airlines, but SWA isn't a choice for us.

I agree with this statement.

 

[wdwfan1]

We have been using Southwest for years but I came across a new situation today. A very frustrating situtation. This may be commonly know...but wanted to share with others.

We booked a flight for May 2011 a month ago.
Flight was $138.70
$90.03 was using travel credit that expired in June 2011.
$48.67 was on our credit card.

Flight dropped to $82.70 giving us a $56.00 credit.


I assumed that rebooking at $82.70 would be:
use $90.03 credit - leaving $7.33 that would expire in June.
$48.67 from new fund from credit card used a month ago - would expire Jan 2012.
Nope - ALL funds used to book the orginal $138.70 revert to the oldest date.
So I will lose all $56.00 in June 2011.

so frustrating.

This is not a new policy. It has been in effect for years.

What is new is that funds can only be used by the person whose name was on the original ticket.

 

[keishashadow]

This is not a new policy. It has been in effect for years.

What is new is that funds can only be used by the person whose name was on the original ticket.

it was reported in this forum that the revamped policy has been delayed due to implementation issues

OP in the future you might want to consider booking each leg of the flight separately when using a credit to keep the % of new money down jik the price drops.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

it was reported in this forum that the revamped policy has been delayed due to implementation issues

OP in the future you might want to consider booking each leg of the flight separately when using a credit to keep the % of new money down jik the price drops.

Thank you.
We actually did book it that way. We had several different credits from price drops on our flights from this past August (which expire in June) . In addition we also had a travel voucher from Southwest (issued in Sept) . When we booked our flights down we had to break up the different methods of payments and had to use our credit card to pay the difference on each persons ticket. We booked our return flights seperately - which also had a price drop, so we have a credit for that.
I understand that we should be grateful that we are able to get a credit/refund using Southwest. And I am! This is one of the factors that we take into consideration when booking our flights. And I understand now that the policy is to revert any method of payment on a particular ticket back to the earliest date of any payment method used.
I know that this sort of circumstance may not be norm - Am I dissapointed on loosing out on $120 credit. Of course! I didn't understand the *rules* and am sharing my experience with others to help.

 

[n2mm]

Yep that happened to me once when using credits on SW. I have to say that Jetblue's credit system is much better. These two airlines are my favorites as they both have free luggage and both offers credits if the price drops.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

I hate that part of the credit policy as well, don't feel all alone, OP! Very frustrating.

BTW, in regards to the new "credits only for named passengers" policy - I was able to use credits with 3 passengers' names on my one ticket last month (I was one of the original passengers, all three booked on the same reservation). Due to the issue with using only so many forms of payment, I wasn't able to use all the credits. When my daughter decided to join me, I booked a flight for her this month, using the rest of the unused travel funds (she was also one of the original passengers). Is this still considered using "named passengers" for the new policy, or will it mean you can only use the portion of the credit that is attached to your own name? I'm a little confused about that detail.

 

[keishashadow]

I hate that part of the credit policy as well, don't feel all alone, OP! Very frustrating.

BTW, in regards to the new "credits only for named passengers" policy - I was able to use credits with 3 passengers' names on my one ticket last month (I was one of the original passengers, all three booked on the same reservation). Due to the issue with using only so many forms of payment, I wasn't able to use all the credits. When my daughter decided to join me, I booked a flight for her this month, using the rest of the unused travel funds (she was also one of the original passengers). Is this still considered using "named passengers" for the new policy, or will it mean you can only use the portion of the credit that is attached to your own name? I'm a little confused about that detail.

see above post...the policy announced last year is delayed according to posts here last week.Lewisc made the comment, i believe, if you want to search for the post

It was originally stated that the credits would remain in the name of the guest on the original res.

hint for the future that still worked as of last month re having too many credits to use on 1 new res: Combine the maximum number (brain freeze can't remember if 2 or 3 per res) into series of dummy reservations intended to reduce the total # you have, then cancel & rebook final one. It does take some digging to get it to work outbut when you have substantial total of price reductions it's worth it imo.

 

[brenda1966]

this is how I look at it: you didn't lose $56 dollars. You paid for your ticket at the original price. If you can use your "coupon" of $56 for another flight, that's a bonus. If not, you've still just paid the original price.

When I've booked using a credit, I know that I can't really rebook for a lower fare due to the time limit of using that credit. That's just kind of how it is. I view any rebook credit as a coupon. Some I get to use, and some expire before I can use them!

 

[Disneyof3]

I have never flown SWA and booked a trip in March. I was flying to LV with SWA and then back with Jetblue. I had to cancel my trip 2 weeks ago due to a serious illness in our family. SWA gave me full refund on credit with no cancellation fee. Just book flights again by next December 2011. Jetblue charged me $100.00 cancellation fee per person and then gave me a credit for the remaining balance. I was so impressed with SWA. No cancellation fee or nothing.