Southwest Airlines

[mparadis718]

Just booked our flights today at a price I didn't really like because I'm afraid they're going to go up. Average outbound price from Hartford to MCO seems to be $110 - 150 nonstop. I booked at $196. How easy is it to cancel and rebook and do prices usually go down? Our return was a great price btw - $99! Our flights are for Oct 30 - Nov 6.

 

[brymolmom]

Unless you buy a refundable fare (the most expensive option) - you can't cancel and rebook. You can choose a new flight (or the same one at a less expensive price if it comes down) and then be given a CREDIT to use in the next year.

It is easy to do it...All via southwest.com - just bring up your reservation and then follow the buttons to change your flight.

Good luck.

 

[Nola Girl]

Just booked our flights today at a price I didn't really like because I'm afraid they're going to go up. Average outbound price from Hartford to MCO seems to be $110 - 150 nonstop. I booked at $196. How easy is it to cancel and rebook and do prices usually go down? Our return was a great price btw - $99! Our flights are for Oct 30 - Nov 6.

Very easy, in some case you can do it alone on line. It can get tricky if you used flight credit to book etc. so you can call for help. We just rebooked someday NYC flights last night. Be warned you will not be refunded the difference unless you bought refundable tickets. You will get flight credit to be used for up to one year.

 

[marthachick]

Keep in mind that the credit for a lower fare is only good for 1 year from original purchase, not the date you change to a lower fare.

 

[Pkltm]

We booked ours on Monday paid 292 return from Minneapolis Oct 31 - Nov 11. Looked at them today and the flights we picked have gone up to 484 return.

Crazy prices this year!!

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

No cash refunds, just the credit. And that credit has to be used on a flight that occurs within a year from original purchase date. It's all very easy to do, but very restricted in how you can use the credit.

For example, you book your flight today, 5/21. Then in July you see a better price and cancel and rebook and get a credit of $200. That $200 has to be used on a flight that occurs before 5/21 of next year.

If you know you fly often, it's not a big deal. But if you're like our family and usually only fly once a year, it's a real pain!

On a related topic, have you looked at nearby airports? Sometimes changing where you fly from can mean a HUGE savings. I have flights for August out of Providence at only $109 each way.

 

[wendow]

If you know you fly often, it's not a big deal. But if you're like our family and usually only fly once a year, it's a real pain!

This. We always end up losing the credit b/c as a family of 6, it's expensive to fly very often. Our flights are still very high right now so I'm going to just watch them for a bit rather than booking and watching to re-book at a lower fare.

 

[pryncess527]

I find Southwest much more generous than other airlines in this regard -- they do give you a credit, but unlike a lot of other airlines they don't remove a hefty rebooking fee from that credit. I had to change an American Airlines flight for my FIL last year and rebooking it was more expensive than just throwing away the original ticket and buying a new one because of their $150 rebooking fee. I had to make a similar change to his Southwest flight and it only cost us $15, the difference in ticket price. They made it very easy

 

[mparadis718]

I'm fairly certain I'll be flying within the next year (a friend is moving down south and mummy's need time away every so often lol) - so a credit is fine. I did check other airports in the area but the closet is almost 2 hours away and the prices are similar, plus I would have to figure out how to get us all there.

 

[RasberriPie13]

I booked my flights nov 7-15 on monday morning the day they opened up and I am glad I did, got them for 288 round trip and know they are sold out.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Did you get $196 round trip? If so, that's a good price depending on when you are traveling. I watch nonstop from Boston, Manchester or Rhode Island to MCO and that's a price I would jump on (at least as far as school vacations go). If it drops, the credit is really easy to get.

Now, if you paid $196 each way, that would hurt! I might have missed it but are you flying peak time?????

 

[Ragnrok23]

I'm fairly certain I'll be flying within the next year (a friend is moving down south and mummy's need time away every so often lol) - so a credit is fine. I did check other airports in the area but the closet is almost 2 hours away and the prices are similar, plus I would have to figure out how to get us all there.

Also the credit is only good for each person, and they are non-transferrable

so if you have a family of four, and the flights drop $100, you get $400, but each person gets $100 towards their name

 

[mparadis718]

Did you get $196 round trip? If so, that's a good price depending on when you are traveling. I watch nonstop from Boston, Manchester or Rhode Island to MCO and that's a price I would jump on (at least as far as school vacations go). If it drops, the credit is really easy to get. Now, if you paid $196 each way, that would hurt! I might have missed it but are you flying peak time?????

peak time? No - oct 30th - nov 6th. And it was $295 round trip - about $100 more a person than expected.

 

[mparadis718]

Did you get $196 round trip? If so, that's a good price depending on when you are traveling. I watch nonstop from Boston, Manchester or Rhode Island to MCO and that's a price I would jump on (at least as far as school vacations go). If it drops, the credit is really easy to get. Now, if you paid $196 each way, that would hurt! I might have missed it but are you flying peak time?????

peak time? - no. Oct 30-nov 6th

 

[mparadis718]

Also the credit is only good for each person, and they are non-transferrable so if you have a family of four, and the flights drop $100, you get $400, but each person gets $100 towards their name

ouch - from what it looks like so far they're only getting higher so I probably won't have to worry about it lol.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I do think that's high for the time period you are flying! However, there is no judging anymore.

 

[sunshinehighway]

If you book with RR points and the prices goes down, do you get the points back for rebooking? Most flights down for the day I need they are either sold out or unavailable at the Wanna Get Away prices. I'm thinking of booking the one flight that is only slightly higher than I'd like it to be.

 

[cepmom]

If you book with RR points and the prices goes down, do you get the points back for rebooking? Most flights down for the day I need they are either sold out or unavailable at the Wanna Get Away prices. I'm thinking of booking the one flight that is only slightly higher than I'd like it to be.

Yes, you can rebook the flight if the price/points go down, the points will be refunded back to your RR account. I do this all the time, book whatever flight works best for us, then watch the price/points and rebook if it lowers.

 

[PrincessNelly]

Weird, we flew southwest 2 weeks ago (wanna get away price) and the price dropped $22 per ticket. We re-booked under the lower fare and had a choice of a SW credit or cash. We took the refund and about 7 days later the money was back in my account.

 

[Marionnette]

Weird, we flew southwest 2 weeks ago (wanna get away price) and the price dropped $22 per ticket. We re-booked under the lower fare and had a choice of a SW credit or cash. We took the refund and about 7 days later the money was back in my account.

That's not how Wanna Get Away fares work. I don't know why you got a refund but I wouldn't expect the same result.

From the Southwest website:

Wanna Get Away

• Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines for the originally ticketed passenger only.
• Should a passenger fail to apply the nonrefundable ticket toward the purchase of future travel within the eligibility period, the entire amount of the fare, which includes without limitation, all fees, taxes, and charges, will be forfeited.