Southwest cancels my May flight and does not send email

[Tink3815]

If you have reservations made with Southwest Rapid rewards points, check your reservations. I had made reservations for the end of May with Southwest points through rapid rewards. The flights were showing in my rewards account. When I checked on the website for a lower price, my nonstop flights were gone. When I tried to bring up the reservation, it says it has been canceled. I never received an email that they canceled and the option to book again at same point level. The points were not put back in my account. Called yesterday and they did give me my points back. When I go on site to book again, the points have doubled for flights with stops.

 

[holden]

Our flight for July has been changed twice and we never got an email. I caught it both times because I’ve been checking. So annoying! They moved us from a non stop to a layover in GA. It’s only a two hour (ish) flight! I’m not stopping anywhere on a flight that short. I think they are cutting a ton of flights because of what’s going on.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Re: no e-mail notification. Let the airlines deal with (especially early) April flights first.

 

[Tink3815]

I agree they are cutting numerous flights. What I find interesting is that by them not sending you an email they take away the option to rebook a canceled flight at the same points. In one week, the amount of points doubled.

 

[DebbieB]

I got an email this morning for my 5/31 flight. All that changed was the flight #.

 

[teawar]

When you book a flight on swa, they ask for the best way to communicate in regards to flight changes: email, text, or phone. It sometimes takes a few days. I’ve found some changes in my spam folder recently.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Did you people check your SPAM folder?

 

[Tink3815]

I did check my spam folder. When the rep put the points back into my account, I received emails that my points had been adjusted.

 

[tlg588]

I had a fight for late May canceled also with no email. I called this morning and the attendant told me the email notification hadn't made it out yet and she re-booked my flight for me over the phone at no additional cost. Interesting enough, I book my departure and return separate. I got an email that my departure had changed and the offer to re-book 3 days ago. My flights were 4 days apart so the return flight email could be coming out tomorrow.

 

[Jimsig]

I agree they are cutting numerous flights. What I find interesting is that by them not sending you an email they take away the option to rebook a canceled flight at the same points. In one week, the amount of points doubled.

Most airlines were/are asking that you only call if you flight is with in the next 7-10 days. If everyone called who has had a change in the next few months which is most likely in the hundreds of thousands for some airlines starts calling at once the hold times will be enormous, they only have so many people that can answer the phones. Even before this all started when an airline would make a change they would notify those with the soonest flights first. It could take a few days/weeks for them to even to send an email notification to everyone as they would space it out.

Last month I was checking my flights for July late on a Sat night and the airlines website was acting acting strangely giving me error messages. As of the previous day they were still as I had booked them. So when I woke up Sun morning I checked and sure enough my flight down had changed and I had not gotten an email. No big deal. I ended up doing an online chat to get things take care of. They gave me full credit in the travel bank even though I had booked back in late Jan. I was able to re-book at a much lower rate and still have travel bank funds left over for another trip somewhere. It would be nice if they sent an instant notification but the logistics of handling all the calls would be a nightmare. In the end (any time) but especially now with whats going on it pays to keep tabs on it yourself.

 

[Jimsig]

@Tink3815 did you ask them if you could change flights instead of a points refund? I know when paying with cash when an airline changes you flight over a certain amount of time you should be entitled to a free change to any flight of your choosing. I would imagine the same holds true for booking with points. I have had it happen to me quite a few times when paying with cash. When I see my flight has been changed I check out the airlines website and find the flights that work best for me and then call and tell them what I want to change to.

 

[yankebabie]

SW changed the times of both my flights (going & coming) and I got an email for both changes. they gave me 3 days to change my flight with no fees if I didn’t like what they gave me,

 

[Muhlenberg]

I have booked flights on points for 10 people, on a few different confirmation numbers. Several flights had been completely canceled. When the flight itself is canceled, I have not gotten any emails. When trying to access the reservation to change it, it will say something like it's been canceled, but the points balance won't reflect that it's been canceled.

I've called SW a couple times in the last couple days about it. They are very accommodating, and will change the flight for you.

You just have to be cognizant that you probably WON'T get an email if the entire flight was canceled. Just keep checking your dates/flights. That's how I found out about ours.

 

[tlg588]

It Happened Again. I posted earlier in this thread about a trip I had booked to PHI for late May with two one way tickets (which is common for those of us using points). I re-booked those flights for Mid June, again as two one way flights. I get an email a few days ago telling me my flight to PHI has change ... 3 days... The flight SWA had selected seemed the best alternative so I left it and, instead of calling SWA about my flight back from PHI, waited for an email (as the SWA agent suggest when I re-booked and others on this board have suggested). Today I get this email

"Your Rapid Rewards® account balance has been adjusted due to a cancellation or change of an itinerary booked using your Rapid Rewards Points. You can review your account balance on Southwest.com®.

We appreciate your participation in Rapid Rewards and look forward to seeing you onboard soon.

-Your friends at Rapid Rewards "

My flight back from PHI is gone from my account, no other emails, nothing in my spam. Alternative flights on the same day are of course more expensive now. Maybe I will get another email soon offering me to re-book, don't know, it doesn't appear as if I will. If I call maybe SWA will offer to re-book me at same route, but I will need to call. So this about "don't call, they will be overwhelmed, wait for an email" seems to be BS. At this point I will probably just cancel the whole trip, so I will wait a few days and let everyone know if another email arrives or not. Right now, if you have a trip booked, I suggest you check your reservation daily and CALL SWA if you see something peculiar.

 

[emilymad]

I am going to have to call. Received an email for our June flights to MCO. We were able to rebook those online. My flight for the way home has been canceled but no email and I can't rebook online. Flights are now almost $400 that day so I will need to call to have a new flight picked.

 

[tlg588]

It Happened Again. I posted earlier in this thread about a trip I had booked to PHI for late May with two one way tickets (which is common for those of us using points). I re-booked those flights for Mid June, again as two one way flights. I get an email a few days ago telling me my flight to PHI has change ... 3 days... The flight SWA had selected seemed the best alternative so I left it and, instead of calling SWA about my flight back from PHI, waited for an email (as the SWA agent suggest when I re-booked and others on this board have suggested). Today I get this email

"Your Rapid Rewards® account balance has been adjusted due to a cancellation or change of an itinerary booked using your Rapid Rewards Points. You can review your account balance on Southwest.com®.

We appreciate your participation in Rapid Rewards and look forward to seeing you onboard soon.

-Your friends at Rapid Rewards "

My flight back from PHI is gone from my account, no other emails, nothing in my spam. Alternative flights on the same day are of course more expensive now. Maybe I will get another email soon offering me to re-book, don't know, it doesn't appear as if I will. If I call maybe SWA will offer to re-book me at same route, but I will need to call. So this about "don't call, they will be overwhelmed, wait for an email" seems to be BS. At this point I will probably just cancel the whole trip, so I will wait a few days and let everyone know if another email arrives or not. Right now, if you have a trip booked, I suggest you check your reservation daily and CALL SWA if you see something peculiar.

I did receive an email today telling me that my flight had been canceled and they were unable to rebook me. There are still plenty of flights available, I’m guessing none of the flights fell within the algorithm the computer uses.
Still no offer to rebook to another flight for free. They might rebook me if I call but again, I would have to call.
It seems that if the computer rebooks you, you get the option to change the booking. And the choices are pretty liberal. But, if the computer doesn’t rebook you, your points are refunded and you are not given the option to choose another flight.

 

[brockash]

I agree they are cutting numerous flights. What I find interesting is that by them not sending you an email they take away the option to rebook a canceled flight at the same points. In one week, the amount of points doubled.

I'd look into it. I've had 2 round trip flighrs canceled/changed by SW, and on both I've been able to rebook at no additional cost to me flights/dates that are much more expensive than what I originally booked. It's actually been working out well for me as 1 of them was a canceled Disney trip that I was able to rebook to our rebooked dates at no additional charge, even though those flights are $100/ person more than what I originally paid.

 

[brockash]

I did receive an email today telling me that my flight had been canceled and they were unable to rebook me. There are still plenty of flights available, I’m guessing none of the flights fell within the algorithm the computer uses.
Still no offer to rebook to another flight for free. They might rebook me if I call but again, I would have to call.
It seems that if the computer rebooks you, you get the option to change the booking. And the choices are pretty liberal. But, if the computer doesn’t rebook you, your points are refunded and you are not given the option to choose another flight.

Have you tried to rebook with your confirmation number? I don't know why it would be different for you. You should be able to at no additional cost as long as your departing/destination origins are the same and it's within 60 days of your original flight.

 

[teawar]

This is an email I just got from SWA about a canceled flight. I got frustrated when I first read it because other flights were available to our destination and the price was higher by $200. When I reread the email, it states SWA will make up the price difference, if you call. Guess what I’ll be doing today! We want to make you aware that your upcoming flight (Confirmation #) has been affected by changes we made to our schedule. As a result, we were unable to rebook you on a similar flight within three days of your original departure date. Therefore, your payment has been turned into reusable travel funds. We’re sorry your plans were impacted by our changes. If you're ready to rebook, we encourage you and any of the original Passengers on the reservation to visit Southwest.com to rebook your travel using your travel funds. If your new itinerary costs more than the funds you have available from your previous reservation, we're happy to cover the price difference as long as:

• Your new trip occurs within 60 days of your original travel. • Your origin and destination airports are the same (i.e., the same trip).

If you would like to pursue this option after you've confirmed online that your new itinerary costs more than the original, call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792). If you're unsure about your future travel plans If you’d like to wait to rebook, rest assured the funds used to pay for this trip will be available to the Customer(s) named on the ticket(s) to use and fly by June 30, 2021. Once you're ready to use your funds, simply use to access these funds in the future (similar to "store credit" at most retail establishments*). Today and every day, we're committed to reconnecting you to the people and places you love. We're in this together and thank you for your patience as we navigate through these changing times. Stay Heart Strong, Your friends at Southwest Airlines® *Corporate bookings and Group Travel policies may vary; please reach out to your original source of booking for further ***

 

[emilymad]

This is an email I just got from SWA about a canceled flight. I got frustrated when I first read it because other flights were available to our destination and the price was higher by $200. When I reread the email, it states SWA will make up the price difference, if you call. Guess what I’ll be doing today! We want to make you aware that your upcoming flight (Confirmation #) has been affected by changes we made to our schedule. As a result, we were unable to rebook you on a similar flight within three days of your original departure date. Therefore, your payment has been turned into reusable travel funds. We’re sorry your plans were impacted by our changes. If you're ready to rebook, we encourage you and any of the original Passengers on the reservation to visit Southwest.com to rebook your travel using your travel funds. If your new itinerary costs more than the funds you have available from your previous reservation, we're happy to cover the price difference as long as:

• Your new trip occurs within 60 days of your original travel. • Your origin and destination airports are the same (i.e., the same trip).

If you would like to pursue this option after you've confirmed online that your new itinerary costs more than the original, call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792). If you're unsure about your future travel plans If you’d like to wait to rebook, rest assured the funds used to pay for this trip will be available to the Customer(s) named on the ticket(s) to use and fly by June 30, 2021. Once you're ready to use your funds, simply use to access these funds in the future (similar to "store credit" at most retail establishments*). Today and every day, we're committed to reconnecting you to the people and places you love. We're in this together and thank you for your patience as we navigate through these changing times. Stay Heart Strong, Your friends at Southwest Airlines® *Corporate bookings and Group Travel policies may vary; please reach out to your original source of booking for further ***

I got the same email even though there are plenty of flights even ones that are 2 hours before the flight we had scheduled. I don't think they wanted to rebook us on a more expensive flight automatically. I guess I will have to call them.