southwest credit question

[dzaharchuk]

After waiting and waiting for our fares to drop, we finally booked for our Oct. trip. Of course they have dropped (1 week later..).

So here's my question- when and how do I get a credit? Should I call immediately, or wait to see if they drop further? And if they should drop again after I get a credit, am I still entitled to another credit, or is it a one time deal?

Of course I am beating myself up because I would've rather had the saved cash in my pocket than a credit...oh well, we have a friend who might be able to use them in the fall.

Hope someone can advise me!

 

[dzaharchuk]

anyone?

 

[jjohnson]

call right away before it disappears. You can get another credit if it drops further.

 

[Disney_Freak56]

You don't have to call.

You can cancel your original reservation and use the cancelled credit towards the new flights/prrices.

It's quite easy and painless to do.

 

[cats mom]

That's one of the benefits of booking with Southwest. There is no limit to the number of credits you can get on a flight, as long as you can find the price drops, and there is still availability.

You can use the "change reservation" tab to rebook online if your original flight was booked online.

Otherwise, give SW a call and I'm sure they'll be glad to help you.

 

[Poohlovr]

Just remember, if you call, the reservation agent you speak with may not be able to access the price that you see. They don't have access to all of the "Get Away" fares.
Also, if you have the agent book for you, you may not be able to check in on-line (been there, done that).
As a previous pp said, just go to "Change flight" (on the right hand side of the SWA homepage) and make the change yourself.

 

[EMom]

Okay.....Let me get this straight. Let's say I go on SW's website and I book (and pay for) their cheapest fare. (nonrefundable, etc.) Then a few days later, the fare drops $30 each way. I thought a nonrefundable ticket meant you were locked into the price you paid, period. Are you saying that with SW, even if I booked such a ticket, I can somehow get a credit (toward a future flight??) or even rebook that same flight for a lower price?

Please clarify as it looks as if we might start flying SW a lot more in the future. THANKS!

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Okay.....Let me get this straight. Let's say I go on SW's website and I book (and pay for) their cheapest fare. (nonrefundable, etc.) Then a few days later, the fare drops $30 each way. I thought a nonrefundable ticket meant you were locked into the price you paid, period. Are you saying that with SW, even if I booked such a ticket, I can somehow get a credit (toward a future flight??) or even rebook that same flight for a lower price?

Please clarify as it looks as if we might start flying SW a lot more in the future. THANKS!

Yes! One of the big perks to flying SW. You can rebook your reservation as many times as you want. When the price is lowered the difference will be placed as a credit called a "ticketless travel fund" That TTF will be tied to the confirmation # and name on the ticket and is good for up to 1 year from the day you booked your original flight (not the trip but the booking day of the very first booking). They can be transferred and be used by anyone if they are given the name and the confirmation #, so you can give them to someone else if you want.

 

[cats mom]

The pp explained how TTF's work when the price of your flight goes down, and the same process applies even if you need to cancel your flight altogether. You can't get your money back unless you book a fully refundable fare, but you can get TTF's with no penalties or fees at all.

In fact I once missed a flight without being able to cancel my reservation. It didn't matter. SW automatically had my TTF's sitting in my account that same day.

The trade off is that SW is absolutely inflexible about letting you make changes without paying the prevailing rate. For example, let's say you have a $99 one-way fare leaving at 5 PM and you get to the airport early and want to take the 2 PM flight instead, while there would be no change fee, you would have to pay the difference between your $99 fare and whatever the current, non advance purchase, "walk up" fare is, and that could very well be hundreds of dollars more.

Given the same situation, chances are you'd get hit with a change fee on most other airlines, but those same day changes would probably be less expensive and more doable.

Just something to be aware of.


*Edited to add:
As stated in the post just above mine, TTF = Ticketless Travel Funds (or SW credits)

 

[rosanne91]

i booked my flight and now am thinking about changing one of the dates. Do you think this would be a problem??

 

[dzaharchuk]

Thank you to all of those who responded! We needed a little tech support to talk us through the online process, but we now have $190 credit !! Makes it a little less painful that the flights went down.

Also thanks to the Dis boarders who posted the $25 coupon- we used it times 5 for $125 savings!!

Pixie dust to you all

 

[mousefan1972]

i booked my flight and now am thinking about changing one of the dates. Do you think this would be a problem??

If you booked on Southwest (assuming you did as this thread is about SW) there is no fee to change your dates. If the flight on the new date you choose is more than what you paid previously, you pay the difference. If it is the same price, it is an "even exchange". If the new flight is cheaper than your original flight, you will receive the difference in the form of a credit (the aforementioned ticketless travel funds) which can be used for travel up to a year from when you first purchased the airfare. Hope this helps.

 

[mousefan1972]

Thank you to all of those who responded! We needed a little tech support to talk us through the online process, but we now have $190 credit !! Makes it a little less painful that the flights went down.

Also thanks to the Dis boarders who posted the $25 coupon- we used it times 5 for $125 savings!!

Pixie dust to you all

Congrats! I was just able to get a $60 credit on Jetblue because one of our segments for our flights to Disney next month went down in price. Not as much as yours, but every bit helps. I think it is great that SW and Jetblue will honor a lower fare after you've booked and return the difference to you. I think they are the only airlines that will do that, without charging any kind of fee.

 

[jjohnson]

Congrats! I was just able to get a $60 credit on Jetblue because one of our segments for our flights to Disney next month went down in price. Not as much as yours, but every bit helps. I think it is great that SW and Jetblue will honor a lower fare after you've booked and return the difference to you. I think they are the only airlines that will do that, without charging any kind of fee.

I just rec'd $70 today! I had only booked the return flight so I'll be able to use this for the flight down.

 

[medicjch]

Sweet! I just got a $40 credit!

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

The only time you have to cancel a reservation is when you are changing to a DING! fare. Any other time, you just click on "Air" or "Travel Tools" and click "Change Reservation". You can then book a lower fare, different flight, and different date, hopefully saving some $$$.