SW Refunds - Well, which way is it?????

[Donna]

I thought 25 sounded high for even two fees but thats probably what it was.

 

[cepmom]

I really just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.
I just hope that when you get the award that there are seats for you to switch to.

I hope so too.....I am nervous that there will be no more "Award seats" available by the time we get our award reissued so that's why I bought DD a separate seat just in case. The award is being given to us by a friend, but it is expiring soon and I can't seem to get him moving on having it reissued

If I can't get a refund, then I'll just hang on to the credit for next time!
Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for your help.

 

[disneyldwjr]

I hope so too.....I am nervous that there will be no more "Award seats" available by the time we get our award reissued so that's why I bought DD a separate seat just in case. The award is being given to us by a friend, but it is expiring soon and I can't seem to get him moving on having it reissued

If I can't get a refund, then I'll just hang on to the credit for next time!
Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for your help.

Your friend could have made the reservation for your DD. There is no reissue involved, unless he had booked travel with it already. Not sure if you have visited this part of the SWA web site, but, it does specifically address your situation. http://www.southwest.com/rapid_rewards/use_ticketless_award.html

Keeping my fingers crossed for you also.

 

[cepmom]

Your friend could have made the reservation for your DD. There is no reissue involved, unless he had booked travel with it already. Not sure if you have visited this part of the SWA web site, but, it does specifically address your situation. http://www.southwest.com/rapid_rewards/use_ticketless_award.html

Keeping my fingers crossed for you also.

the award our friend is giving us expires in November, so that is why it needs to be reissued. He will not use the award and knew we would be flying SW in January so he said we could use it. Now if I could get him to get off his butt and send in the request and payment, I'd feel a whole lot better!

 

[JCMcGinn]

Has anyone had any experience w/ SW re-issuing an expired award ticket? I thought that it had to be used before the expiration date.

 

[ro80]

I actually ran into this too. I had an awards ticket that expired on 3/6/07. I wanted to extend it one day as I wanted to come back on the 7th. I asked the CS agent if they could just extend it for one day and his reply was "if you want to send us a check for $50, we will issue a new one." Yeah right!, I said to myself. I have to spend a cazillion dollars just to get a free flight and I'm going to pay $50 more. I don't think so. But good luck trying !!!

 

[cepmom]

I actually ran into this too. I had an awards ticket that expired on 3/6/07. I wanted to extend it one day as I wanted to come back on the 7th. I asked the CS agent if they could just extend it for one day and his reply was "if you want to send us a check for $50, we will issue a new one." Yeah right!, I said to myself. I have to spend a cazillion dollars just to get a free flight and I'm going to pay $50 more. I don't think so. But good luck trying !!!

I don't blame you for not wanting to pay the $50 to just extend it one day...I wouldn't either. The way I figure it is, if I pay my friend the $50 fee that he needs to pay to get the award reissued, then I can get a round trip ticket for only $50. We are all flying down anyway, and our friend can not use his award, so I figure it's a pretty good deal for us.

Has anyone had any experience w/ SW re-issuing an expired award ticket? I thought that it had to be used before the expiration date.

I have no experience with reissuing an award, but I know you can pay a $50 fee and have SW re-issue it if you can't use it before it expires. The new award will expire 12 months from the reissue date.

 

[disneyldwjr]

the award our friend is giving us expires in November, so that is why it needs to be reissued. He will not use the award and knew we would be flying SW in January so he said we could use it. Now if I could get him to get off his butt and send in the request and payment, I'd feel a whole lot better!

I bet you would!!!! Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

 

[ro80]

Believe me, I am far from a cheapskate (my DH will tell you I spend way too much!!) but it was just the principal of it. It was only 1 day. If I didn't have 2 other free flights expiring in June, I may have paid the $50, but nah. It all worked out in the end, but now I have to wait for a DING for March flights to get one of my free flights back for June!!! I just have this love/hate relationship with Southwest I guess !!

 

[ro80]

My friend who this whole situation pertains to was on the phone with SW customer service this morning for quite a while. It pertains to funds for flights that were booked in May for travel in Sept. The fares went down, she got ticketless travel funds.....etc. They WOULD NOT issue her credit on her credit card. They do not refund on credit card for non-refundable fares. They told her that they would send her a voucher in May '07 and extend it 6 months. It works out for her as she can use it in Sept. But it's just not right. People on the boards say everyday how they got an instant refund on their CC. How can they do it for some and not for others. If she wasn't going in Sept. she'd be SOL. Why do they do that????

 

[Lewisc]

My friend who this whole situation pertains to was on the phone with SW customer service this morning for quite a while. It pertains to funds for flights that were booked in May for travel in Sept. The fares went down, she got ticketless travel funds.....etc. They WOULD NOT issue her credit on her credit card. They do not refund on credit card for non-refundable fares. They told her that they would send her a voucher in May '07 and extend it 6 months. It works out for her as she can use it in Sept. But it's just not right. People on the boards say everyday how they got an instant refund on their CC. How can they do it for some and not for others. If she wasn't going in Sept. she'd be SOL. Why do they do that????

A previous poster gave you the general rule:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=15227524&postcount=7

Many of the people who posted getting a cash (credit card) refund are in that category. The "fare bucket" they booked had a price reduction and they were eligible for a cash refund. Some posters may have found a SW customer service representative that was willing to make an exception but it seems like SW is not making exceptions as much as they used to.

What's not right? SW gave her a full credit for a fare reduction. SW even extended it by 6 months. Other airlines would have reduced the credit by a change fee.

 

[ro80]

At this point it doesn't matter any more, but what's not right is that they can just pick and choose for whom and when they do credit CC's. Lucky for her, she was going back next Sept., but some people can only afford to go once a year and they would have lost out on some good money. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is I guess. If they can't issue credit refunds, than I guess it's good for SW that with the voucher, at least they will be getting their business back.

 

[cepmom]

At this point it doesn't matter any more, but what's not right is that they can just pick and choose for whom and when they do credit CC's. Lucky for her, she was going back next Sept., but some people can only afford to go once a year and they would have lost out on some good money. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is I guess. If they can't issue credit refunds, than I guess it's good for SW that with the voucher, at least they will be getting their business back.

did your friend call the 800 # or the customer relations number ((214) 792-4223)? That is what I have heard makes a difference. The reps at the 800 number will not issue cc refunds, but as you know, it has been reported many times by many posters that if you call the customer relations number and the flights have not changed in any way except for the price, they will issue a cc refund if you ask. That's too bad it did not work out that way for your friend.

 

[ro80]

She called customer relations and they were on the phone for about 45 minutes going over it. The flights and/or dates remained the same too. Ha! Maybe they don't give refunds out on Mondays !!

 

[disneyldwjr]

My friend who this whole situation pertains to was on the phone with SW customer service this morning for quite a while. It pertains to funds for flights that were booked in May for travel in Sept. The fares went down, she got ticketless travel funds.....etc. They WOULD NOT issue her credit on her credit card. They do not refund on credit card for non-refundable fares. They told her that they would send her a voucher in May '07 and extend it 6 months. It works out for her as she can use it in Sept. But it's just not right. People on the boards say everyday how they got an instant refund on their CC. How can they do it for some and not for others. If she wasn't going in Sept. she'd be SOL. Why do they do that????

As I said, it is on a case by case basis. If she changed anything for her reduced fares, they will not issue a refund.
Or.....Maybe they have changed their policy and are not issuing refunds anymore.
OR....maybe she called the reservation number and not customer service.
These are guesses as you did not supply much information.

 

[disneyldwjr]

At this point it doesn't matter any more, but what's not right is that they can just pick and choose for whom and when they do credit CC's. Lucky for her, she was going back next Sept., but some people can only afford to go once a year and they would have lost out on some good money. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is I guess. If they can't issue credit refunds, than I guess it's good for SW that with the voucher, at least they will be getting their business back.

Let's see, they extended her credit for 6 months, they did not charge her a change fee (most airlines charge between 50 and 100 for changes), and her fare was reduced. Yep, that is definitely and unfair practice by SWA, someone should report them.
They don't pick and chose. It is a courtesy IF you have not changed your original flight times, days or departure cities. If you have changed anything in your reservation, you are not going to get a refund.

 

[NotUrsula]

It is a courtesy IF you have not changed your original flight times, days or departure cities.

... or the fare class you purchased. For example: If the original fare was a "Fun Fare" and the new one is an "Internet Fare" that is a fare class change. Ticketless Travel funds credit only, no cash refund.

 

[disneyldwjr]

... or the fare class you purchased. For example: If the original fare was a "Fun Fare" and the new one is an "Internet Fare" that is a fare class change. Ticketless Travel funds credit only, no cash refund.

Probable. I have only ever had Internet special to internet special and internet special to Ding, and have received a refund many times.

 

[jgmklmhem]

My current experiance should fit well for this thread. We are going to WDW in Jan 07. I bought my one way fares as the Internet One way at 154$ per ticket then tax for both legs of the trip. Today I checked and the fares were down to 109$ per ticket. I did the change of reservation route (not the cancel and rebook route) online. Everything is the same: fare class, dates, flight numbers, airports, number of tickets. The only change is the price from 154 to 109$ plus tax. I was given my credit towards future travel. I called 214-792-4223 and was told that they could not credit my Visa until after I had completed my travel in January. So that is the most current example from about 1hr ago.

 

[ro80]

Let's see, they extended her credit for 6 months, they did not charge her a change fee (most airlines charge between 50 and 100 for changes), and her fare was reduced. Yep, that is definitely and unfair practice by SWA, someone should report them.
They don't pick and chose. It is a courtesy IF you have not changed your original flight times, days or departure cities. If you have changed anything in your reservation, you are not going to get a refund.

These forums are for people to vent their frustrations as well as inform people of their positive experiences. I am not trying to start WWIII here. I am simply stating that in the information I gave which, bottom line, her flight numbers, dates or times did not change. It was simply a reduction in the airfare. She called the correct number for customer services (not the 800 #) and they told her that is not their policy. I simply stated, and by the scores of posts by people that have gotten there CC refunded, some immediately and some when their travel was completed, they should either make it a policy to do the credit OR issue a voucher. I tend to think the majority of people would prefer getting a refund to use towards their meals maybe???
Nobody's complaining about the voucher. I've flown a million times and know it is a courtesy, and a great one at that. But there are people out there cannot afford to go to Disney more than once a year and would have been out of the $$$ anyway because it would have expired. Oh well, it's a lesson learned. I go on these boards to relax and because they are fun and informative and so let's call it a day....didn't mean to