Using gift cards when making SW ticket reservations

[britt54311]

I have read on these boards that when paying with gift cards, some people say 3 gift cards per reservation and others say 3 per person then use credit card for remaining balance because of only 4 forms of payment can be used. Can someone who has experienced this let me know which is it please? Because we have a group of 9 people going and trying to save money where we can.
We are going the end of October does anyone have a guess on when this time frame will be open to book airfare? Also when would be the best time to book to get the best deal for our group, when tickets first come out or should I wait a little while to see if prices come down? We have no other trips in future so getting a credit doesn't help. Thanks for any advice someone may have.

 

[kristenrice]

It is 4 forms of payment per reservation, so up to 3 gift cards and the balance on a credit card.

Example...My travel party of 3 people flying R/T to MCO with tickets costing $150 pp each way for a total of $900. I can buy $200 and $50 gift cards from Target at a 5% discount but since I can only use (3) of them, the most I could save would be $30. What I do is book the three of us together one-way ($450) and I use (2) $200 gift cards and a $50 gift card with my credit card as the 4th payment to cover the EBCI. Then, I book the return leg in the same manner. That way, I can maximize the 5% savings without going over the form of payment limit. SWA requires that you use a credit card for EBCI so remember that if you plan to purchase it. You cannot use travel credit or gift cards to purchase EBCI.

Only you can decide whether the bigger hassle is worth the bigger savings. With a larger travel party, you will be able to maximize your savings by breaking up the reservations, but you will have the added inconvenience of the individual reservations. It is your call if the savings is worth it in the long run.

 

[supersnoop]

I thought they changed it from 4-per-reservation to 3-per-person.

 

[kristenrice]

I thought they changed it from 4-per-reservation to 3-per-person.

You may be right...I haven't booked a ticket in about 9 months so I my information may be out of date...

 

[britt54311]

I was wondering if someone has personal experience booking with gift cards. Cause on southwest website it states this, but I get conflicting info on disboards:

• Southwest gift cards – A maximum of three Southwest gift cards can be applied per passenger on each reservation. If your purchase exceeds the amount available on the three Southwest gift cards, you will only be allowed to use two Southwest gift cards and another form of payment will be required for the difference.

So my take on this statement is if I have 9 passengers I can use 18-$100 gift cards then use credit card for remainder. Any thoughts? I want to get gift cards from Sams club but only see $100 gift cards online.

 

[FCDub]

No, I don't believe so. In the thing you posted, it says you can only use two per person if three won't cover the amount. You can't do three per person + a credit card to cover overages. It has to be three per person that cover or exceed the price, or two plus a credit card.

 

[ironz]

I was wondering if someone has personal experience booking with gift cards. Cause on southwest website it states this, but I get conflicting info on disboards:

• Southwest gift cards – A maximum of three Southwest gift cards can be applied per passenger on each reservation. If your purchase exceeds the amount available on the three Southwest gift cards, you will only be allowed to use two Southwest gift cards and another form of payment will be required for the difference.

So my take on this statement is if I have 9 passengers I can use 18-$100 gift cards then use credit card for remainder. Any thoughts? I want to get gift cards from Sams club but only see $100 gift cards online.

If you do that, won't you have 9 separate reservations numbers? That could be a total pain at checkin (unless you buy EBCI) or any other time you need to manage the reservation.

 

[kristenrice]

I was wondering if someone has personal experience booking with gift cards. Cause on southwest website it states this, but I get conflicting info on disboards:

• Southwest gift cards – A maximum of three Southwest gift cards can be applied per passenger on each reservation. If your purchase exceeds the amount available on the three Southwest gift cards, you will only be allowed to use two Southwest gift cards and another form of payment will be required for the difference.

So my take on this statement is if I have 9 passengers I can use 18-$100 gift cards then use credit card for remainder. Any thoughts? I want to get gift cards from Sams club but only see $100 gift cards online.

That is interesting wording...hmmm. I will definitely have to look into this when I book our trip in the spring. In the past, I could only apply 4 forms of payment per RESERVATION. It didn't matter how many people were on the reservation. The way this is worded, it looks like they would take 10 forms of payment from me...9 gift cards (3 for each of us) and my credit card. That doesn't make sense, but that is how it is written. I think what they actually mean is that you can use 2 gift cards and a credit card unless you have three gift cards that cover the entire cost. I wonder how that would work, though, if you are purchasing EBCI since you cannot purchase that with a gift card.