Warning SWA senior rate & RAC

[robhawk]

Just got back from President's week. Great weather. Great time.
We purchaced Senior tix for MIL FIL & dad on Southwest.
The morning of departure ME envelope says they have to check in at airport. Luckily we had four of us getting our boarding passes so we could check 7 bags at RAC with SWA.
When we got to MCO there were 7000 people in line to check in. This was a little frustrating waiting 45 minutes in line when we could have walked right thru security.
Parents are 84 and late seventies. Those of you that have traveling with parents might know that it is easier to travel with children sometimes. WOW.
Anyway SWA agent said they had to verify that they were Seniors. We actually paid the same amount so we got no benefit from using senior rate.
Hope this helps.

 

[tjmw2727]

Yes - this is true for any "speical fare" that requires verification mainly senior or child rates.

I book my in laws trips for them and I have to be extra careful when booking esp since I don't actually travel with them.

It is worth double checking before booking special rates because most times the regular web fares are the same or cheaper than the "special fares" and you don't have to go through the verification.

 

[CarolMN]

You only have to do the age verification thing for the senior fares one time. Then you are set. The info is on the SWA website.

Here's the info:

How does the age verification process work?

* If you are traveling on an Infant, Child, or Senior Fare, you must present the traveler's proof of age (i.e., birth certificate, driver's license, or another government-issued photo ID that indicates the traveler's date of birth) to a Customer Service Agent at the airport in order to check in for your flight.
* At that time, the date of birth in your Rapid Rewards® or MySouthwest® account will be updated to indicate that age has been verified. If you do not have a Rapid Rewards or MySouthwest account, you must create one and provide proof of age to a Customer Service Agent in order to check in online or at a self-service kiosk in the future. The next time the age verified Customer Travels you will be able to request the boarding pass on southwest.com.
* If you prefer, you may mail a copy of a valid picture I.D. or birth certificate proving age to: Southwest Airlines Customer Relations; P.O. Box 36662; Dallas, TX 75235. Please be sure to indicate the traveler's Rapid Rewards account number with your request, and submit your request at least two weeks prior to your flight.
* The date of birth field in the account will be updated to reflect that age has been verified. Please allow two weeks for processing.
* If you submit your request in writing, you will receive a confirmation letter in the mail once the date of birth has been verified.
* Once the date of birth has been verified, you may check in online and request a boarding pass as long as the traveler's account number is present in the reservation for which you are checking in.

 

[robhawk]

Thanks Carol

I will set that up. I enjoy flying SWA so now I know.