what the SW agent told me...

[jnrrt]

Last night the fares for my flight dropped. I called SW and they told me how to make the changes online (no fees, yea!, there's another thread about that right now) and I got a credit for $143. All good. But I had thought that you could use this credit for a year from the date of the original ticket. The agent said that it has to be used by a year from my date of purchase, and that not only do I have to purchase a ticket by then, but I have to complete my travel by then as well.

Is this right? We were thinking it was a no lose situation - if we got a credit, we'd use it for next year's flight and just go a week earlier (we already do this to take advantage of our AP's) but we don't fly very much, and there's no way I can use this credit for us by May.

Our other option is to buy a ticket for my brother with it. He doesn't have his ticket yet. Is this credit transferable?

Thanks.

 

[lawgs]

both the options you mention will work....

on the second item...

all you have to do is book the flight for your brother OR you could also give him the necessary info LOCATOR and Name on Credit Card used to purchase when you go to the ticketless funds credit screen


we have used our sil's credit before just by having that information...

you do not have to give cc numbers, just the name that appears on the CC

 

[princess aurora]

On another thread it also suggests you can contact SW customer service and have your credit refunded onto your credit card.
I'd check into that option.

 

[sunnygirl]

There were some postings on another thread that stated that people called the refund phone line for SW and asked politely if they could get the price difference put back on their credit cards (rather than saved for future travel). They had no problem. When I read this, I decided to give it a try and was successful, although the agent explained that this is normally not their policy and she was making an exception for me.

Call and try - you've got nothing to lose! Good luck!

 

[goofyforlife]

We've had SW credit the difference back to our credit cards several times.

 

[travelin' tigger]

The agent said that it has to be used by a year from my date of purchase, and that not only do I have to purchase a ticket by then, but I have to complete my travel by then as well.

In the past I have been able to get an extension on the use year - try calling a SWA rep and explain the situation, they might be able to help you out!!!

 

[sln88]

I am not sure if I will be in this situation or not, but could you do this:

original flights booked in May, price dropped, got credit
have to use credit by May 2006, but can't
could you book a flight for April 2006 and then cancel it and would that automatically extend your credit to April 2007?

 

[3Aumillers]

I have tried twice in the past to get a credit card refund and both times was told that the only option was one extension of credit so that the refund could be used within 1 1/2 years. Maybe I'll try calling again tomorrow ...

 

[jnrrt]

I am not sure if I will be in this situation or not, but could you do this:

original flights booked in May, price dropped, got credit
have to use credit by May 2006, but can't
could you book a flight for April 2006 and then cancel it and would that automatically extend your credit to April 2007?

I'm pretty sure not. I re-read the email, and it dates everything from the original purchase. It tracks it all in the same contract number. Otherwise, I would assume that the date would have reset when I changed flights this time (even though nothing actually changed, it essentially cancels you first flights and makes you select them again).

I'm waiting right now for my brother to finalize his plans. Hopefully I can use it to buy his ticket. If not, I suppose I will be asking very very politely for a refund, but an extension would work too, I guess. We will plan to go again next fall, just not before May.

Thanks for all the replies - it looks like I have more options than I thought I did!

 

[antmaril]

I recently had this happen to me. I had $454 worth of credits on SW and really didn't have any travel plans. The credits were going to expire, so I called SW Customer Service to see if I had any options. (By the way, I had called several times and asked VERY nicely if they would credit my account and was told, unfortunately, that they would not.) Anyway, I was issued travel "vouchers". These vouchers are tricky, however. They cannot be used to book travel online. You must call and tell them you are using vouchers and then you have to be prepared to go to the airport THE NEXT DAY to pay for the tickets at the counter with the vouchers. Now, one fellow at Customer Service told me that SW realizes that it can be very inconvenient for people to make a trip to the airport to present the vouchers and that if I call Customer Service after I make the reservation, they will let me present the vouchers on the day of travel.

I haven't done this yet. My vouchers expire on October 15th and I've got to make a plan soon. It makes me nervous because I don't have confidence that it's all going to come together. I really don't want to have to go to the airport the day after I make a reservation. I sure hope that SW rep was right and I can make a reservation and then present the vouchers on the day of travel.

Anyone have any experience with vouchers?

If I were you, I would definitely use the ticketless travel funds before the expiration date. If you can't travel, buy tickets for someone else.

FYI - the extension I received was for six months. If I don't use these vouchers by October 15th, I will lose the money! The vouchers certainly aren't as user friendly as ticketless travel funds, that's for darn sure.

Good luck!

 

[vossjemi]

Those of you who were told no on the refunds, did you call the long distance # or the 800 #? I was told to call the long distance # listed on their website. Automated options lead you to the refund dept. I have called twice and gotten refunds both times.

 

[jnrrt]

Just updating:

I was able to buy my brother's ticket with these last night. It ended up costing me $6 more than the funds I had, and he just paid me back which was really nice. So now, I guess we're all set unless the return fare drops as well. But I'll keep all these options in mind if that happens, and of course, it's not the worst problem to have in the world .

Anyone else notice that all the fares for the fall are dropping tremendously? It's kind of annoying - if you plan ahead you feel like you're missing great deals. If you wait, you don't know if the good deals are ever coming and you'll get stuck. I keep thinking that now I could have gotten Delta at about the same price, but it had better times for us. Oh well, such is the travel industry, and I haven't figured it out yet!

 

[disneyfor3]

We received the 6 month extension vouchers last year. A nice customer service rep said we could book our travel online, pay for it, and when travel was completed mail a copy of our confirmation email and stubs along with the vouchers to their customer service department and they would refund us the amount of the vouchers to our credit card. We did this last September and received the credit to our credit card within a week or so of sending everything to customer service when we got back. You might want to call customer service and ask if you can do this also.

 

[Chess]

We also received credit to our credit card after taking a flight at the end of May. Our extra funds expired at the beginning of May but we were unable to use them before the end of May. When I called to inquire about extending the time, the customer service rep said it was too late for me to get a voucher but to just make the reservation on line and after we flew to call and they would refund the money to my credit card. I called after I made reservation but before we flew to double check because I could not remember if he said to call before or after the flight. The rep I talked to at that time said there was a note in the computer along with the other reps name and to just call after we got back from the flight. I called about 2 weeks after the flight and the money was refunded to my account so now when I make reservations that I think the price might come down on, I try to have another trip in mind or at least know someone who might be able to use the funds before they expire.

 

[jnrrt]

Just an update:

After I posted this, the fares dropped again, and I ended up with another $230ish. I put off calling for a long time (ha, almost to September now!) I think because I didn't want to be turned down (I know, I know, avoidance), but I called this morning at the 800 number, the agent I spoke with helped me, no transfer, and refunded the money without any hassle. I was really quite surprised. I was prepared to be turned down, but was hoping for an extension.

So I'm very happy with SW this morning. Family of five, total with tax, roundtrip $560, and no problem with the refund. They definitely have my business in the future.