Would this work on Southwest?

[bellebookworm9]

My mom and I have a trip planned for January, but she may not be able to come. We are booked on the Wanna Get Away fairs, meaning not refundable, but the money can be used for another flight within a certain date.

Would it be possible to cancel her ticket, take the money from the travel fund plus a little extra, buy a fully refundable ticket, cancel that, and get ALL the money back? We are not frequent flyers, and I hate to see $120 go down the drain.

 

[Dacky619]

Maybe someone that knows from experience will chime in, but I doubt your plan would work. If you cancel a ticket and use that credit to book a new flight, that credit still maintains the original expiration date from the first flight. I would imagine it keeps the same refund stipulations as well.

 

[SteveMouse]

That would be correct. Once SW has your funds on a wanna get away ticket, your choices are to fly as scheduled, rebook for a flight within 1 year of the date of your ORIGINAL reservation, or not fly and let the airline have the money.

That being said, SW's policy is one of, if not the most, generous policies in terms of letting you change your ticket.

 

[Bobo912]

My mom and I have a trip planned for January, but she may not be able to come. We are booked on the Wanna Get Away fairs, meaning not refundable, but the money can be used for another flight within a certain date.

Would it be possible to cancel her ticket, take the money from the travel fund plus a little extra, buy a fully refundable ticket, cancel that, and get ALL the money back? We are not frequent flyers, and I hate to see $120 go down the drain.

I've actually tried this and it doesn't work. The only part that will be refunded is the "little extra" you pay for the fully refundable ticket. The rest will remain in travel funds that expire on the original date.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Thanks for the replies. These tickets are good until March 13th, and I've accrued a lot of funds because the prices kept going down on the original flight. I told my mom she should just come visit me at some point if I get into the Disney college program!