Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[tripplanner2]

So I have our whole family booked out of Orlando on SW except for my husband because he was unsure of which day he was able to travel home. I go in today to book his flight that was $400 last night and now the wanna get away rate is unavailable. Does that every restock or am I out of luck? We have 37000 points but that is not enough to book his flight. Never has this been so expensive or complicated.

Adding that I just attempted to book with the current points and I am short 7500. They will charge me $200 for that many more points.

 

[Gitelfor]

So I have our whole family booked out of Orlando on SW except for my husband because he was unsure of which day he was able to travel home. I go in today to book his flight that was $400 last night and now the wanna get away rate is unavailable. Does that every restock or am I out of luck? We have 37000 points but that is not enough to book his flight. Never has this been so expensive or complicated.

Adding that I just attempted to book with the current points and I am short 7500. They will charge me $200 for that many more points.

There was a sale on points thru July 6, that offered up to a 45% discount.

Keep in mind that normally Southwest’s fares increase as the travel date approaches. So, if you are within 3 weeks of your flight, the fare probably will increase, unless there are a number of customers who cancel.

To guarantee a seat on the flight, without purchasing extra points, you have a couple of options.

There are many ways of earning points, without flying, going thru the shopping portal; unfortunately, those points can take weeks to post to your account.

You can purchase a refundable fare on your credit card and continue to watch for a lower points fare, with the revenue flight being cancelled and completely refunded.

Does anyone else in your family have points that can be transferred to your account? There is a fee for transfers. For example, the cost to transfer 7,500 points is $75.

 

[tripplanner2]

There was a sale on points thru July 6, that offered up to a 45% discount.

Keep in mind that normally Southwest’s fares increase as the travel date approaches. So, if you are within 3 weeks of your flight, the fare probably will increase, unless there are a number of customers who cancel.

To guarantee a seat on the flight, without purchasing extra points, you have a couple of options.

There are many ways of earning points, without flying, going thru the shopping portal; unfortunately, those points can take weeks to post to your account.

You can purchase a refundable fare on your credit card and continue to watch for a lower points fare, with the revenue flight being cancelled and completely refunded.

Does anyone else in your family have points that can be transferred to your account? There is a fee for transfers. For example, the cost to transfer 7,500 points is $75.

I wound up booking him through my SW account because I had enough points. Hard pill to swallow though. I was going to transfer but they charge to transfer points. So insane. I remember the days when 5 round-trip tickets cost $500 now $600 for one ticket. The kicker is I was going to book last night at $400 but we had an electrical storm that knocked out power and it took hours for the internet to come back up. Thank you for all of the suggestions. I will just keep my fingers crossed that the price drops.

 

[emsstacey]

Back in the spring- every time I checked (every hour) the fare went up. I nearly had a stroke and ended up driving. I was at work and couldn’t get to my wallet before it tripled.

 

[tripplanner2]

Back in the spring- every time I checked (every hour) the fare went up. I nearly had a stroke and ended up driving. I was at work and couldn’t get to my wallet before it tripled.

This is all so frustrating. I didn't get a raise through all of this Covid mess and I never stopped working. Nor did I collect any additional government money.

We drove once and have never done a road trip again. It was just too much. Is what it is I guess. But you totally understand my frustration.

 

[emsstacey]

This is all so frustrating. I didn't get a raise through all of this Covid mess and I never stopped working. Nor did I collect any additional government money.

We drove once and have never done a road trip again. It was just too much. Is what it is I guess. But you totally understand my frustration.

I totally understand. I’m a teacher and worked, too. We were only virtual for a few days. I want to go back fall break but southwest is triple the usual prices as well as WDW.

 

[tripplanner2]

I totally understand. I’m a teacher and worked, too. We were only virtual for a few days. I want to go back fall break but southwest is triple the usual prices as well as WDW.

Teacher here too...so you totally get it. And I work in a special education setting where masks are not mandated so life was really stressful.

 

[Doug7856]

December Flights:

On opening day we booked our December flights. Today the price is cheaper for our flight to MCO and I was able to book a more desirable return flight for the same cost. If you're flying in December you may want to check your prices.

 

[ultimatefans]

PSA for those with Companion Pass based on my experience this week: since the companion pass reservation needs to be checked in separately, Southwest automatically changes the boarding position to match the later position. On our flight to Orlando, my husband (companion pass) had low Bs and I and two kids had mid-Bs. 10 seconds or so after getting his boarding position he received a notification from SW and his boarding position has been increased to match ours. No big deal as we all had numbers in a row.

This time I was faster, I and the kids got low Bs and he had mid Bs. SW moved me back to match him. So now the kids have low Bs and I’m back with my husband even though I’m on the same reservation as my kids.

It’s not an issue for my family as the kids are older teens and perfectly capable of boarding alone. (I realize they could have moved back with us if they weren’t.) Just making people aware as I was surprised they changed my boarding number to match my companion instead of the people on my reservation.

 

[jenmsmith]

PSA for those with Companion Pass based on my experience this week: since the companion pass reservation needs to be checked in separately, Southwest automatically changes the boarding position to match the later position. On our flight to Orlando, my husband (companion pass) had low Bs and I and two kids had mid-Bs. 10 seconds or so after getting his boarding position he received a notification from SW and his boarding position has been increased to match ours. No big deal as we all had numbers in a row.

This time I was faster, I and the kids got low Bs and he had mid Bs. SW moved me back to match him. So now the kids have low Bs and I’m back with my husband even though I’m on the same reservation as my kids.

It’s not an issue for my family as the kids are older teens and perfectly capable of boarding alone. (I realize they could have moved back with us if they weren’t.) Just making people aware as I was surprised they changed my boarding number to match my companion instead of the people on my reservation.

Same thing for us. Frustratingly, they move to match the later boarding no matter whether it’s the companion or the original ticket holder. Good info. Thank you for sharing.

 

[CouponGirl]

PSA for those with Companion Pass based on my experience this week: since the companion pass reservation needs to be checked in separately, Southwest automatically changes the boarding position to match the later position. On our flight to Orlando, my husband (companion pass) had low Bs and I and two kids had mid-Bs. 10 seconds or so after getting his boarding position he received a notification from SW and his boarding position has been increased to match ours. No big deal as we all had numbers in a row.

This time I was faster, I and the kids got low Bs and he had mid Bs. SW moved me back to match him. So now the kids have low Bs and I’m back with my husband even though I’m on the same reservation as my kids.

It’s not an issue for my family as the kids are older teens and perfectly capable of boarding alone. (I realize they could have moved back with us if they weren’t.) Just making people aware as I was surprised they changed my boarding number to match my companion instead of the people on my reservation.

I didn’t realize they were doing that. Thanks for the heads up. In the past I’ve never experienced that, but we’ve always been very close in number if not sequential.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Need help linking a reservation to my app. I have a return flight booked with cash for me (and DH as my CP). I then booked same flights with points for my kids. But their flight isn’t showing up on my app or my account. Is there a way I can link reservations? I’m usually the one in charge of checking everyone on. DD is reliable - do I just make her get the app and check in on her phone? Neither kid has a RR account yet because they rarely fly

 

[aokeefe]

I don't think there is a way to link the reservations. I am always booking under different accounts. You can either have your dd set up an account to log in or you can check her in using her confirmation number (have another device to use so you can hit check in simultaneously!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Need help linking a reservation to my app. I have a return flight booked with cash for me (and DH as my CP). I then booked same flights with points for my kids. But their flight isn’t showing up on my app or my account. Is there a way I can link reservations? I’m usually the one in charge of checking everyone on. DD is reliable - do I just make her get the app and check in on her phone? Neither kid has a RR account yet because they rarely fly

When I booked my son's ticket, I was able to put my reservation down as an associated adult/minor companion. I can see his reservations but I still have to check both confirmations in. There's no way to do it together.

 

[Erica Ladd]

When I booked my son's ticket, I was able to put my reservation down as an associated adult/minor companion. I can see his reservations but I still have to check both confirmations in. There's no way to do it together.

Im ok with having them separate I just wish I had their confirmation number on my app to see it readily Kwim?

 

[ultimatefans]

Same thing for us. Frustratingly, they move to match the later boarding no matter whether it’s the companion or the original ticket holder. Good info. Thank you for sharing.

Yes we saw the same thing, the way there they changed the companion, the way back they changed the original ticket holder, in both cases to match the higher (later) number. If they’re going to change them to be sequential I’m not sure why they require separate check-ins.

 

[focusondisney]

I don’t understand how SW is changing the boarding positions? Did you get 1 number when you checked in & then got a notification it changed? And is this only when traveling with or as a free companion? I paid for EBCI for both myself & my DH who is my CP. I don’t bother checking in right at 24 hours because of the EB so I guess I’ll never know if they do it to me. But I don’t blame anyone for getting mad if they push you back. I don’t remember seeing anything in the rules that say you must BOARD sequentially.

 

[ultimatefans]

I don’t understand how SW is changing the boarding positions? Did you get 1 number when you checked in & then got a notification it changed? And is this only when traveling with or as a free companion? I paid for EBCI for both myself & my DH who is my CP. I don’t bother checking in right at 24 hours because of the EB so I guess I’ll never know if they do it to me. But I don’t blame anyone for getting mad if they push you back. I don’t remember seeing anything in the rules that say you must BOARD sequentially.

If you paid for EBCI I doubt there would be an issue if they were purchased at the same time. And yes, I got one number when checking in 24 hours before and then SW changed it. It was really not an issue in our situation but it surprised me so I wanted to make people aware. I didn’t remember seeing that anywhere in the rules either.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Ok here we go again...just got an email from SWA that my non-stop BWI to MCO 9/7 has been changed there are only a few options offered to change to. They have deleted the 3 flights that fell between my flight and the current next non stop flight! So looks like I will be on a packed flight for sure...I had picked the earliest flight thinking it would be less crowded. My flight number changed but actual time only changed by 10 minutes. I’m keeping the flight just sorry it’s going to be more crowded.

 

[Erica Ladd]

I just got the change email too

my direct flight from RDU to FLL now has a plane change. It’s the earliest flight available snd no change options. Boo!