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

[poohj80]

Wait until you see how much flights will cost once they start flying again. We are still scheduled for a first part of June trip but I haven't booked airfare. When I looked the other day, RT was almost $450 each. Now of course being SWA, the price will fluctuate but I can bet cheap flights will not be a part of the plan once they're flying again. I guess it depends on how many people they can get to get on a plane when all this is over.

I thought the June fares I have been watching were high at $119 each way.

 

[loveswdw]

I thought the June fares I have been watching were high at $119 each way.

I just checked and the nonstops are back down to $286 RT. They may go lower again. Or they may go up.

 

[Crazyhorse]

It's funny how we can all interpret things differently.

Not saying you are wrong, just that I'm looking at it differently. Since I'm not leaving my home right now (and haven't entered a store in almost 5 weeks), I can't imagine getting on an airplane right now so booking air travel isn't on my radar. If others feel similarly, I can see flights being less expensive than normal.

Let's see how things pan out...

I think SW should PAY people to fly for non essential travel over the next several months.

 

[eeyoresmom]

As far as the extension of the companion pass, do we have to do anything or does it get extended automatically?

 

[rlduvall]

As far as the extension of the companion pass, do we have to do anything or does it get extended automatically?

It states automatically.

 

[Ariel620]

I just read the email, that is amazing, good for SW for taking such good care of its customers. I assume from the email, that the only companion passes that get extended are the ones that were originally set to expire in Jan 2020. Mine was set to expire Jan 2021. So I assume my companion pass won't be extended. Has anyone heard any different?

I also plan to convert my travel funds to points. I wonder what the conversion rate is that was mentioned. Anyone know?

 

[123Dis4Me]

I had flights booked for this past week. I had price adjusted several times prior to when I canceled the flights. I received an expiration date of Sept 2022 for some of the funds, but some of the funds expire in January 2021. These are all for the same flight confirmation number. I was thinking they would all expire in Sept 2022.

 

[cmarsh31]

One, just one, for $2.73, just extended to 2022 - hopefully this is a sign that they'll all start updating soon!

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

SW has changed my flights for June several times. After the last change, I saw the price went down and got travel funds credit for the price difference. If SW changes my flights again, can I request a full refund, including the amount that went to travel credits?

 

[ultimatefans]

SW has changed my flights for June several times. After the last change, I saw the price went down and got travel funds credit for the price difference. If SW changes my flights again, can I request a full refund, including the amount that went to travel credits?

Based on my experience - no. I was supposed to travel Memorial Day weekend with friends. Mine was booked via points but my friend paid cash. Our reservation was canceled by Southwest, when she called to ask about a cash refund she could only get a refund for the most recent travel fund - the one that was created when the reservation was canceled. The travel funds she had received previously from modifying when the flight cost went down will remain travel funds - but the expiration date was extended per current policy. Also in our case she could get a refund because the reservation was actually canceled - not sure if they do that for any reservation.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Can someone explain the pros & cons of travel funds vs rapid rewards points?

Just wondering in case my flights get changed again or if I need to cancel.

Thank you!

 

[G719]

Can someone explain the pros & cons of travel funds vs rapid rewards points?

Just wondering in case my flights get changed again or if I need to cancel.

Thank you!

Points never expire.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Points never expire.

Thank you!
So if I cancel my trip, I should ask for Rapid Reward Points.
If SW cancels, I should ask for money back.

 

[Fangorn]

Thank you!
So if I cancel my trip, I should ask for Rapid Reward Points.
If SW cancels, I should ask for money back.

Maybe.

If SW cancels your flight you can ask for a refund. Note that if you purchased EBCI, that can be refunded as well, but you will have to ask for that separately, and generally the agent you speak with will not be able to process the EBCI refund themselves, but will have to request that refund from another team that can do that.

If you cancel the flight, you will receive travel funds for the amount of the flight. SW started on 4/16 that they will soon provide the ability for you to convert those travel funds to Rapid Rewards Points. That capability does not yet exist. It is unclear as to what the conversion rate will be. It's possible that in converting to points, you'll lose some value. We just don't know yet.

Points never expire and they can be used to book travel for anyone - unlike Travel Funds which can only be used by the individual who was booked on the original flight. So Points are inherently more flexible and useful. It may be an acceptable trade off to lose a small amount of value, but gain a more flexible product. But again, we don't yet know what the actual exchange rate will be, so I'd not want to make a definitive declaration that you should always go for points.

Steve

 

[keishashadow]

Curious to see what sort of point offer they will roll out.

Received the extension of my credits this morning. Had handful of different confirmation numbers. rolled into one dummy reservation last month, then cancelled. So much easier to just deal with one confirmation number when rebooking

I have 3 flights booked for early August. If I am reading the ‘rules’ correctly, am tempted to cancel them entirely & take the credit which should revert to the 9/22 expiry date

If WDW shows any signs of reopening by early August and we are comfortable flying, could probably rebook easily enough. Rate hasn’t changed since I booked it when the schedule opened.

Hmmm

 

[Iowamomof4]

Maybe.

If SW cancels your flight you can ask for a refund. Note that if you purchased EBCI, that can be refunded as well, but you will have to ask for that separately, and generally the agent you speak with will not be able to process the EBCI refund themselves, but will have to request that refund from another team that can do that.

If you cancel the flight, you will receive travel funds for the amount of the flight. SW started on 4/16 that they will soon provide the ability for you to convert those travel funds to Rapid Rewards Points. That capability does not yet exist. It is unclear as to what the conversion rate will be. It's possible that in converting to points, you'll lose some value. We just don't know yet.

Points never expire and they can be used to book travel for anyone - unlike Travel Funds which can only be used by the individual who was booked on the original flight. So Points are inherently more flexible and useful. It may be an acceptable trade off to lose a small amount of value, but gain a more flexible product. But again, we don't yet know what the actual exchange rate will be, so I'd not want to make a definitive declaration that you should always go for points.

Steve

One other point to consider is that you can't pay for a ticket with a combination of points and cash, so you'll want to be sure you'll have enough points in your account to make it worth it. Travel funds, otoh, can be used in combination with cash (or credit or gift card, up to three forms I believe). So if you anticipate your future flight being more expensive, you might want to take the travel funds.

 

[Fangorn]

One other point to consider is that you can't pay for a ticket with a combination of points and cash, so you'll want to be sure you'll have enough points in your account to make it worth it. Travel funds, otoh, can be used in combination with cash (or credit or gift card, up to three forms I believe). So if you anticipate your future flight being more expensive, you might want to take the travel funds.

Precisely! What the "best" option is, will be dependent on a number of different factors, including how often you travel, and how you anticipate paying for upcoming flights.

I love that SW has added the option to convert travel funds to points, but I do expect some folks will make the decision to convert without fully understanding the ramifications of that decision.

Steve

 

[scrappinginontario]

If they use an algorithm anything like their 'purchase points' you will lose if you convert to points. Even when they offer points at x% off it's normally not a good choice to purchase points. Careful math will be required.

 

[Fangorn]

If they use an algorithm anything like their 'purchase points' you will lose if you convert to points. Even when they offer points at x% off it's normally not a good choice to purchase points. Careful math will be required.

I don't think they're going to go that way. The email they sent out on Thursday says "at the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today". This would seem to indicate a more direct correspondence between the cash price of a flight and the points cost for that same flight. The unknown in my mind is not all flights between any two points on the same day, first the same - so how will they decide? For example, they canceled a flight I had for May 9 and rebooked me on another flight that was totally unworkable. I ended up canceling. But there are now only 3 flights that day on my route - down from 12. Each of them has a different cash price and different points price. ALL of the cash prices are less than the price I paid and what I have now in Travel Funds.

When I do have the option to convert those funds to points, will they use the flight they had moved me to as the basis for the conversion? (That's the lowest of the three, BTW.) If so, I'd end up losing a lot of value when compared to the TF. In my case, I fly enough that I never have any issue using TFs, so it doesn't matter all that much to me. But I'm concerned that there are a lot of people out there that won't bother to understand their options fully.

Steve

 

[aokeefe]

My travel fund have been updated to the Sept 2022 expiration