Southwest Using Residual Travel Funds Buy Cancel Again

Southwest is 1 of the most popular airlines to fly in the U.S., partially because it offers a generous counterfoil and flight change policy. Even so, depending upon the ticket you buy, you may receive travel funds instead of a cash refund in the event your flight plans modify.

Here'southward how to employ Southwest travel funds, plus when they expire and other pertinent policies.

How practice yous get Southwest travel funds?

Thanks to its no-fee change/cancellation policy, Southwest provides a full refund or issues travel funds to your account. To do good from this generous policy, you must cancel your flight at to the lowest degree ten minutes before deviation.

Here's how to make up one's mind what kind of refund you'll become:

You become a total refund to your original payment method when you book Anytime or Business Select tickets.
You become travel funds when you lot book Wanna Get Abroad tickets. If you lot employ Rapid Rewards points, they will be returned to your Southwest account. Whatever refunded taxes volition go to your travel funds.

Business organisation Select and Anytime fares offer the most flexibility, only they also cost more than Wanna Get Away fares. Wanna Get Abroad fares, on the other hand, offer the lowest prices. Simply if you lot need to cancel or choose to rebook to a lower-priced flying , your only choice is to receive travel funds — cash refunds aren't on the tabular array.

Where tin you lot encounter your travel funds balance?

When you log in to your Rapid Rewards loyalty account, your travel funds appear at the top of the "My Account" screen.

This shows the total available travel funds that you have, but information technology does not provide the details. You need to click on "View Details" to meet the balance of the private travel fund reservations. Hither, you find the expiration engagement and balance for each reservation.

If y'all don't accept a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards account, booked a flight that didn't take your loyalty number fastened to it or have travel funds from a special purchase ticket, then you'll need to rails them manually. Signing upwardly for a Rapid Rewards business relationship is free to do.

Unfortunately, yous cannot manually add travel funds to your contour. To track your travel funds manually, visit the " Bank check Travel Funds " page on Southwest'due south website. Y'all'll demand to provide the passenger's get-go and last name plus the confirmation number from the reservation. On this page, you can also cheque the residue of Southwest LUV vouchers and gift cards.

How long are Southwest travel funds proficient for?

Southwest travel funds don't terminal forever — they expire based on the payment method used.

Paid with a gift card or credit menu: Travel funds will expire 12 months from the date you booked your ticket.

Paid with Southwest LUV Voucher: The travel funds will expire when the Southwest LUV Voucher was set to expire.

Paid with travel funds: Travel funds expire when the original canceled ticket was ready to expire. Let's say yous employ a travel fund with an expiration date of Sept. vii, 2022, to purchase a flight for Aug. vii, 2022. The Sept. vii, 2022, travel fund was worth $100 and the flight was $150. The $fifty difference was paid with a credit bill of fare. If you don't fly on Aug. 7 and cancel your reservation, your unused travel funds will withal expire on Sept. vii, 2022 (including the $50 that was paid with a credit card).

Nerdy tip: In cases where you take travel funds tied up in a new reservation that are by the original expiration date, it is amend to rebook your flight to a time to come date (preserving the eligibility of the travel fund), rather than canceling the flying (which makes the travel fund now expired).

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many travel funds were extended to Sept. vii, 2022. If you use whatsoever of the travel funds with that expiration date, and so cancel or alter a flight, the refund of travel funds will now take an expiration appointment of 12 months from the purchase of the new ticket.

Note: When using multiple forms of payment (e.g., different travel funds reservations, Southwest LUV voucher), the earliest expiration appointment from all forms of payment volition exist the new expiration engagement of the new travel funds.

What can I practice if my travel funds have expired?

If you accept travel funds that have expired, according to the Southwest Community message boards, your one hope is to call customer service within six months of the expiration and ask them to reinstate your travel funds as a LUV voucher. The LUV voucher will exist good for another six months from the date of your call. Southwest charges $100 for this ane-time extension and it comes out of your travel funds.

What can Southwest travel funds exist used for?

Travel funds from Southwest can be used to book whatsoever available greenbacks flying or to pay for the taxes and fees on award flights. They are treated like cash and can be used to pay for some or all of the amount owed. If you lot don't use all of the travel funds for the reservation, any remaining residue remains for future utilize.

Can I use Southwest travel fund for someone else?

Yous might exist wondering: "Are Southwest travel funds transferable?" Unfortunately, no. Merely the person who booked the original reservation may use the travel funds. You may not volume a flight for anyone else with your travel funds, nor tin can they book a flight for you.

4 steps to volume a flight with Southwest travel funds

Your travel funds can be used to book flights online, over the phone or at a Southwest Airlines ticket counter. For this illustration, we'll focus on booking a reservation online.

1. Have your original ticket confirmation number handy

Before booking a reservation, print out or write down the travel funds reservation number(s) that yous'd similar to use. Southwest's website does not permit you to choose from a list during booking.

2. Browse and select your flights

During the booking process, you'll select your travel dates, cities and times as normal.

3. Apply your travel funds

When you go far at the "Passenger & Payment Info" page, click to aggrandize the "Apply Travel Funds, LUV Vouchers and gift cards" section. Here is where y'all'll enter your travel funds' confirmation number and your outset and last proper name earlier clicking "Apply funds." And so, keep the booking process as normal and pay whatever remaining balance owed with your preferred course of payment, such as the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card .

Again, you may use your travel funds for cash fares or to pay the taxes and fees on award tickets.

Think, travel funds from other passengers may not be applied to your ticket.

4. Become confirmation, check expirations

At present that you've filled out all of the necessary information and remitted payment with your travel fund, yous should see a confirmation email pop up in your inbox.

If you didn't employ the unabridged value of your travel fund, keep an heart on the expiration date — you volition have express fourth dimension to use what's left. Don't make the mistake of letting whatsoever unused funds go to waste.

Using Southwest travel funds

Southwest travel funds are typically created when you abolish or change a Wanna Get Abroad reservation. They are automatically added to your account when you attach your Rapid Rewards number to the reservation before it is canceled. These funds tin can exist used to volume greenbacks or honour travel, and any unused corporeality from your new reservation can be used on a future flight earlier they expire.

How to maximize your rewards

Yous want a travel credit menu that prioritizes what'south important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2022 , including those best for:

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Source: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/how-to-use-travel-funds-on-southwest-airlines