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Southwest Refundable Ticket Changes: Refundable No More

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Seems like we all need to do a better job of reading the fine print. Why? Well, here’s an example from Southwest. I don’t fly Southwest as often as many people I know do. And I’ve made plenty of mistakes and epic fails when it comes to their rules and regulations. Many of my family members are Southwest devotees, so I’ve started keeping a closer eye on Southwest and their programs. Because, after all, I know I’m going to get all the complaints questions from my cousins if I don’t keep them informed :)

a blue airplane on a runway

Is there REALLY nothing to hide?

Somehow I missed this change because back in April, Southwest made it more difficult for us to make changes to previously booked flights. Changing flights used to be easy. Either you were credited for the difference in price or charged more. If your ticket was refundable before, the new ticket was as well.

Here’s where the new rule comes in. Going forward, even a refundable ticket once changed, becomes non-refundable.

If you are a Southwest Airlines flyer and this is news to you, Mark at Miles to Memories did a great job of sorting through the changes, laying out the options, and best of all, showing us the work-around for how to keep our tickets refundable.

Have you already experienced this when trying to change a refundable Southwest Airlines ticket? Did you use the work-around Mark suggested?


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12 thoughts on “Southwest Refundable Ticket Changes: Refundable No More

  1. Mohammad Moghimi

    What do you mean non refundable? I remember you could cancel and get Southwest credit (I believe its called ttd tickets travel fund). So you can’t do that anymore? What about award flights?

    Reply
    1. Robert h Dix

      Yes yes u can.by law you can cancel your flight within 24 hrs of the initial reservation and receive a full refund.Good part is.With Southwest you will never lose your money.Can make changes all you want up to a year.Paid funds can be used towards Future travel.No one else allows this.Be gracious.Southwest is the best.

      Reply
    2. Shelli Post author

      HI Mohammad, It’s the status of the tickets that change. A refundable ticket becomes a non-refundable one when you change it. I suggest reading Mark’s post that I link to. This will lay it all out for you. Hope that helps, and thanks for reading.

      Reply
  2. ff_lover

    I used to fly SWA but now I am trying to avoid them. They are making harder and harder to get value out of them (i..e SWA gift card usage, seating group not allowed if u can’t check in online within 24 hours etc. etc.)

    Reply
    1. Robert h Dix

      Wrong.They still will give you a full refund up to 24 hrs after initial res#.You can change your flight every day if you wish for up to a year with your residual funds.No one else will allow it without a penalty.Darling ! You re making a mistake if you avoid Southwest.I fly them all the time.They re my go to airline.

      Reply
    2. Robert h Dix

      You can check in 24 hrs in advance to receive a better seating group.Southwest doesn’t t assign seating.You can also pay I think around 15 dollars for early bird for better seating group.They won t bump u.

      Reply
    3. Shelli Post author

      HI ff, Which airlines are you using instead? I wonder if more and more people feel the way you do. It’s hard for me to tell because I don’t fly them all that often. Thanks for reading, and have a great Sunday!

      Reply
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