Senior Fare Cancellation in order to use credits

[LFazDeleon]

Hello, well we planned a family vacation for June and were planning to use my father's flight credit that he had to use until 3/29/17. I attempted to book the flight with the credit however it would not allow me to. I called SWA and was told that the travel had to occur by 3/29/17. This was not explained when I spoke with the SWA rep therefore thought we would have until 3/29/17 to only book by then. So when I spoke with someone, she told me that since the credit is still in my father's account. I can call on 3/29/17 and ask to have the date extended for another year and about $100 would be taken off the credit in order to do this. Is this correct? If so, would I need to cancel his senior fare and rebook in order to use the credit of about $400?

[chgoflyer · Accepted solution]

Was the first cancelled fare a Senior Fare, or a Wanna Get Away?

Senior fares are fully refundable. This means that you have one year from the original date of purchase in which to request a full refund of his fare, if it was a Senior Fare. If so, contact Customer Relations at 1-855-234-4654 (not the main number) asap and make the refund request.

Wanna Get Away fares are non-refundable. When you cancel you have one year from the original date of purchase to use the travel funds. All travel must be completed by then, and the travel funds are only valid for the original passenger.

Once travel funds expire, you can contact Customer Relations and request reissue as a voucher. You have 6 months after expiration in which to do this, and the voucher will be good for 6 months from date of issue, and can be used by anyone. Vouchers are good for air travel only, they don't cover taxes or fees. The fee for this is $100 per confirmation number/originally ticketed passenger, which is deducted from the funds balance. Each request is considered on a case-by-case basis, and everything about this, including the amount of the fee, is subject to change at any time.

If you currently have a new Senior Fare booked for your father for the new trip, you can cancel it and request a full refund* once you have the voucher and then rebook him using that voucher. But be aware that you'll be booking at whatever fare is available at that time, which could be higher (or lower) than the currently booked fare.

*A recent policy change makes "fully-refundable" fares on Southwest no longer refundable if you make any change to the itinerary at any time. Never make any changes to a refundable fare -- always cancel and rebook in order to maintain refundability.

Hope this helps!

[LFazDeleon]

Once it is cancelled and rebooked, will they use the credit ($400) towards the new flight and if a balance is owed I can pay it?

[chgoflyer]

Is the 2nd flight booked using a Senior Fare?

If yes: You'll get a refund to the credit card when you cancel. When you rebook, you'll have the voucher applied to the new fare. You can do this yourself online (just enter the voucher info in the "payment" section) or by phone. You'll pay any difference, plus the fees and taxes.

If no: You'll not receive a refund, you'll get travel funds. If this is the case, there's no point in trying to get the funds unless your father plans to travel again within the next year.