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Southwest gift card scam

Mmyohe
Explorer C

I went to the Southwest website to check the price on flights to Vegas. They had the best prices and when i went to checkout they asked if i wanted to see some packages...sure! So i check them out and i decide to book everything thru southwest...i'm doing this trip for a bachelor/bachelorette party and decided to buy everyone gift cards to pay for their packages as well...first person goes to book their package...gift card doesnt work...well...after tons of calls and wasting hours on hold...southwest and southwest vacations are not the same apparently...though you can book packages and buy giftcards from the same site...you cant use the giftcards for their packages...well played southwest...great scam! But thanks for telling me that the $8k i paid to you to pay for my packages can be used for future travel...customer service at its best! Now i know why i never used southwest and never will again!

4 REPLIES 4

Re: Southwest gift card scam

dfwskier
Aviator A
Solution

Sorry to hear you are disappointed, but the cards are not a scam.

 

The terms and condtions clearly state that the cards cannot be used for Southwest Vacations purchases. The terms are not hidden. All you have to do is look at them

 

"

  • A Southwest gift card is not valid for the purchase of Southwest Airlines Vacation Packages, cargo, hotel, rental car, Southwest Airlines merchandise, Southwest Airlines group tickets, EarlyBird Check-In, oversized and excess baggage fees, upgraded boarding at the airport, Pet Fare, unaccompanied minor service charge, additional Southwest gift cards, or inflight purchases. Sales tax, security fees, and passenger facilities charges may be paid for with a Southwest gift card."

Re: Southwest gift card scam

chgoflyer
Aviator A

 

You bought thousands of dollars worth of gift cards without reading the terms and conditions?

 

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, as you note, Southwest Airlines and Southwest Vacations are indeed two different companies, with different payment policies.

 

My general advice is to avoid Southwest gift cards completely, as there is no benefit to their use in the first place, and, as you've discovered, they have many significantly limitations. 

 

 

Re: Southwest gift card scam

dfwskier
Aviator A

@chgoflyer wrote:

 

You bought thousands of dollars worth of gift cards without reading the terms and conditions?

 

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, as you note, Southwest Airlines and Southwest Vacations are indeed two different companies, with different payment policies.

 

My general advice is to avoid Southwest gift cards completely, as there is no benefit to their use in the first place, and, as you've discovered, they have many significantly limitations. 

 

 


Acually, buying gift cards may make sense for some people. For example

I really bought $400 in Southwest gift cards two days ago at a Kroger affiliate. Discover gave me $20

back for using it's credit card. Kroger gave me 1600 fuel  points (it was running a 4x points for gift card purchases). That equates to a $56 discount on gas purchases. FInally, I have my cell service thru a Kroger affiliate. That affiliate gave me a $16 cell phone credit for my purchase.

 

So my $400 gift card purchase, after all discounts, actually cost me $308. That makes sense to me.

 

 

Re: Southwest gift card scam

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:

@chgoflyer wrote:

 

You bought thousands of dollars worth of gift cards without reading the terms and conditions?

 

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, as you note, Southwest Airlines and Southwest Vacations are indeed two different companies, with different payment policies.

 

My general advice is to avoid Southwest gift cards completely, as there is no benefit to their use in the first place, and, as you've discovered, they have many significantly limitations. 

 

 


Acually, buying gift cards may make sense for some people. For example

I really bought $400 in Southwest gift cards two days ago at a Kroger affiliate. Discover gave me $20

back for using it's credit card. Kroger gave me 1600 fuel  points (it was running a 4x points for gift card purchases). That equates to a $56 discount on gas purchases. FInally, I have my cell service thru a Kroger affiliate. That affiliate gave me a $16 cell phone credit for my purchase.

 

So my $400 gift card purchase, after all discounts, actually cost me $308. That makes sense to me.

 

 


 

Wow, that's a great deal. Nice! I used to do a ton of stacked deals and manufactured spending. Seems like lately I haven't had the time (or energy really) to find and take advantage of deals like that. Good score!

 

And your point is valid, if there's a discount or other financial incentive(s), gift cards can be a way to save some $$$. I guess my only caveat would be that there's less risk involved if you're either  set in your travel plans, or if you generally fly Southwest often (or plan to again within a year).