Unused Travel Funds

[LindseyD]

@Travel_Mom,

Thanks for posting in the Community! I love that you've been able to take advantage of our Customer-friendly policies and no-change fees when it comes to adjusting your itinerary. We look forward to serving you for years to come!

[chgoflyer]

Travel_Mom: Agreed. Just one important clarification: Travel using funds must be completed within that one year period -- not just booked.

Also, just for anyone who isn't aware, any time you apply any funds to a new reservation, that new reservation takes on the earliest expiration date of any funds. If you're not careful, applying even a small amount could cause you to lose the entire reservation's funds, if you later need to cancel the new itinerary and are unable to reuse those funds before expiration.

[sarahsherba]

Booked an expensive flight 01/2017 canceled the flight then attempted to rebook the same flight a few days later and could not use $280.00 worth of the funds being told they expired due to using a $19 credit from a previous funds. Was told it took on the expiration of the older $19 fund therefore I not only had to lose the $280 credit but had to pay $287 more for the same flight! I talked to several supervisors and they could clearly see the funds should not have expired but were unwilling to extend my expiration date saying I should have read the fine print. I am so unhappy with Southwest right now and it's hard losing that amount of money! 

[sarahsherba]

Booked an expensive flight 01/2017 canceled the flight then attempted to rebook the same flight a few days later and could not use $280.00 worth of the funds being told they expired due to using a $19 credit from a previous funds. Was told it took on the expiration of the older $19 fund therefore I not only had to lose the $280 credit but had to pay $287 more for the same flight! I talked to several supervisors and they could clearly see the funds should not have expired but were unwilling to extend my expiration date saying I should have read the fine print. I am so unhappy with Southwest right now and it's hard losing that amount of money!  The supervisors I spoke to were also very unsympathetic! 

[chgoflyer]

Funds applied to a new itinerary cause that new itinerary to take on the earliest expiration date of any funds. Now, more than every, you must read the fine print -- for all transactions that involve a significant amount of money. Southwest doesn't ever extend expiration dates, but they may be able to reissue the funds as a voucher, minus a $100/passenger fee. You'll need to talk to Customer Relations at 1-855-234-4654 (not the main number). These requests are granted on a case-by-case basis. You have 6 months after expiration in which to make the request, and once issued the voucher is valid for 6 months, and is usable by anyone. Good luck.

[chgoflyer]

Are your funds greater than $100 per person/ticket? The fee is $100.

Call Customer Relations at 1-855-234-4654  (not the "regular" number). Assuming your dates are correct, your funds expired in September 2016, so you'll have until March 2017 to make the voucher request. If you're denied again, politely end the call and try calling again and reaching another rep.

See my previous post for more info. Good luck!

[20466390582]

I have unused travel funds... but i wont be able to use them... so what happens to them if they dont get used?

[franktravel]

Hi 

You can call Southwest Airlines customer service and have the expiration date extended for a fee.  If you do not use them you lose them!!