@floridaguy wrote:
We just went through this on another airline when visiting Anguilla. No matter what the limit, someone always wants to push the envelope. This particular character got an oversized bag on board and shoved it into the overhead bin to the point that the fiberglass framing was bowed.
The door wouldn't close. They advised him to reduce the size of the bag or have it checked.
The best solution would have been to toss the bag off the plane and advise the passenger to pick it up off the tarmac on his next trip.
I have proposed that all baggage be screened by TSA for size and rejected at the TSA screening and send the person back to have it checked, then re-enter TSA screening. With rules like that no one will push the envelope.
50" for carry-ons and the dimensions are not meant to be tradeable so if you don't use all of the 24" you don't get to claim that extra on the width.
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@tappingmom1 wrote:
When extended, that particular duffle bag measures 36" x 16" x 15".
A checked bag on SWA must measure 62 linear inches or less. Linear inches are calculated as L + W + H. Your bag (36 + 16 + 15) is 67 inches...so it would be too large as free check baggage and subject to an additional charge.
As you look for something a bit smaller, consider the 50 pound weight limit as well. Often times, these larger bags are over packed and, thus, over the weight limit. An additional overweight charge could apply to this too.
This might slip through for checked luggage, they probably aren't going to bust out the tape measures for something that's close as long as you stick to the <50 lbs limit.
This will be way too big for carry on unless your flight is pretty empty.
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@sindhuagarwal wrote:
I'm currently at the airport, and I've encountered a issue with the airline's mobile boarding pass app. It seems to be experiencing technical glitches, preventing me from accessing my boarding pass and important flight information. I'm curious if anyone else is facing similar challenges at the moment or has recently.
If you have any insights into potential solutions or workarounds, please share them. Additionally, let's use this space to discuss our experiences with mobile boarding passes and how we can navigate technical issues in real-time.
You are welcome to post here on any applicable topic including that one - it doesn't look like you happened to catch anyone in real-time on this trip but hopefully it all worked out and you were on your way with a smooth trip.
I would suggest if you didn't try all this already to turn off wifi in case you are picking up the airport signal but not logged in, or another network.
Then also force quit the app and restart.
Verify your login information was remembered and/or log out and log back in.
Last advice is to take a screenshot of your pass or download to your phone's wallet so that you have an archive of it without needing the app (or internet at all).
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@SoCalFlyer97 wrote:
Not going to opine but just stating for the record:
I usually have one or two Southwest roundtrips per month and I've started to document the number of pre-boards for my trips in response to the Pre-board subject on this board. I have been posting them in my last three Photo Trip Reports:
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Nov-23-Photo-Trip-Report-SAN-LAS-with-Formula-1-Track/m-p/165643 Inbound 4, Outbound 3
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Oct-23-Photo-Trip-Report-SAN-SJC-with-Halloween-D%C3%A9cor-and-a/m-p/164762 Inbound 2, Outbound 6
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Sept-23-Promo-Companion-Pass-Photo-Trip-Report-SAN-PHX/m-p/164489 Inbound 3, Outbound 4
Before I started documenting this, I recall the most pre-boards I've seen in 2023 for my flights was one instance where about 10 pre-boarded. Most flights for me have been around 3-5.
I haven't been recording mine but my experience is fairly similar, maybe a little higher rate but also a lot more trips to MCO in the mix.
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11-12-2023
05:40 PM
11-12-2023
05:40 PM
@giulianoseguro wrote:
This is our first time flying Southwest (and new here too) - im mainly looking to understand the boarding situation and whether or not I should get the earlybird.
...Also, is there any benefit in us getting the earlybird? I'm totally ok paying it if it makes for a smoother trip overall but not sure.
To answer your other question you do not need to buy the Early Bird if you plan to pre-board, there's no additive benefit.
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11-09-2023
09:46 PM
11-09-2023
09:46 PM
@Mryan1 wrote:
Understood. I was hoping if the reservation is non-refundable we would get credit for the RR points before the rest January 1st. I see it states it is after the stay. Before I spend the extra cost to get the points, I want to make sure it will be recognized by January 1st paying for it today. Thanks.
For example, WGA fares are also non-refundable - those you also get when you fly, not when you buy.
It's very clear "upon hotel stay completed by..."
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11-09-2023
02:17 PM
11-09-2023
02:17 PM
@Mryan1 wrote:
Quick question to the experienced hotel and RR travelers.
I am very close to earning a companion pass for next year with expected hotel stay mid-January. If I book a non-refundable hotel stay today, do I get the RR points at the time of billing, or do I have to wait until after I stay at the property. I suspect being non-refundable it should not matter when, but wanted to ask more experienced travelers. the hotel we are looking at is $300 more than another site, but if we get the companion pass with the spend it would be worth it. Thanks!!
That is correct @confused1 as stated - if you pay today you'll get the 300+ points for the $300+ with the current billing statement. You'll get the rapid rewards points for the stay when you stay in 2024.
Here is the cheat sheet on how you can get some additional points. How close are you?
https://www.southwest.com/html/rapidrewards/eoy-tier-communication.html
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11-08-2023
11:51 AM
11-08-2023
11:51 AM
@sussexmom1 wrote:
We are looking at buying an inflatable travel pillow for a flight to Hawaii. This is the type of pillow that rests on the tray table: Amazon.com: JefDiee Inflatable Travel Pillow, Airplane Neck Pillow Comfortably Supports Head and Chin for Airplanes, Trains, Cars Office Napping with 3D Eye Mask, Earplugs Portable Drawstring Bag (Grey) : Home & Kitchen
According to the reviews, "some airlines" don't allow these types of pillows as it may interfere in the case of emergency.
Would anyone know if SW is one of those airlines? TYIA!
I have been told before with the kiddos not to put so much weight on the tray table.
Could you use it without the tray table I'd say maybe yes. Deflate it when not in use.
You potentially will be asked to put it away if the FA believes it to be blocking egress. More likely to be okay if you are in the window seat.
YMMV.
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11-07-2023
03:11 PM
11-07-2023
03:11 PM
@ww1120 wrote:
And what screening would be done at FLL? I seem to recall years ago a gate agent needed to see my passport to fly to AUA and stamped a red OK on the BP and that was it. Just hoping I don't have to re-clear security. Obviously things will be made clear the day before when I see which BPs I'll be able to print out. Not sure if that's the reason for the 3-hour layover in FLL.
You won't have to leave the airside areas, and you mentioned that you were carrying on your luggage.
If you checked bags at BWI then the ticket agent there would likely also have asked for you to show your passport just to see that you have it as a courtesy since your bags would be making it all the way, they want you to join them.
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11-07-2023
03:06 PM
11-07-2023
03:06 PM
@stevenrollinson wrote:
Hey @DancingDavidE
Do you happen to recall what error message you were getting before you activated texting? And have you flown in the past 30 days and are still having this issue?
We're always working to improve things behind the scenes...
Just over a month ago at the end of September. I think the workaround did work that time. I forget if it shows an error, I should have taken a screenshot. I think it was more of a failed to authenticate and hung up.
The symptom is as if the login credentials are being sent but they won't transmit without the internet.
Activating free texting seems to open that portal for the credentials to exchanged.
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@dlcpe33 wrote:
I'll have 24 one way flight segments in November. In December I have a roundtrip flight with a departure in 12/2023 and a return in 1/2024.
Will the segments count 1 for 2023 and 1 for 2024 (for A list) or will both flight segments count towards 2024 (for A list status)?
I ask because SWA's website says points don't post until after completing a roundtrip. Also, will all the TQP points count for 2024 or will there be an allocation?
I've never booked roundtrip before, but time my wife booked the flights and she booked roundtrip.
I think it does count for A-list in 2023 (and then for 2024) however it won't be added to your qualification until you complete the whole trip.
End of Year - Tier Qualifying Points (southwest.com)
See the description below that a flight in 2023 counts in 2023, but won't be added to your TQP until the whole trip is complete.
Anyway - for best results and also to get A-list earlier - I recommend you call Southwest to split this reservation into separate one-way itineraries. I think they can do this if you call.
What if you had to cancel that return trip for some reason?! You'd be in A-limbo instead of the A-list.
The other option would be if you can squeeze in a points run if you have any cheap destinations and a free Saturday before this other upcoming trip, do a day visit somewhere close and lock it up.
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@ww1120 wrote:
Travelling from BWI-MBJ on one ticket with a 3-hour layover in FLL. The flight leaves BWI at 6:15am. Will I have to go to the International Check-In at BWI to have them view my passport (not checking any bags)? Will I get a boarding pass when I check in online for the BWI-FLL leg? If the passport gets verified in FLL, is that done by the gate agent who will print a boarding pass? I have experienced horribly long lines with SW at BWI in the early morning for both international check-in and for checking a bag. I also hear SW agents don't start serving customers until 4:45am, so I don't want to cut it too close.
Thanks!
The BWI to FLL flight should be a regular domestic flight, behave as usual other than you may be asked to show the passport at the gate to be sure you have it on you but it won't be used for screening until you get to FLL.
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11-06-2023
10:44 PM
11-06-2023
10:44 PM
@SoCalFlyer97 wrote:
I have not seen nor heard of any plan or proposal to permit up to three credit card payments per air fare transaction. A possible workaround would likely be to book two separate cheaper flights with the second and third credit cards but cancel these and use the flight credits plus the first credit card toward the purchase of the real flight.
Also split the trip into one-ways.
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11-06-2023
10:43 PM
11-06-2023
10:43 PM
@realst8ace wrote:
Thanks for your reply. My possible cancellation would be for a cruise that was charged to a RR credit card. I don't think we will have enough additional charges to offset it. That's why I am asking.
And you'll get a refund to your card for the cost of the cruise if you cancel?
Was it a Southwest Vacations cruise or an independent cruise that you used the SW Visa for?
Also to clarify if it is a sign-up bonus for spending which Chase doesn't take back or if it is remaining spend over the course of the year.
You might be flagged if the balance of the card goes negative - for a normal ebb and flow I've never heard of anything like that happening.
If you are talking some bigger numbers here then I'm not sure.
I'm going to just make up some numbers here and you can adjust for yourself:
If the cruise was $2,000 = 2,000 points I don't know if that would trigger a review of the account or not.
In order to make 2,000 points another way you can fly a business select fare as a points run or upgrade on some other flight you were already going to take with the 12x multiplier, 1 point per dollar on Southwest.com, and 1 point per dollar you'd have to spend $150 so that's well worth it for a companion pass.
Here are some other qualifying activity in case any are matches for things you would have done anyway: https://www.southwest.com/html/rapidrewards/eoy-tier-communication.html
I don't think we know for sure if they would look at the refund as ineligible or not, it might be fine. As you are getting into thousands of dollars it might get more scrutiny.
Even a $10,000 cruise would be offset on points by a $715 of Business Select fare which if you fly a lot would still be worth it for companion pass. People talk about spending more for CP and eventually you need to consider if you are going to actually get enough free flights to make it even.
I hope this helps. Certainly many times nothing happens, but if this cruise is a big number then it is hard to say if it might be looked at. They don't seem to take back membership bonuses, but if it was regular spending points I think they can.
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11-06-2023
10:51 AM
11-06-2023
10:51 AM
@Luvtoflyguy wrote:
Update: I see the coupons when I updated my boarding pass for my next flight. Did not get them on my current flight. Hopefully it was just a glitch and this will be automatic moving forward.
Hopefully the FA was or will be helpful with the roll-out if needed.
Thanks for the update, I'll look forward to it my next flight isn't for a couple of weeks.
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11-05-2023
05:54 PM
11-05-2023
05:54 PM
@Guerilla wrote:
Lol so you are going to blame me for someone else stealing my bag by saying I should have checked it? Then I guess Southwest should mandate all roller bags are checked.
And yes, they should make a simple "make sure you have your correct bag" announcement when they learned of it. I've seen it be done before
They have done this before, I'm not sure why LAX wasn't able to do it.
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I have seen it - pretty funny! I hope he gets A-List but he can still do the bit, it's pretty funny.
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11-05-2023
05:50 PM
11-05-2023
05:50 PM
@realst8ace wrote:
I just earned a companion pass based on credit card purchases for 2023. It looks like I may be cancelling a trip that was charged to my card. Will the credit amount deduct rewards points and if so could this result in the companion pass being revoked if I fall below the 135K points earned?
1) you should be fine either way if this was a typically priced flight you have one more month of earning with a closing in December to earn more points.
2) if the flight was WGA then you won't be getting any money back - you'll have a travel credit instead so the card won't be affected.
3) the credit for flying (6x points for WGA for example) happens when you fly, so that isn't part of your CP qualification at all.
I think they do have some opportunity to take it back due to refunds but in this case you may be fine anyway with one more month of spending, or depending on how you cancel the flight you may not actually be getting a cash refund.
If it is important to you, when you cancel the flight choose Travel Credit instead of a cash refund if you have a BS or Anytime fare.
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@Guerilla wrote:
Hi,
On my flight nonstop ATL to LAX yesterday my carry-on roller bag was stolen. It was placed on top of me but I was distracted and someone in one of the two rows in front reached back and grabbed it.
Flight attendants were telling me to open random closed compartments (why?), the gate agent didn't make a terminal wide announcement, and the first thing the baggage claim rep thought to do was blame me for someone taking my bag (assuming I placed it in the front of the plane and sat all the way in the back) instead of making an announcement at the gate area.
This is really annoying. I don't know how people can't tell what is their bag/where they placed it/if they checked it in or not. There weren't any extra bags on the plane according to the flight attendant we saw in the baggage area about 45 minutes later.
Protip: have something like airtags, and sit in the aisle so you can see exactly what bags are being taken
Luggage tags on the handle also, even for carry-ons.
I hope it turns up, strange that there wasn't a corresponding bag left behind by the person who took it.
The FA were just having you look everywhere just in case, they don't know your memory of the situation or if it got moved, if the person grabbed it then realized and left it where they were...who knows.
If it was an honest mistake you may not find out until the person gets to the destination and realizes the mistake. If was a dishonest mistake then you won't ever get a confirmation.
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@rjw1951 wrote:
I just spoke to a telephone representative at Southwest to determine whether or not wheels are counted in the maximum checked baggage size. I was told that wheels are not included in the measurements.
That is correct
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@ZWolfe wrote:
Does anyone know if the Southwest Rapid Rewards ® Performance Business Credit Card perk of $500 point transfer fee reimbursement applies to any point transfers purchased with this card or only transfers made from my account to someone else? In other words, could I use the card to pay for the transfer fees from points someone else wants to gift? I'm curious if the card cares which rapid rewards account the points originate from. I've got a family member who flies SW nearly every week for work. He's A-List Preferred, has the companion pass yearly for his wife and accumulates an insane amount of points. Outside of work, they really don't use the miles. If I wanted to transfer those miles to my RR account, and paid the fee with the business card mentioned above, would those fees be reimbursed to me? The points wouldn't originate from me, but they would end up in my account. Obviously, I can always use his points to book my flights, but I'm just curious about this particular method. I could always just try and see for a small amount of points if no one knows this particular answer.
I'm guessing no, the transferring party usually pays for the transfer as far as I know.
Your idea that as long as your family member is game to let you use the points, they can book the flights for you there's no requirement to transfer in order to use them for someone else's ticket so you do have that as a backup option.
Obviously that will be a time burden on them if you are talking 10-20 flights in this manner as they will need to make the bookings.
This situation isn't ideal but since you mentioned it was family maybe they can find the time.
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11-03-2023
12:11 PM
11-03-2023
12:11 PM
@tappingmom1 wrote:
Before you lash out at SWA regarding their lack of senior discounts, you should be aware that senior fares are almost nonexistent on all domestic airlines.
Yes, you **may** find them on very specific routes (Honduras comes to mind) or with very complicated rules or with a limited time promotion.
But, hey, search away...
Agreed - at least in the recent memory these are a discount off of the Anytime fare which includes refundability.
So seniors, just like everyone else, like to get a good deal and the WGA is offered as a non-refundable option for anyone to get a cheaper ticket.
Make sure you include baggage fees and change fees when you do your evaluation of all the options.
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11-03-2023
12:08 PM
11-03-2023
12:08 PM
@CupCrusher40 wrote:
dozens of plane crashed have been caused by snow
The distinction would be that if the conditions were judged to be not safe then they won't go.
That doesn't prevent some unforeseen situation from developing or human error.
But you'll find domestic US passenger aviation to be very safe on the whole with conservative approach to safety. General aviation gives the pilot a little more leeway, it is just them being responsible for themselves without the passengers.
You can see it when snow comes to an airport like Chicago, there are plenty of cancellations, no one is shy about canceling if needed.
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11-03-2023
09:27 AM
11-03-2023
09:27 AM
@Jscott1000 wrote:
So evidently if daylight saving time ends during this period you are instructed to check in at the 23 hour point. Yes, this is happening to me this weekend.
That sounds consistent with past time changes - check in at the correct “number” hour as if it was usually 24 hours in advance even if it is 25 hours in the fall back or 23 hours in the spring forward.
This is the easiest way so the passengers don’t have to do the math on the time.
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11-02-2023
04:15 PM
11-02-2023
04:15 PM
I get these also, the Signature, Plus, Premier, and Priority versions of the card have different eligibility. Mainly that it was never eligible for Signature card.
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11-02-2023
01:39 PM
11-02-2023
01:39 PM
Awesome, thanks for posting and sharing that info.
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11-02-2023
01:39 PM
11-02-2023
01:39 PM
I forget from an earlier thread did someone say they did successfully same day change their flight in order to have a long layover somewhere to visit a boyfriend or something?
In that case it was booked as a standard connection and then adjusted on the same day to extend the layover into a stop over.
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11-02-2023
01:37 PM
11-02-2023
01:37 PM
@SoCalFlyer97 wrote:
@brandis wrote:
Hi, there! I know Puerto Escondido is becoming a huge tourist destination in Mexico. I'd love to see a Southwest route added there! I assume the layover would just be in Mexico City to get there as a final destination, but this is fine by me. Wish I didn't have to use other airlines or piece together flights in order to make it work!
Would you be open to taking a domestic Southwest flight to SAN for your stopover, taking an Uber/Lyft ride to the CBX border crossing, and connecting to a Volaris flight from there? Alternatively if you don't want to pay to cross at CBX, take the MTS Airport Shuttle+San Diego Trolley to the San Ysidro crossing, and Uber to TIJ?
So I'm not sure about a MEX layover - currently Southwest isn't serving MEX so that's a different issue - but also international airlines aren't usually authorized for making domestic flights. i.e. they can't pick up new passengers in MEX on the way to Puerto Escondido and I'm not sure about through passengers actually but if the plane came from Houston for instance and landed and it was allowed for passengers to disembark but no new embarkations then the plane would be potentially a bit empty, as well as @SoCalFlyer97 mentioned flying through one of the most expensive airports for its layover.
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@johnindallas wrote:
I should have said "I WISH I still had my A-List Preferred status..."
I have had an issue before where it wouldn’t authenticate my login but sometimes it would work if I went back and activated the free texting first and then returned to the ALP login it would connect.
Not sure about BS login but the workaround might be the same. Allowing the free texting opens the pathway through the internet that allows the credentials to be exchanged which is needed to approve the access.
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