SW credit expiration

[shipgeeks]

After our many cruise cancellations, SW has been kind enough to give us credits for the unused flights.  Those now have an expiration in May, 2022, and it doesn't appear that we'll be able to use them by then.  Any thoughts about whether that time might be extended at some point?  Or other option for not losing the $$ entirely?

[FlyerTalker]

39 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

After our many cruise cancellations, SW has been kind enough to give us credits for the unused flights.  Those now have an expiration in May, 2022, and it doesn't appear that we'll be able to use them by then.  Any thoughts about whether that time might be extended at some point?  Or other option for not losing the $$ entirely?

 

Unlikely.  There are a ton of domestic destinations that Southwest serves that are fully "open" so it's not like folks can't use them.

 

Go somewhere.  Anywhere.  Don't be a prisoner at home.

[shipgeeks]

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I see on the SW website that our fares are not transferable.  Is there any option for donating them to a charity, as we have been able to do with miles in the past?

[Zach1213]

23 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I see on the SW website that our fares are not transferable.  Is there any option for donating them to a charity, as we have been able to do with miles in the past?

 

You used to be able to donate them as of a couple of years ago. Not sure if that's still the case. They're very good on social media, so may be worth shooting them a message on twitter/insta/facebook. 

 

But yeah, I also say it's worth looking at just going somewhere. I've run in to that situation before where I just couldn't use them, and I did a day trip to LAX to watch planes, for example, or to Vegas to watch some games at a sportsbook for the day or a quick overnight. 

[klfrodo]

Just a thought. Don't even know if it's possible.

 

I know that for most travel insurance policies, IF your airlines offers a future travel voucher, the travel insurance considers you to be paid in full and therefore will not cover the airfare.

However, some travel insurance companies will cover the lost airfare AFTER the voucher expires and you were not able to use said voucher.

 

Have you looked into that possibility?

[Hlitner]

While it is fine to seek out comments and advice here on CC, you would be well advised to simply telephone Southwest (be prepared to wait on hold) and bring up this issue with the staff.  Southwest is often very friendly to their customers and might already have an internal policy to deal with this situation.  Make sure to mention to the Southwest folks that this situation happened because of cruises cancelled by the cruise lines.  Worst case is you will have wasted some time on the phone.

 

Hank

[FlyerTalker]

On 12/23/2021 at 3:09 PM, Hlitner said:

Make sure to mention to the Southwest folks that this situation happened because of cruises cancelled by the cruise lines. 

 

The airline doesn't care whether you have credits because of a cancelled cruise or because your boss made you stay and work. Or Aunt Minnie had her birthday and you had to be home for that.  Ditto with why you haven't used them -- it's not their issue or reason, so not theirs to fix.

 

At best, it's a sympathy play, hoping for an agent to bend the rules.

[Hlitner]

6 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

The airline doesn't care whether you have credits because of a cancelled cruise or because your boss made you stay and work. Or Aunt Minnie had her birthday and you had to be home for that.  Ditto with why you haven't used them -- it's not their issue or reason, so not theirs to fix.

 

At best, it's a sympathy play, hoping for an agent to bend the rules.

We have done well with the airlines when dealing with COVID related issues but have not had to do much with Southwest except to ask them to transfer an Earlybird payment to a different reservation (you cannot do this on their app or website but a reservations agent was willing).  With Delta we had to cancel an expensive Bus Class reservation from Lima, Peru to Harrisburg PA.  We had used miles to purchase those tickets and normally, Delta would have easily refunded our miles but normally would have not refunded the associated taxis ($51 per ticket).  When I called Delta that was their position until I mentioned we had to cancel the reservation because the cruise line (Oceania) had changed that debarkation port to Santigo, Chile (we ultimately cancelled the cruise reservation because of that change).  When I explained to Delta why we were cancelling the agent transferred us over to the Skymiles office where we again explained why we were cancelling.  That person immediately said they would not only refund all of our miles (70,000 per ticket) but would also refund the taxes to our credit card (this was done in 2 days).  I only mention this because it never hurts to be polite and simply ask!  Worst case is that they say "no" and you have simply wasted some time.  But these days we are finding that many travel vendors are much more cooperative then prior to COVID.

 

So here is our bottom line.  During COVID we have had 6 cruises cancelled (many of them longer voyages).  We had various airline and hotel reservations with each of those bookings.  To date we have not lost a penny despite having no insurance.  In quite a few cases it took some effort and phone calls to avoid losing money.  In all but two cases we found folks willing to give us complete refunds (when requested).  The two cases where we were refused (Flybe Airlines and Czech Airlines) our credit card company agreed to fully refund our money.  My advice to anyone is to take the time to make phone calls, treat everyone with lots of respect, and do not accept no for an answer.  The most difficult issue was getting a complete refund from Oceania (who only offered a FCC) after they made it clear they had a "no refund" policy.  Despite getting "O" to ultimately refund our money the experience with that line left a bad impression and we are now debating whether to give them another try with a future booking.

 

Hank

[Pizzasteve]

I've researched this pretty well and if it is a Wanna Get Away fare, you will have limited luck.  If it is a lot of money, they can extend 6 months by issuing a Luv Voucher, but there is a hefty $100 fee.  One must call customer service and ask specifically for this.

 

As you likely learned, credits are not transferrable and flight must occur before expiration.  We had a flight one month after expiration and could not use a spare $40 credit, so sad but not worth the deduction of $100.

 

As a foot note, I have experience earning a companion pass using credit card bonuses and posted a referral link in the other SWA thread.  Happy to coach someone, if interested.  Weve saved thousands using points and the pass.

[pcur]

10 hours ago, Pizzasteve said:

I've researched this pretty well and if it is a Wanna Get Away fare, you will have limited luck.  If it is a lot of money, they can extend 6 months by issuing a Luv Voucher, but there is a hefty $100 fee.  One must call customer service and ask specifically for this.

 

As you likely learned, credits are not transferrable and flight must occur before expiration.  We had a flight one month after expiration and could not use a spare $40 credit, so sad but not worth the deduction of $100.

 

As a foot note, I have experience earning a companion pass using credit card bonuses and posted a referral link in the other SWA thread.  Happy to coach someone, if interested.  Weve saved thousands using points and the pass.

Just a heads-up:  I saw your post on the other thread, and it has the appearance of marketing / advertising a service.  The board rules prohibit that.  

[pcur]

On 12/4/2021 at 1:13 PM, shipgeeks said:

After our many cruise cancellations, SW has been kind enough to give us credits for the unused flights.  Those now have an expiration in May, 2022, and it doesn't appear that we'll be able to use them by then.  Any thoughts about whether that time might be extended at some point?  Or other option for not losing the $$ entirely?

I just made an inquiry last week about expiring travel funds/credits.  They advised me to contact them after the expiration date and they would look into reinstating them.  So, keep your identifying information for all your credits, and contact them in May.

[Pizzasteve]

13 hours ago, pcur said:

Just a heads-up:  I saw your post on the other thread, and it has the appearance of marketing / advertising a service.  The board rules prohibit that.  

Sorry.  Just excited about the pass.  Mods can delete the link if they wish.