Sep 17, 2014, 10:45 am
Last edit by: Tanic
Reminder: you must enroll and select Southwest as your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase.
Some have suggested the need to wait several hours or even a day before making the purchase, but there are also several DPs that worked without waiting that long.
(BTW, you will often hear people refer to Southwest as WN. WN is the IATA code for Southwest Airlines. SW is the IATA code for Air Namibia.)
Caution: As of late July 2019, reports are that direct gift card purchases are no longer being reimbursed.
To purchase click here: https://www.southwest.com/gift-card/create-card.html Caution: Do NOT login to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account when making the purchase.
What does appear to work is buying flight tickets less than $100, OR using gift cards to get the charged amount down to less than $100.
Always read the last few pages to get up-to-date DPs.
Some have suggested the need to wait several hours or even a day before making the purchase, but there are also several DPs that worked without waiting that long.
(BTW, you will often hear people refer to Southwest as WN. WN is the IATA code for Southwest Airlines. SW is the IATA code for Air Namibia.)
Caution: As of late July 2019, reports are that direct gift card purchases are no longer being reimbursed.
What does appear to work is buying flight tickets less than $100, OR using gift cards to get the charged amount down to less than $100.
Always read the last few pages to get up-to-date DPs.
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: WN (2011-2019)
Jun 1, 2014, 2:09 pm
#226
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3
Interesting, I also purchased 2x $100 Southwest gift cards on 5/23 and I'm also waiting on my credit. I did pick SW as the airline. Any suggestions on what I could've purchased from SW if I call AmEx?
Jun 1, 2014, 5:23 pm
#227
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Cypress Hills Research Center
Posts: 5,295
FWIW, my suggestion is to never lie. Maybe you can be somewhat vague and just say that you were expecting a credit for WN purchases w/o going into any more detail than necessary (maybe just date and amount), but never lie. JMO.
Jun 4, 2014, 8:08 am
#228
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 567
Any reimbursements on the gift cards happen lately?
Jun 4, 2014, 11:42 am
#229
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3
I called AmEx, asked them politely why the credit wasn't applied. She asked when it was charged and when I had selected which airline, I told her both were on the 23rd (I waited about 1 h after selecting the airline before I charged). She said it takes a day or so for it to take, but she can manually credit the account after 2 weeks. So I'll call them back on Saturday and request a manual credit. I'll post a follow-up.
Jun 9, 2014, 7:14 am
#230
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: IAH
Programs: UA,AA,WN, Marriott & Hilton Gold
Posts: 169
Purchased $100 gift cards on 6/3 and 6/5. Transactions posted on 6/5 and 6/6, and credits posted on 6/7 and 6/8, respectively. Seems to still be working.
Jun 9, 2014, 12:43 pm
#231
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 567
I charged a $200 GC on 6/4, got reimbursed 6/8.
Jun 10, 2014, 10:38 pm
#232
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3
Update: I called them back on Saturday (2 weeks after the post) and they said I have to call back after 4 weeks... So I'll wait for the 4 weeks. After all it seems to be related to the fact that I chose airline about 1 h before I made the purchase. I should probably have waited a day or two.
Jun 12, 2014, 11:47 am
#233
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 63
Anyone have any luck getting early bird fees credited? Only posts I could find were "NO" a couple of years ago. Not sure if anything has changed. Seems silly that Amex reimburses for gift cards, but not a legitimate "fee" for early boarding. Thanks.
Jun 16, 2014, 8:02 pm
#234
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 512
Bought 4 $50 GC's last week. All reimbursed within 3 days.
Jul 2, 2014, 8:22 am
#235
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: N/A
Posts: 685
I know this isnt the SW thread but does this work with southwest giftcards?
Jul 2, 2014, 12:02 pm
#236
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
Moderator action
JBG89's question has been moved from the AA thread to the WN thread. Reading recent posts will provide the answer.
Jul 3, 2014, 1:43 pm
#238
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 54
I can confirm this is still working as of last week.
I did 2 $100 online gift cards that were emailed to me.
I did wait 2 days after selecting the airline. Then I purchased them on two different days. The credit posted 3 business days after in both situations.
Thanks Flyertalk!
I did 2 $100 online gift cards that were emailed to me.
I did wait 2 days after selecting the airline. Then I purchased them on two different days. The credit posted 3 business days after in both situations.
Thanks Flyertalk!
Jul 10, 2014, 8:50 am
#239
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 63
Update 7/10/14: Purchased Early Bird for $12.50 each way and was credited for both flights a couple of days later. Credit was automatic, did not have to call Amex.
Jul 20, 2014, 8:40 am
#240
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 25
Registered my card on 07/15 and bought a $50 gift card on 07/15 and one on 7/16, both were reimbursed on 07/19. Same goes for the $85 tsa pre check fee. Will go ahead and pick up a final GC for $100 to finish of my reimbursement for this year.