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)
Sep 18, 2019, 12:08 pm
#2221
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 5
Datapoint
I selected Southwest as my carrier on 9/11 and got the confirmation email from Amex same day. I purchased a flight for $97.96 on 9/11 and it was pending. I saw that you should wait a few days after selecting your airline to purchase tickets so I ended up cancelling the flight the same day. The charge never cleared on the card but on 9/13 I received a reimbursement credit of $97.96. The counter also reflected this.
I figured I would try this again to see if it works. Purchased a ticket on 9/17 for $102.96 and cancelled the same day. Will update if it clears in the next few days.
I think if people want to try this method we can determine what the threshold is that will get reimbursed without the risk of being stuck with paying for the ticket.
I figured I would try this again to see if it works. Purchased a ticket on 9/17 for $102.96 and cancelled the same day. Will update if it clears in the next few days.
I think if people want to try this method we can determine what the threshold is that will get reimbursed without the risk of being stuck with paying for the ticket.
Sep 21, 2019, 11:29 pm
#2223
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 205
DP:
(WN already selected as airline of choice)
9/15: Bought $92.00 ticket
9/18: Counter moved to $92 used
9/19: $92.00 Credit posted
(WN already selected as airline of choice)
9/15: Bought $92.00 ticket
9/18: Counter moved to $92 used
9/19: $92.00 Credit posted
Sep 23, 2019, 7:18 am
#2224
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 48
I selected Southwest as my carrier on 9/11 and got the confirmation email from Amex same day. I purchased a flight for $97.96 on 9/11 and it was pending. I saw that you should wait a few days after selecting your airline to purchase tickets so I ended up cancelling the flight the same day. The charge never cleared on the card but on 9/13 I received a reimbursement credit of $97.96. The counter also reflected this.
I figured I would try this again to see if it works. Purchased a ticket on 9/17 for $102.96 and cancelled the same day. Will update if it clears in the next few days.
I think if people want to try this method we can determine what the threshold is that will get reimbursed without the risk of being stuck with paying for the ticket.
I figured I would try this again to see if it works. Purchased a ticket on 9/17 for $102.96 and cancelled the same day. Will update if it clears in the next few days.
I think if people want to try this method we can determine what the threshold is that will get reimbursed without the risk of being stuck with paying for the ticket.
Sep 23, 2019, 11:13 am
#2225
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: WN F9 HA UA AA IHG HH MR
Posts: 3,305
In any event the bloggers will kill this last loophole. Just give it time.
Sep 24, 2019, 11:25 am
#2226
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: CGK/SIN/DTW/ATL
Programs: AAdvantage, RapidRewards
Posts: 10
New DP
Booked with my Amex GOLD:
Chose Southwest as my airline on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $48.98 and $53.98 worth of air tickets (total $102.96)
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $100 of the $102.96
With my wife's Hilton Aspire:
Chose Southwest as airline credit on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $69.99, $63.98, $63.98, and $53.98 of tickets
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $250 of the 251.93
Booked with my Amex GOLD:
Chose Southwest as my airline on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $48.98 and $53.98 worth of air tickets (total $102.96)
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $100 of the $102.96
With my wife's Hilton Aspire:
Chose Southwest as airline credit on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $69.99, $63.98, $63.98, and $53.98 of tickets
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $250 of the 251.93
Sep 25, 2019, 1:52 am
#2227
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
New DP
Booked with my Amex GOLD:
Chose Southwest as my airline on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $48.98 and $53.98 worth of air tickets (total $102.96)
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $100 of the $102.96
With my wife's Hilton Aspire:
Chose Southwest as airline credit on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $69.99, $63.98, $63.98, and $53.98 of tickets
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $250 of the 251.93
Booked with my Amex GOLD:
Chose Southwest as my airline on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $48.98 and $53.98 worth of air tickets (total $102.96)
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $100 of the $102.96
With my wife's Hilton Aspire:
Chose Southwest as airline credit on 9/16
9/17 - Booked $69.99, $63.98, $63.98, and $53.98 of tickets
9/19 - Posted
9/23 - Reimbursed $250 of the 251.93
Sep 25, 2019, 11:53 am
#2228
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 30
very nice DP. looks like WN airfare credit really does work. wonder if it would still work for airfares way above $100/$200/$250. either way, given the popularity of WN, i suspect this loophole will not last long. especially with the holidays coming up. its gonna be really painful next year when we all have hundreds if not thousands of air credits to capture.
Sep 25, 2019, 11:58 am
#2229
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Sep 25, 2019, 2:12 pm
#2231
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Previous posts indicate that the chances for reimbursement diminish quickly as airfare goes over $100. As for how long this will last, it's anyone's guess. There's little doubt that Amex is fully aware of the loophole, but we can really only speculate as to why it hasn't been closed. Many assume it's because WN does not share the proper level 3 data for Amex to recognize the charge. The strange thing is, if you purchase a ticket under $100, you can clearly see it's a flight purchase on your Amex account. It will even show you your flight times. So, it seems Amex is getting detailed information about the purchase. What gives?
Sep 25, 2019, 7:22 pm
#2232
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 7
Question-
Do we have to "Log In" WN to purchase a ticket.
Thank you
Do we have to "Log In" WN to purchase a ticket.
Thank you
Sep 27, 2019, 11:10 am
#2233
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 200
Have to book actual flights? What if I book award flight and pay the tax/fees with Aspire? Will trigger the credit? Have to use spend the entire $250 in one airline ticket or tax fees or i can use it again ( how long I have?) until I reach the spend req to trigger the credit?What about refundable flight?
Thanks
Sep 27, 2019, 11:41 am
#2234
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 30
No more airline credit using Aspire for SW Gcs?
Have to book actual flights? What if I book award flight and pay the tax/fees with Aspire? Will trigger the credit? Have to use spend the entire $250 in one airline ticket or tax fees or i can use it again ( how long I have?) until I reach the spend req to trigger the credit?What about refundable flight?
Thanks
Have to book actual flights? What if I book award flight and pay the tax/fees with Aspire? Will trigger the credit? Have to use spend the entire $250 in one airline ticket or tax fees or i can use it again ( how long I have?) until I reach the spend req to trigger the credit?What about refundable flight?
Thanks
Sep 27, 2019, 12:17 pm
#2235
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 200
You won't get reimbursed for any SW ticket more than about $100. Award taxes should work for SW. If you skim through the previous 20 or so pages of this thread, you'll see what currently works and what doesn't. It's probably better to glean information from users' actual experience than for someone to try to explain it. It's covered pretty well here.