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)
Nov 14, 2019, 6:11 am
#2371
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,041
Thank you for this. Apologies to other vets with airlines. I normally do not fly, so I am a bit inept in this area, so I appreciate the people who work with me in explaining how things work with airlines.
I read the travel bank expires in 90 days, not a year. Is this still true?
I read the travel bank expires in 90 days, not a year. Is this still true?
I don't mean to seem rude, but the entire purpose of this thread is to document what is known and many of us who read these forums frequently tend to get rather annoyed when someone pops in, completely ignores 2300+ posts of documented information/knowledge and then just asks to be spoon fed the answer quickly because they don't feel like reviewing the thread and just want the answer now.
Happy reading!
Regards
Nov 14, 2019, 12:31 pm
#2372
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 244
I can confirm that changing an existing flight (versus canceling and rebooking) also works. Needed a flight that was $128.98, booked a different flight (same origin and destination) for $98.98 on a Biz Plat. Immediately changed it and paid the $30 difference with the same card. Both charges refunded within 4 days.
Nov 14, 2019, 1:52 pm
#2373
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 244
I don't think anyone can be confident that Amex won't claw the credit back. However, if you have credit that will otherwise be wasted, why not just try and hope for the best?
Nov 14, 2019, 5:24 pm
#2374
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 39
Instead of purchasing refundable cash fares on SW, why don't people purchase international flights with points that come with high taxes/fees. For example, a one way flight from Cabo to Los Angeles has ~$50 in fees, which can be refunded to your credit card directly rather than getting a future travel credit. I guess this could be riskier for clawbacks since Amex might not like the refund on the credit card.
Nov 14, 2019, 5:33 pm
#2375
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Instead of purchasing refundable cash fares on SW, why don't people purchase international flights with points that come with high taxes/fees. For example, a one way flight from Cabo to Los Angeles has ~$50 in fees, which can be refunded to your credit card directly rather than getting a future travel credit. I guess this could be riskier for clawbacks since Amex might not like the refund on the credit card.
Last edited by GundamWing01; Nov 14, 2019 at 5:39 pm
Nov 14, 2019, 7:53 pm
#2376
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 117
Reimbursed in exactly 4 days since transaction. All charges ~98
Nov 15, 2019, 9:51 am
#2378
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: ORD
Posts: 8
11/13 (Wed) - Selected WN as airline for Hilton Aspire
11/14 (Thu) - Purchased WN fare for $98.98
11/19 (Tues) - $98.98 ticked down on meter, but no credit yet.
11/19 (Tues) - $98.98 reimbursed
---
11/19 (Tues) - Purchased two more fares ($83.98, $80.98)
11/24 (Sun) - Credited $80.98 and $70.04 (maxed $250 benefit for Aspire)
---
Edit (11/19/19): From the last few DPs, it looks like the reimbursement time has been slowly creeping up to 5ish days rather than the typical 4. Will continue to update as soon as (if) my credit posts.
Edit (11/20/19): I checked in the afternoon yesterday and didn't see the reimbursement. However, when I checked it again this morning, I saw the date of the reimbursement transaction was 11/19, so not sure if it actually posted later in the pm, or if it just shows retroactively.
11/14 (Thu) - Purchased WN fare for $98.98
11/19 (Tues) - $98.98 ticked down on meter, but no credit yet.
11/19 (Tues) - $98.98 reimbursed
---
11/19 (Tues) - Purchased two more fares ($83.98, $80.98)
11/24 (Sun) - Credited $80.98 and $70.04 (maxed $250 benefit for Aspire)
---
Edit (11/19/19): From the last few DPs, it looks like the reimbursement time has been slowly creeping up to 5ish days rather than the typical 4. Will continue to update as soon as (if) my credit posts.
Edit (11/20/19): I checked in the afternoon yesterday and didn't see the reimbursement. However, when I checked it again this morning, I saw the date of the reimbursement transaction was 11/19, so not sure if it actually posted later in the pm, or if it just shows retroactively.
Last edited by eatmangos; Nov 25, 2019 at 9:07 am
Nov 15, 2019, 1:04 pm
#2379
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: GAI
Programs: TK *G, all statuses that come with Ritz, Amex Plat, Citi Prestige cards
Posts: 364
$53 airfare purchased on 11/9, reimbursed 11/13
Nov 15, 2019, 8:31 pm
#2380
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Earth
Programs: whatever it takes
Posts: 683
Maybe SW doesn't mind? Now, if next year this changes or whenever...they can say - we stated the rules but were just blase about it until now or slow to change our IT, or whatever. No claw back, but just no credit for tickets under $100 going forward....as with the other airlines - or the ones I've read about anyway. UAL, Delta, Alaska.
Nov 16, 2019, 2:00 pm
#2382
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Well..it's normal to just buy tickets under $100. No gaming of the system per se from that standpoint. Not like buying gift cards, or what not. If their system gives you credit that differs from the "official" rules...well whose fault is that? I would not expect a clawback.
Maybe SW doesn't mind? Now, if next year this changes or whenever...they can say - we stated the rules but were just blase about it until now or slow to change our IT, or whatever. No claw back, but just no credit for tickets under $100 going forward....as with the other airlines - or the ones I've read about anyway. UAL, Delta, Alaska.
Maybe SW doesn't mind? Now, if next year this changes or whenever...they can say - we stated the rules but were just blase about it until now or slow to change our IT, or whatever. No claw back, but just no credit for tickets under $100 going forward....as with the other airlines - or the ones I've read about anyway. UAL, Delta, Alaska.
super curious if $112 works. probably no, but keep us posted. $123 for sure will not. its recommended to keep it under $110.
Nov 16, 2019, 4:19 pm
#2384
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Mountain View, CA (near SJC and SFO)
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, and no status whatsoever on the airlines (!)
Posts: 468
FWIW, after more than a week, a $98 ticket purchase on Southwest was NOT credited.