ryw

Did this clause exist for the LUV vouchers or other forms of compensation? I assume this means if you got a $125 discount and booked a $125 (before taxes/fees) one-way flight, you'd still have to pay $67.50?

ursine1

Not for vouchers, but occasionally for discount codes. And, yes.

Cledaybuck

Isn't a voucher usually only good for a year? Looks like you have a year to book with this, but a year and half to travel. I wonder what happens if you try to change the reservation after that year is up?

FindAWay

Thanks for sharing!
I believe that I have successfully used that box only twice before .... maybe I will have more opportunities going forward.

ursine1

Oh, you're right. Vouchers are valid for 6 months or 1 year at most. And that's a great question.

Presumably that section should have said:
"Discount is valid on new reservations only and purchase must be made prior to 11:59 p.m. for the respective time zone of the originating city by February xx, 2020 for travel through August xx, 2020 but will expire to purchase by 11:59 p.m. on February xx, 2020."

Meaning that -- completely a guess -- if you make any changes after February 20, 2020 the discount code will no longer work.

Except that there's this section:
"Canceling a reservation will result in the forfeiture of the discount code and the savings related thereto; however, you can change the reservation to keep the discount code with the reservation."

Which, of course, makes no sense.

Southwest has never been great at their legal language, but this one is a stunner.

expert7700

Makes sense to me. Code, once redeemed, is married to the PNR. Change a flight and discount stays in tact.

Cancel the flight and the ticket# / PNR is no longer valid for travel.

lougord99

That is quite a gotcha. Unlike a LUV voucher you must remember that if you want to cancel, you must book a dummy reservation for some flight far in the future to hold onto the funds. With a LUV voucher, you loose the ability to apply the voucher to any other person when cancelling, but you don't loose the funds.

ursine1

My point was regarding after the expiration date for redemption has passed.

I think I understand what might be the intention. You have one year to use/apply the discount code. If you don't, it becomes invalid. But, if you have booked a flight and applied the code prior to that one year expiration, you have another six months past that year in which you can still change the itinerary and the code will stay attached and remain valid.

I guess I'm... skeptical.

If this is true, this is a major step forward for Southwest IT. It also represents a more complicated way of doing things than before (where every expiration date -- vouchers, travel funds -- meant the date by which travel had to be completed.)

Good news if true.

I wonder if this might be rolled out to other expiration dates in the future? (Vouchers, travel funds.) That seems unlikely, but it also seems problematic from a customer-service standpoint to have these differing ways of defining expiration dates coexisting.

ursine1

But, when compared to how discount codes worked previously, this is an enhancement.

Previously, if you canceled or changed an itinerary that had a discount code attached, you lost the discount.