h2law

Hi, newbie question here.

I messed up and forgot to cancel a refundable ticket before departure. I also had not realized that WN had changed its policy so that the funds now become nonrefundable credits in case of a no-show. I don't have easy access to WN airports so am unlikely to be able to fully use the funds prior to the 9/22 expiry date.

I had two questions:

1. Does WN ever make exceptions to this policy if you plead nicely? If so, any advice on how to plead for mercy ?
2. If I use the funds to buy a ticket for another flight that's either cancelled or rescheduled due to a schedule change or IRROPs, will WN then provide a refund in cash?

Thanks for any advice!

AllThePants

(1) In my experience, they're pretty hardline (albeit very polite when responding) about their policy. If you miss your flight and have to take the downgrade from refundable -> nonrefundable (or worse, from nonrefundable to completely worthless) the CS agents pretty much stick to their policy guns. If you run into a sob story that works with them, I'd love to know!

(2) Also, no. The funds are now nonrefundable. And a "refund" -- even when it's WN's fault (schedule change, etc.) is just credited back to a Travel Fund.

NoStressHere

FYI - most airlines just take the money and say "Tough luck and thanks".

WN at least gives the one year possibility of using the funds. They don't really vary that policy, but you can try.

h2law

Thank you both for your replies. Not a great situation and I'm unfortunately out quite a bit of money.

In the event of a refund due to WN's fault, is there any provision for at least extending the validity of the recredited travel funds? It would seem somewhat outrageous if a ticket is booked near the end of the funds' validity period, some IRROPs or other schedule change results in a trip in vain, and the customer's only option is to take a credit that's about to expire.

danhouston

lol, it would take another similar-past pandemic to likely get an extension or conversion to RR pts

any rate, look up & email the exec ofc then hope for a better outcome

AllThePants

Not sure what "quite a bit" of money is in this context -- but if it's truly a large amount -- I think there is / used to be an option to convert expired travel funds to a LUV voucher (with some nominal additional expiration window) for a fee --- $100 if I remember correctly. An option if if your fare is substantially more than that.

Somebody else who knows better than me can probably provide better details.

joshua362

An unwritten rule, call in after expiration but within 6 months of such and get a voucher good for 6 months for anyone for $100.

danhouston

voucher also expires after 1 yr, unlike RR pt; either use or dispose of it by expy date next yr

ursine1

No, vouchers expire 6 months from the date of issue.

yonatan

Oh, that's actually a pretty good solution here (this was a very expensive round trip). I wouldn't even mind paying this fee and then donating the voucher to a charity for a tax writeoff. Is this a sure thing that any CSR would know about, or is there a particular place where this request should be directed to and any magic words I need to use to get this option?

Also, do I actually need to wait until the credit expires or can I do this right away? Given that it's an unwritten rule, and how much things have evolved at WN over the last year, I might just prefer to know that I had this set.

Thanks so much for offering me a ray of hope!

ursine1

You need to speak to Customer Relations (not the phone reservation line). I recommend via direct message on Twitter or Facebook. You do have to wait until the travel fund has expired, and you have 6 months from that expiration in which to make the request. The fee is currently $100 per travel fund/person, which will be deducted from the funds balance. The voucher is valid for 6 months from the date of issue, and is good for use by anyone (unlike travel funds) but only for the airfare portion, not any taxes or fees. If you have multiple smaller travel funds (for the same person) consider combining them before they expire so you'll only be charged the $100 fee once.

Everything about this is subject to change -- including the fee, which has risen from $50 to $75 to now $100 over the years. While Southwest maintains that these are granted on a case-by-case basis, I've never heard of anyone being denied.