Last week, Southwest launched their 4th fare category, Wanna Get Away Plus.
It added several benefits on top of the Wanna Get Away fares, including free standby, free same day confirmed changes, more points per dollar spent, and the ability to transfer flight credit to other people.
But one unexpected benefit is that if you have Southwest flight credit that is tied to one person from a cancelled Wanna Get Away ticket, you can use it to book a Wanna Get Away Plus fare and then cancel that Wanna Get Away Plus ticket. You will then be able to transfer those funds to any Southwest Rapid Rewards member.
If you book a ticket that costs more than the value of the flight credit and cancel within 24 hours you’ll get a cash refund for the amount above the value of the flight credit and a flexible flight credit for the amount of the original flight credit.
Alas, the expiration date of the funds remains the same.
As with free flight changes with no difference in fare, Southwest may eventually close this workaround, so enjoy it while it lasts!
Of course when you use Southwest points (transferrable from Chase) you can always cancel for a refund, so there’s no need for this workaround and there’s less of a reason to buy up to a Wanna Get Away Plus fare.
It’s also worth noting that Southwest tickets under $109 count towards AMEX airline fee reimbursement. With this method those funds are now more flexible.
HT: FM
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8 Comments On "Southwest’s Wanna Get Away Plus Fares Means That Flight Credit Can Now Be Transferred!"
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It’s also worth noting that Southwest tickets under $109 count towards AMEX airline fee reimbursement.
Does this mean I can do separate transactions with each being less than 109 and still get reimbursed for both?
For this to work, anything special to be done or just the usual process?
The AmEx Platinum fee reimbursement is pretty easy to obtain, since you can just buy a Southwest ticket for say anywhere between $40-$80, then cancel it immediately (allowed for any ticket within 24 hours). What actually happens is Southwest processes two separate transactions in this situation, and you get reimbursed by AmEx Platinum for the first even though the second transaction cancelled/refunded the first.
Also, a Redditor pointed out that you can roll up multiple fares into WGA+ for transfer, and also a way to automate check-ins & fare reductions: https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthwestAirlines/comments/utefbd/rolling_up_travel_funds_to_a_wga_fare_means_you/
Another unpublished option is that they’ll convert any expired travel credit from the past 6 months into a LUV voucher that can be used for anyone for 6 months from issue date. This is only given upon request, and $100 are deducted from the initial credit value.
Obviously not an ideal solution, but better than nothing if you can’t use on time.
Any way to combine points from 1 account to another now? I have like 10k points in 12 different accounts but very annoying/ impossible to use.
If you have SW biz CC (either Performance or Premier) you can pay a transfer fee using that card (for transferring points from one account to another), and get reimbursed for that fee up to $500 per anniversary year.
Also, anyone have success in getting expired travel credits reinstated for Southwest?
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/southwest/southwests-wanna-get-away-plus-fares-means-flight-credit-can-now-transferred/#comment-1572582