Southwest Change Flight Date Policy & Fee: All you need to know

With Southwest, you do not have to sweat it in case you make an error in your bookings. The airline allows its passengers to edit their name, flight, and date.

In fact, to ensure that there is complete transparency between the passengers and the airline, they even have a Southwest Change Flight Policy.

The change flight policy of Southwest states all the terms and conditions that are followed by the airline under such circumstances. From 24-hour free flight change to the penalty on the edits, everything is present in that one important piece of document, and this is what we are going to talk about here.

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Southwest Flight Change Policy

Whether you’re booking your flight with points or by cash/credit card, Southwest Airlines allows you to rebook your flight and take back the difference in fare. Unlike other airlines that offer change fee waivers to elite status members, Southwest allows you to rebook your flight at the best available prices, regardless of what type of fare you’ve purchased. 

1. Wanna Get Away- These fares are non-refundable, but they may be applied to future travel for the passenger who purchased the ticket. This fare can be canceled up to 2 hours before departure, but there will be no refund. One of the major terms of this sort of fare is that if the customer does not use it for future travel within one year of the purchase date, the fare and associated costs will immediately expire.

2. Anytime- The same no-show policy applies to this class, and it is fully refundable. If you fail to cancel 10 minutes before your flight, the fare will be converted into travel money as well. This type of fare allows you to cancel your reservation up to two hours before departure and receive a full refund.

3. Business Select- This is a fully refundable fare that can be canceled up to two hours before departure. After that, you will receive a complete refund. This falls under the no-show policy, which states that failing to cancel a booking within 10 minutes of the scheduled departure time will result in the forfeiture of all refund transactions to the passenger.

• If you originally booked your flight by phone, you have to change it by phone. You can’t change it online.
• There is no limit to the number of changes you can make penalty-free, as long as you do it 10 minutes before departure.

How to Change Southwest Flight Booking?

Now that you have the flight change policy clear, here is how you can go along the procedure:

• First of all, open your browser and head to the official website of Southwest Airlines.
• Here, you will find the Change/Cancel option in the Book Flight bar.
  Click on that and let the new fields load. After that, put your First and Last name in the space. Also, go to your emails and copy the confirmation code of the flight and paste it here.
• You must have received the mail on the same day as the booking.

Furthermore, choose the Change Flight option and hit the Yellow Search button.

Thereafter, you will get your booking details on the next window of the website.

• Next, go through the terms and conditions, select the ticket you want to edit, and Continue to the subsequent page.
• Here, you will have to select the type of change you want to make, and the edit window will scroll down.

The content on this page depends on the type of alteration you choose.

• After that, put in the correct name or choose the flight from the list of available ones and hit continue.
• Finally, tick mark the I’m not a robot option and select the Continue button.
• Now, if you have chosen a new flight that costs more, you will have to pay the difference.

Here, you have the option to make the purchase with a card or use your reward points.

Your changed flight will appear on your screen, and you will get an email confirming the same.

By following these steps, you can easily edit your flight reservations with just a few taps on your computer screen.

Southwest Flight Change Fees

Changing your Flight on a Southwest Airlines trip is cost-free. In contrast to many other airlines, Southwest Airlines does not charge a fee in case of a customer emergency, suggesting that the business is understanding of its customers’ requirements.

If the newly selected Flight you have chosen is more expensive than the Flight you first booked, you can be asked to pay a fee difference. You will receive a refund in the manner in which you originally paid for the ticket for the difference because the newly selected Flight has a lower overall cost. Suppose the original booked passenger completes their journey before the travel voucher’s expiration date. In that case, the price difference may be retained for future use as a reusable travel voucher.

Making changes to a paid-for reservation on Southwest

There are no extra charges for changing a Southwest ticket, but you are still responsible for the difference in cost if your new itinerary results in a higher overall cost.

Alternatively, suppose the cost of your ticket decreases after you purchase it. In that case, you will get the difference either as a travel credit (for Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus prices) or as a refund to the payment method you initially used to book the Flight (Anytime and Business Select fares).

There is no difference in the amount you will be charged if you booked a wants to Get Away Plus, Anytime, or Business Select fare and want to make a same-day alteration to your reservation. If you choose this option, Southwest will, subject to space, waive all fees related to transferring your reservation to another airline flying the same day and on the same itinerary.

Modifying a reservation for Southwest that was made using points

Being able to change a Southwest flight that you paid for using points is one of the best outcomes. The terms are the same as for a paid reservation; however, if your new itinerary has a lower total cost than your current itinerary, the difference in points will be returned to your account.

Even if your Flight’s cost has decreased after you booked it, this still applies. If you choose to “Change flight,” you will finally be able to reprice your current fare and instantly have the points difference reimbursed to your account.

Southwest’s user-friendly approach to flight adjustments means there is no reason to wait to schedule your flights with them. After all, you may regularly check the reward price to see if it has dropped, especially when a promotion like the one Southwest is presently offering is in effect.

Changing or canceling a Southwest flight during a travel waiver for the passenger

Southwest Airlines is a very accommodating airline that will let you rebook another flight of your choice at no additional cost in the event of schedule changes or weather-related interruptions.

• The airline is quite helpful in adding potential locations to the list as soon as possible in the event of a weather alert. Snowfall, a hurricane, or any other storm could be to blame. As a result, you have the opportunity to plan and change the date of your travel to avoid any disruptions.
• With a grace period of 14 days before departure or arrival, Southwest Airlines offers its clients a much longer grace period than any other airline.
• As long as it is in the same region, you are even permitted to change the airport that you arrive at or depart from. If you had initially planned to fly out of Boston, you might be able to reschedule your trip so that it departs from Providence, Manchester, or Hartford instead.
• Additionally, Southwest is well known for adjusting its schedules in all areas. When this happens, Southwest will send you an email with the subject line “Travel Notice” that includes the most recent information on your departure and arrival times.
• You can switch to a different flight 14 days before or after the day you originally planned to fly if the altered itinerary does not work for you. And unlike most other airlines, Southwest frequently doesn’t care how little your Flight is changed. You are free to choose which flight options will serve you in the best way because there is no deadline by which you must modify your ticket.
• You may, however, be compelled to phone Southwest to make the change rather than being able to do so online through your Southwest account if you wait too long to make the change (in my experience, more than three days after receiving an email from Southwest). This is so that Southwest may not make modifications until after receiving the email.
• Choosing a replacement flight when your Flight is affected by a travel advisory is quite similar to the regular “Change flight” process. When you enter your flight information and make changes, a pop-up message will show that there are no additional fees when altering your travel.
• You can seek a new time and date once you have acknowledged this notification (or city pair if it falls within the allowable region). The number of passengers who can be scheduled onto a new aircraft has no upper limit; the only prerequisite is that there must be at least one seat available for purchase. Additionally, there won’t be any prices listed. You will be notified only if space is available on the newly planned Flight.
• If you find a route that satisfies your requirements, you are free to continue with the process of confirming the new reservation. Please be aware that you will only be permitted one modification during the event.
• Therefore, if you confirm a new ticket and discover that the new itinerary won’t work for you, you won’t be able to reschedule your trip for free. Instead, it will be your responsibility to cover any additional fare that might be necessary.
• The same cancellation conditions will apply if there are no viable alternatives to the Flight you have booked and you decide to cancel your reservation entirely.
• The points you used to make the reservation would be credited back to your account if you did. Southwest Airlines’ refund policies will give you a travel credit if the reservation was paid for and was for a wants to Get Away, or Wanna Get Away Plus rate. You might be eligible for a complete flight refund if you booked an Anytime or Business Select fare.

Using a Southwest Companion Pass, how to change or cancel a reservation

It is necessary to cancel your companion’s Flight before you are permitted to amend or cancel your itinerary if you are traveling with a friend or family member using the Southwest Companion Pass.

Your traveling partner won’t be able to board the airplane with you if you decide to change your plans. On the other hand, changing your Flight requires a few extra steps. Before re-adding the companion to the reservation, you must change the original passenger’s Flight. However, because the companion’s reservation has a different reservation number, you must first cancel the reservation for the companion.

Make sure at least two seats are available on the new plane before switching. You don’t want to change your travel arrangements only to discover that you can’t bring your travel companion.

To sum up

You can be confident that you won’t be charged any penalties if you ever need to change or cancel a flight reservation because Southwest’s policies are so lenient.

Naturally, there is a chance that choosing a more expensive flight will result in a higher overall cost for your trip. On the other hand, it is reassuring to know that, should ticket prices drop, Southwest would allow you to reprice your journey within minutes easily.

If you use the Southwest Rapid Rewards program to redeem your points, you won’t have to worry about being left with a travel credit if your plans change. The points will be credited back to your account if you wish to cancel your award, and you may request a refund of the taxes and fees using the same payment method that you used to purchase the award in the first place.

As a result, you can book a flight even if you don’t know all the details of your vacation itinerary because you can cancel it without paying anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Steps Must I Take to Request a Refund?

By calling the Southwest Airlines customer service line or submitting an online request, you can seek your money returned. You have the choice of either of these options.

Can Southwest Airlines Change the Destination or Terminal of a Flight?

Yes, you can change your Flight at any moment to go to any other place of your choosing, even though, if there is a price difference, it is your responsibility to cover it. If the cost of the freshly purchased ticket is less expensive, you might be qualified for a credit that can be utilized as travel money.

How long is the travel reimbursement money valid?

To use the travel money, which must be used, be mindful of the Southwest flight change deadline, which must be observed within the expiration period.

Easily Manage Booking of your Flight Ticket with Southwest Airlines:

For making changes to your Southwest Airlines flight tickets, you have to follow the steps given below:

• Go to the Southwest Airlines website. Then login into the account.
• Enter confirmation number, first and last name in the text field.
• Choose the “Flight” tab. Then tap on the “Manage Reservations” section.
• After then, a list of your booked reservations will show on the page.
• Here you can make any changes to your booked flight tickets, as per your travel requirements. The changes such as Cancel Flight, Date change on ticket, Edit Name, Contact Details, Add or Remove, and Add the passenger’s name
• If you want to change a flight, so then you have to tap on “Change Flight” and then tap on either the “Change reservation” or “Cancel reservation” button.
• Also, you can make other changes such as Add extra baggage allowance, Book Meals, Add Extra service, Upgrade seats to business class, or Seat change, and many more.

In this manner, with southwest airlines manage the booking section, you can effortlessly change or manage your booked flight ticket itself within a few seconds.

Check Phone Number for Southwest Flight Change

You can find here the Southwest Airlines phone number for the customer service team as well as other contact information.

Reservations & Information: 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792)

You can dial Southwest’s customer service phone number: 1-800-435-9792 then Press 5, and 0 OR say the word “Operator” to get a human operator.

How to change your Southwest flight dates or times

• Southwest Airlines, for instance, has a long-standing policy of never charging change or cancellation fees on any booking but has in the past billed customers for the difference in price if the new flight costs more. Here’s what you need to know.
• You’ll need to navigate to the “My Trips” tab in your Southwest account and find your booking.
• At the bottom, click “change flight,” which will take you to a new page. You can change your flight date or time as long as you plan to depart and arrive at the same airport.
• You’ll then be taken to another page to make changes to your dates or times. Note that Southwest makes it clear that changes outside of those conditions (i.e., departure and arrival cities) may result in a higher fare.

How Much Does It Cost to Change Flight Date on Southwest?

Flight date change always depends on your fare type or route as per the flight availability. Sometimes Southwest doesn’t charge for a flight date change but in some manner, you have to pay Southwest airlines change date fee as per the airline’s rules and restrictions which are given below:

• Southwest airlines charge $50 to $100 for the domestic flight’s date change.
• For the international flight date change, $150 to $200 is charged that also varies as per your ticket type.

In case you have any other queries related to so

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