Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy

If you have a Southwest ticket and fretting about the cancellation policy, this post will walk you through every essential cancellation rule. Let’s start with the rules and regulations of Southwest Airlines.

Southwest Airlines Flight Cancellation Policy Highlights

Passengers must know about these rules before heading for cancellation. It will help them follow airline policy accordingly. Here are the following highlights from the Southwest cancellation policy:

• There are three types of fares in Southwest Airlines- Wanna Get Away, Business Select, and Anytime. Therefore, if you cancel a flight, Wanna Get Away ticket can be reusable but not refundable. On the other hand, Business select and Anytime fares are fully refundable and reusable.
• The Southwest tickets can be used for up to one year from the date of purchase. 
• According to Southwest Airlines cancellation policy, the ticket must get canceled at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. All flight fares are refundable and reusable, considering they get revoked following the policy.
• In the case of Business select and Anytime fares, the passengers opt to receive the refund in the original form of payment or travel funds. 
• If a passenger has booked the ticket with the fare points, the remaining balance will get credited back to the original account. Other taxes and fees will get qualified for a Southwest flight refund.

Southwest Airlines 24-hour Cancellation Policy

Sometimes, a passenger cancels the flight within 24 hours of purchase for numerous reasons. As per Southwest's cancellation policy, a customer can cancel a ticket within 24 hours of booking through any method. The refund will get credited to your original payment method or travel funds, as the case may be. 

A passenger will receive a refund only if the ticket gets canceled within 24 hours of the purchase and not a day later. A traveler can also cancel the ticket booked with a Southwest Gift Card or a LUV voucher within 24 hours of reservation. Such tickets can only get canceled by contacting Southwest Customer Relations. 

You can also change your Southwest flight ticket within 24 hours of booking and get a full refund.

Southwest Airlines Covid-19 Policy

Southwest Airlines understand that the government has issued various mandates and travel restrictions due to the covid-19 pandemic outbreak. Such restrictions are potential quarantine, flight cancellations, temperature tests, covid tests upon arrival and departure, and more. If any such scenario happens, the Southwest Airlines cancellation policy offers flexibility and allows you to

• Do not pay any cancellation fee and change fees.
• Use travel funds up to one year from the original purchase date.
• Change travel funds that expire on September 7, 2022, into Rapid reward points.
• Use Rapid reward points anytime, as they never expire.

How to Cancel Southwest Airlines Flight Ticket?

A passenger often believes that ticket cancellation is a chaotic task. But Southwest Airlines offers flexible methods for canceling a flight ticket. You can use any of the following modes at your convenience:

Method 1 - Southwest Airlines Ticket Cancellation Online

Ticket cancellation through online mode is the most simple yet effective method. A passenger can use it by following a few steps. Here is the step-by-step procedure for ticket cancellation through the website:

• Browse the Southwest website or download its application.
• Navigate “Look Up Reservation” in the menu.
• Passengers who have purchased flights via Rapid Rewards can revoke or change their Southwest ticket by logging into their account.
• Fill in the confirmation number and the passenger’s name in the required field.
• You will find the travel funds and flight refund balance attached to your booking.
• If you have a Southwest refund, you can either choose to receive a refund or convert it into travel funds.
• Click on the “Cancel Flight” option to cancel the ticket. If your ticket has more than one passenger, you can select the specific passenger from the booking.
• According to the Southwest Airlines cancellation policy, the air ticket refund will reflect in the account statement within one or two billing cycles.

Method 2 - Southwest Airlines Ticket Cancellation over the Phone

A customer can cancel the ticket by calling the customer representative. It is an offline method that passengers can use anytime at their convenience. The calling method will have the following steps:

• Ring the Southwest Airlines cancellation phone number at +1-800-435-9792.
• Provide the booking reference number and passenger name to the airline agent.
• Tell the travel expert to cancel the reservation.
• Keep a close eye on the Travel funds or refundable value.
• The refund amount may take one to two billing cycles to reflect on the account statement.

Method 3 - Southwest Airlines Ticket Cancellation at the Airport

A passenger can cancel a ticket at the airport if he requests cancellation at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. The customer must reach the airport counter and ask the airline representative to cancel the ticket. To make a request, you must have the passenger’s name, booking reference number, and other necessary details. 

The agent will ask you the reason for your cancellation and guide you through the cancellation process. You need to follow the instructions carefully for Southwest flight cancellations.

Note: In case of confusion or anything regarding these methods, you can contact us at +1-800-865-1848. We will help you cancel in simple steps. 

Southwest Airlines Cancellation Compensation Policy

A Southwest Airlines passenger is entitled to receive compensation if the flight gets delayed at least three hours or more before the scheduled departure. A flier will get the following compensation:

Flight Distance	Compensation Amount (USD)
Less than 1500 Km	325
Between 1500 Km and 3500 Km	475
More than 3500 Km	725

 

However, not every passenger gets the compensation. A passenger will get the payment under the following circumstances:

• Southwest Airlines will pay compensation in the case of health emergencies like the host country has put travel restrictions.
• If a flight gets canceled due to bad weather, the passenger will receive compensation.
• A flier will get compensation for the canceled flight in the case of a medical emergency.
• In case of a state of emergency or riots, Southwest Airlines will give compensation.
• According to the Southwest Airlines cancellation policy, passengers will receive compensation in case of airport strikes, airline bankruptcy, etc. 

Southwest Airlines Vacation Package Cancellation

At times, your plans may get canceled for numerous reasons. In such a case, you must immediately notify the airline and cancel your flight ticket. Here are the vital highlights from the Southwest Airlines vacation packages cancellation policy:

• If there is no added travel insurance to your vacation package, you will get a refund in your travel credit.
• A passenger will get a refund in travel credit if the vacation package includes Wanna Getaway Fare. In this case, the flight must be canceled at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. 
• If a passenger cancels any hotel or car rental reservation, it will be subject to supplier’s penalties. 
• According to the Southwest cancellation policy, there is no charges for cancellation done within the specified time. 

Southwest Airlines Refund Policy

A passenger gets a refund on a Southwest flight cancellation in a few circumstances. To get a valid refund, a traveler must fall under the following conditions:

• A traveler will not get a refund on a Southwest airlines cancellation. A Wanna Get Away fare can be usable but not refundable, while Anytime and Business select fares are fully refundable and reusable. 
• The passenger will get a refund on the unused portion of the ticket.
• A refund that does not carry any restrictions will get into the future travel funds and can be used within 12 months from the date of issuance.
• An original ticket refund will get credited to the original form of payment.

A passenger may get a 100% refund on non-refundable tickets at the time of Southwest flight cancellation. In this case, the ticket must be canceled within 24 hours of the booking. The refund amount will either get credited back to the original form of payment or choose to get it in the form of Travel funds for future travel. 

Southwest Airlines Cancellation Fee

Sometimes, a passenger has to pay an amount as cancellation charges for canceling the flight before the scheduled departure. The cancellation fee varies depending on several factors, such as fare picked, booking class, time of cancellation, and other factors specified by the airline. Southwest doesn’t charge any cancellation fee, while other airlines charges around $200.