Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
Topic Author
yolli71
Posts: 451
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 9:53 am

Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by yolli71 »

We just came back from a trip to San Diego to attend my father's funeral.

We paid for roundtrip direct flights on SW Airlines from Baltimore to San Diego. About a month before the trip, SW changed our flight to have layovers in Nashville on the way out, and in Chicago on the way home.

On the morning of our return trip from San Diego, we noticed that we had a 2nd stop on the way home...first in Chicago and then in Cleveland. We didn't have to get off the plane in Cleveland, but it was still a surprise to us.

Question...is it worth complaining to SW Airlines? Will they give you any sort of travel voucher or extra points? We still had a good trip overall...the layovers just added some inconvenience and a few travel hours each way.
Lalamimi
Posts: 1209
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:22 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by Lalamimi »

Just be glad your flights were not cancelled, as thousands have done to them recently. They are trying to compensate for short staff, etc. Sorry for your loss.
User avatar
ResearchMed
Posts: 16795
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 10:25 pm

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by ResearchMed »

yolli71 wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:39 pm We just came back from a trip to San Diego to attend my father's funeral.

We paid for roundtrip direct flights on SW Airlines from Baltimore to San Diego. About a month before the trip, SW changed our flight to have layovers in Nashville on the way out, and in Chicago on the way home.

On the morning of our return trip from San Diego, we noticed that we had a 2nd stop on the way home...first in Chicago and then in Cleveland. We didn't have to get off the plane in Cleveland, but it was still a surprise to us.

Question...is it worth complaining to SW Airlines? Will they give you any sort of travel voucher or extra points? We still had a good trip overall...the layovers just added some inconvenience and a few travel hours each way.

I'm very sorry for your loss.


Probably not going to work, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

We had an unpleasant surprise about some routing some time ago.

We paid *extra* for a direct flight. We knew it wasn't a "non-stop", but at least no change of planes... same flight number on both legs. I don't see that so much these days, but it was a "thing" back then.

Oh my, were we surprised to find out that at the intermediate stop, we had to get off Flight 123 on plane A, and get right back on Flight 123, but on plane B.
We could have paid a lot less to do the same thing, but the two flights would have had two different numbers.

:annoyed

We were told: "You bought a ticket from City X to City Y, and that's what you got." Full stop.

And if this was recent, there have been all sorts of delays and cancellations, so it was probably good that you arrived at each destination at the approximate times that you expected to.

Years ago, airplane travel was even a bit glamorous.
I remember a joke told by a former "stewardess" now aka "flight attendant":
"We used to be issued white gloves; now we are issued handcuffs."

RM
This signature is a placebo. You are in the control group.
bob60014
Posts: 3768
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:59 pm
Location: The Land Beyond ORD

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by bob60014 »

Sorry for your loss.

They got you to-from point A to B, though a change and surprise occurred, they satisfied the T&C's. However a note or call "might" reward you with some Rapid Rewards.
KESP
Posts: 405
Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 8:24 pm

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by KESP »

It’s weird they didn’t notify you about the changes. I get an email whenever there’s a change. Perhaps it was a last minute thing. I doubt you will get anything from them.
ellvizzle
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 9:18 pm

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by ellvizzle »

Doesn’t hurt to send a message. Last summer I had a travel issue with them and sent a note about it (polite, simple explanation) and received a voucher that expired within a year that was a fraction of the cost of the tickets, but appreciated, nonetheless.
Topic Author
yolli71
Posts: 451
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 9:53 am

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by yolli71 »

Thanks for the condolences and advice, everyone. So I went ahead and sent a message to SW Airlines via Facebook Messenger explaining the situation. They replied in less than 24 hours apologizing for the inconvenience and saying that I'll be receiving an email within 2 weeks with a travel voucher for both my wife and I. I don't know the amount and I'm not expecting much, but just like "ellvizzle", I thought it was a nice gesture and I'm satisfied with the response/acknowledgement.
bob60014
Posts: 3768
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:59 pm
Location: The Land Beyond ORD

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by bob60014 »

Nice outcome.
User avatar
gobel
Posts: 553
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:50 pm

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by gobel »

yolli71 wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 12:42 pm Thanks for the condolences and advice, everyone. So I went ahead and sent a message to SW Airlines via Facebook Messenger explaining the situation. They replied in less than 24 hours apologizing for the inconvenience and saying that I'll be receiving an email within 2 weeks with a travel voucher for both my wife and I. I don't know the amount and I'm not expecting much, but just like "ellvizzle", I thought it was a nice gesture and I'm satisfied with the response/acknowledgement.
When Southwest changes your itinerary way in advance, you get an email letting you know that you have 3 days to rebook and choose any other flight you want +/-1 week at no charge. When they've chosen a bad time or routing for me by default, I've been able to find a better direct flight instead.

If the change is morning of, I once got a surprise voucher in the email later, but that was for a flight delayed until the next day. I haven't tried complaining for the times where I still flew out the same day.
Trism
Posts: 923
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2016 6:34 pm

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by Trism »

ResearchMed wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:04 pm
yolli71 wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:39 pm We just came back from a trip to San Diego to attend my father's funeral.

We paid for roundtrip direct flights on SW Airlines from Baltimore to San Diego. About a month before the trip, SW changed our flight to have layovers in Nashville on the way out, and in Chicago on the way home.

On the morning of our return trip from San Diego, we noticed that we had a 2nd stop on the way home...first in Chicago and then in Cleveland. We didn't have to get off the plane in Cleveland, but it was still a surprise to us.

Question...is it worth complaining to SW Airlines? Will they give you any sort of travel voucher or extra points? We still had a good trip overall...the layovers just added some inconvenience and a few travel hours each way.

I'm very sorry for your loss.


Probably not going to work, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

We had an unpleasant surprise about some routing some time ago.

We paid *extra* for a direct flight. We knew it wasn't a "non-stop", but at least no change of planes... same flight number on both legs. I don't see that so much these days, but it was a "thing" back then.

Oh my, were we surprised to find out that at the intermediate stop, we had to get off Flight 123 on plane A, and get right back on Flight 123, but on plane B.
We could have paid a lot less to do the same thing, but the two flights would have had two different numbers.

:annoyed

We were told: "You bought a ticket from City X to City Y, and that's what you got." Full stop.

And if this was recent, there have been all sorts of delays and cancellations, so it was probably good that you arrived at each destination at the approximate times that you expected to.

Years ago, airplane travel was even a bit glamorous.
I remember a joke told by a former "stewardess" now aka "flight attendant":
"We used to be issued white gloves; now we are issued handcuffs."

RM
I won't fly SWA so maybe your observation is airline-specific, but in general a direct flight (with a stop) / same flight number doesn't necessarily mean you won't have to change planes.

It's also possible to have a "connecting" itinerary and have your connecting flight (different flight number) on the same aircraft. I'd estimate this happens to me about once every 4-5 years.

[both of these observations are based on frequent travel on AA]
Topic Author
yolli71
Posts: 451
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 9:53 am

Re: Points or vouchers for Southwest flight?

Post by yolli71 »

Quick update...I just received $100 vouchers for each of my family members (4 of us) to use within 1 year. I also got 8 free drink coupons to use within a year. Thought that was a pretty nice move on Southwest's part.
Post Reply