Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy

Southwest Flight Cancellation Policy

If for whatever reasons you are unable to fly with your booked flight ticket one option left with you is to cancel your booked ticket. Southwest Airlines provides a flight Cancellation Policy, allowing passengers to cancel their flight tickets they have previously booked with Southwest Airlines.

Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy are flexible and reliable, and is determined by the type of ticket purchased with Southwest, the destination and the fare class - Wanna get away/ Business Select/ Anytime tickets.  In case of cancellation at any time Business select or senior tickets, the exact amount of purchased fare will be credited back to the original payment method.

Types of Southwest Airlines Flight Ticket

All of these Southwest fare class promises its passengers with the following amenities:

1. Earning Rapid Reward points
2. Receiving flight credits on cancellations
3. Enjoy free entertainment on board
4. Complimentary drinks and snack
5. Transferring flight credits to other passengers  (applicable on select flights)
6. Last minute flight deals
7. Enjoying flexible refund policies
8. Avoiding check ins and security lines
9. Be the first one to board in your plane
10. Early bird check in and lounge access

Learn more about the benefits of travelling with different fare class by calling Southwest Airlines reservations phone number at +1-888-772-1600.

How Can I Cancel my Southwest Flight?

Cancelling Southwest Flight Online

Here is a guide to cancelling Southwest Airlines flight ticket using the online method:

1. Visit Southwest.com  and log in to your travel account using your credentials
2. Provide with your six digit booking reference and last name
3. Now you can easily fetch the booking you want to cancel
4. Select the change/cancel flight option from the screen
5. Provide the necessary details and click on the “Search” button
6. Now you can select the flight to cancel
7. Pay the cancellation fee if applicable and you are done
8. Lastly, you will get the cancellation mail in your inbox.

Cancelling Southwest Flight Offline/ Via Phone

If for some reasons you are unable to make your flight cancellations from Southwest Airlines you can contact Southwest  Airlines customer care by dialling +1-888-772-1600. Southwest is staffed by travel experts with a dedicated phone line worldwide, you can call them anytime and ask them to assist you before and after your journey with Southwest Airlines.

Guidelines

Southwest Cancellation Policy 2023

According to latest report if you are experiencing flight delays and cancellation with Southwest then you can claim for compensation from the airlines. Southwest is back on track the airlines CEO promising to reimburse passengers for delayed flights and cancellations.

Bad Weather 

If your flight is delayed or cancelled by Southwest Airlines by three or more hours then you will be compensated. You can either opt for cancellation an receive a full refund or you can board the next departing flight without any extra charges.

After check in

After checking in with Southwest Airlines you can cancel it before your flight departure at the airport. Do ask the Southwest helpdesk to assist you with your flight cancellations three hours before your flight departure.

Rapid rewards

If you have booked a Southwest flight using Rapid rewards on cancellation your points will be automatically reverted back toy your Rapid Reward account. Also passengers have the option to choose whether the fees and taxes charged earlier will be credited as a travel credit or refunded back. Plus there will be no cancellation fees charged to reinstate your rapid rewards back to your travel account.

Non refundable tickets

If passengers cancel their Non refundable flight tickets within the 24 hour window you can refund to your original payment method or you have the option to convert your fare to travel credit.

Refundable tickets

Business select fares and Anytime fares are fully refundable as long as the passenger cancels their flight ticket at least 10 minutes before their flight departure. You can either fill in the refund form and submit or you can receive in the form of travel credit for future flight with Southwest Airlines.

Southwest Cancellation Fees

Southwest Airlines does not charge any fees if you change or make cancellations to your existing flights provided you cancel your flight tickets at least ten minutes prior to your flight departure. If passengers change their flight the only fee that will be applicable is the fare difference if the cost of the new flight ticket will be higher than the original fare.

Non refundable tickets

If you cancel a non refundable flight tickets within the 24 hour window you can refund to your original payment method or you have the option to convert your fare to travel credit.

Refundable tickets

Business select fares and Anytime fares are eligible for a full fare refund as long as the passenger cancels their flight ticket at least 10 minutes before their flight departure. You can either fill in the refund form and submit or you can receive in the form of travel credit for future flight with Southwest Airlines.

24 hours cancellation policy

According to Southwest Airlines 24 hour cancellation policy, this policy will not be applicable for complimentary flight tickets. Also Southwest 24 hours cancellation policy does not work for Wanna get away flight tickets. You need to book your flight tickets at least seven days before the departure date. In addition you cancel your flight tickets by calling the reservation department  of Southwest Airlines +1-888-772-1600 to explore all the flight cancellation options.

Southwest Airlines No show policy

Southwest Airlines does not have a now show fee. If you are flying with a Southwest Wanna Get away flight tickets and if you missed your flight and you haven’t notifies the airlines then the entire fare value will be forfeited.

Flight paid with gift cards and companion pass flights

As long as the passenger has a paid ticket and a companion pass they are welcomed to add a companion to their flights. Paid includes flight purchase paid with points, vouchers, gift cards, travel credits, and credit cards. However you will be eligible for paying extra charges as taxes for the companion fare and you can make your payments with any methods as mentioned earlier.

Southwest Airlines Refund Policy

According to Southwest Cancellation policy :
If you receive travel credit after cancelling Southwest Airlines flight ticket, please be aware of some limitations on using your travel credit. Travel credit can only be accessed by using the confirmation number and the passenger’s name who booked initially. Therefore the flight tickets cannot be transferred to another person.

Non refundable tickets

If passengers cancel their Non refundable flight tickets within the 24 hour window you can refund to your original payment method or you have the option to convert your fare to travel credit.

Refundable tickets

Business select fares and Anytime fares are fully refundable in nature as long as the passenger cancels their flight ticket at least 10 minutes before their flight departure. You can either fill in the refund form and submit or you can receive in the form of travel credit for future flight with Southwest Airlines.

Booked with Reward Cash

If you purchase a flight ticket using Rapid rewards  the points will be credited back to the passengers loyalty account. However if the passenger does not cancel the flight ticket at least ten minutes before flight departure, the tickets purchase price will be converted to travel credits that can be used for future purchases with Southwest Airlines.

How can I get a refund on Southwest Airlines?

Once you cancel your flight ticket the amount will be credited back to your travel account within ten to seven working days.

To qualify for Southwest refund you need to:

1. Fly with Southwest operated flights
2. Cancel your flight tickets at least ten minutes before flight departure
3. For business select and anytime fares the travel credit remains valid up to one year from the date of issue.

You can chose to cancel or make additional changes to your flight ticket within 24 hours to avoid extra charges.