How to Cancel a Southwest Airlines Flight?

Thursday, October 21, 2021

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Southwest Airlines flight cancellation policy sticks out among airlines because of its customer-friendly nature. If you are one of the frequent air travelers, you should know the process of canceling a flight ticket. When it comes to Southwest Airlines flight cancellation policy, it is very simple, easy, and hassle-free. Every traveler must know the cancellation policy for the airline they are traveling with. There might be some occurrences that take place before anyone when they need to cancel their flights. Southwest Airlines believes in providing options to its passengers to get out of the last-minute adjustment frustration. We will discuss here how to cancel a Southwest Airlines flight. There will be congenial things to discuss on those points too that make Southwest Airlines cancellation policy distinctive.

What is Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy?

Southwest Airlines flight cancellation policy is very simple. It allows customers to cancel their existing flights at any time at least 10 minutes prior to the flight departure. You will not be charged anything if you cancel a Southwest flight at least 10 minutes before the flight departure time. Southwest flight cancellation can be done in both ways, online and offline. Canceling a southwest flight online is preferred by most travelers to avoid keeping waiting in the bothersome call queue.

What are the Fare Types and Their Cancellation Policies?

Southwest Airlines offers three types of fares to its customers.

• Wanna Get Away: It is a non-refundable fare type. You can reuse it but cannot get refunds for it. You will get credit points for future trips when canceling such types of tickets. Those points can be reused for up to a one-year duration from the originally purchased date.
• Anytime: Tickets with fare type ‘Anytime’ are reusable and refundable too. You will have options to get refunds of flights or can request future credits.
• Business Select: This type of fare is also fully refundable and reusable. You can ask for refunds in the original form of payment or request travel credit for future flights.

Southwest Airlines 24-hour Cancelation Policy

Southwest Airlines 24-hour cancelation policy allows passengers to cancel their tickets without paying a cancellation fee if the cancellation is made within 24 hours of the booking. Irrespective of types of fares, you are eligible to get full refunds if the flight date is 7 or more days and the cancellation is initiated within 24 hours of the original booking time. Instead of getting full refunds of the tickets under the 24-hour cancellation policy, you can also choose to request travel credits for your future trip.

What is Southwest Airlines Flight Cancelation Fee?

Most airlines charge a certain amount as a cancellation fee. Generally, a cancellation fee is $100 or more. However, Southwest Airlines does not charge anything when a flight is canceled at least 10 minutes prior to the departure time. If it is a ‘no show’ or you cancel your ticket less than 10 minutes before the departure time, you will not be entitled to claim for refunds.

For ‘Anytime’ and ‘Business Select’ ticket types, you need to cancel them at least 10 minutes prior to the flight departure time. You will have options to request either full refunds or ask them for travel funds that can be utilized in the future. In case you fail to cancel your ‘Anytime’ or ‘Business Select’ ticket before 10 minutes from the flight departure time, the refunds will automatically be converted to travel funds.

For Wanna GetAway ticket type, you must have to cancel at least 10 minutes prior to the departure time else the value of the ticket will go null and void.

How to Cancel Southwest Airlines Flights?

Southwest Airlines cancellation process can be done mainly in two ways.

Online flight cancellation process: To cancel a Southwest Airlines flight online, you need to follow the below steps.

• Open the Southwest Airlines mobile app or go to the desktop and open southwest.com.
• Select "Look up reservation” in the menu.
• If your ticket is an award ticket booked with Southwest Airlines rapid rewards, open your Rapid Rewards account and cancel flight.
• Enter 6 digits booking confirmation number and passenger’s name in the required field.
• All your bookings will reflect there with the refundable value or travel funds against each booking.
• Click on the "Cancel Flight” tab to cancel bookings of all passengers listed to that booking.
• You will also have the option to cancel flights for all passengers or some of them in the booking.

Offline flight cancellation process: Southwest flight tickets can also be canceled over the phone. Follow the below steps to cancel a flight ticket over the phone.

• Call Southwest customer support phone number.
• Keep your booking confirmation number handy.
• Provide a booking number to the executive to cancel your flight.
• They will let you know the details of the refundable amount.
• You can choose either full refunds to the original mode of payment or you can ask them to convert it into a future travel credit.

What is Southwest Airlines Refund Policy?

Let us discuss some important points about Southwest Airlines refund policy.

• Any cancellation request must be initiated at least 10 minutes prior to the departure time.
• All fare types are not refundable but are reusable.
• You cannot get refunds for ‘Wanna GetAway’ tickets however, travel funds are initiated if canceling such flights.
• For ‘Anytime’ and ‘Business Select’ fares, you are entitled to get full refunds.
• Refunds are issued for the unused portion of the ticket only.
• All Southwest flight refunds are issued to the original mode of payment only.

How to Cancel Southwest Airlines Vacation Package?

Terms and conditions of canceling Southwest vacation package are:

• If the travel protection is not added to your vacation packages, you will not get refunds when canceling it. You will be entitled to travel funds only irrespective of the types of fares.
• If the fare type of your vacation package is “Wanna GetAway” and you cancel it at least 10 minutes from the departure time, you will get travel credit for the airfare portion.
• For ‘Anytime’ and ‘Business Select’ fares, full refunds are initiated to the original mode of payment.
• There are no cancellation fees and change fees applicable to a Southwest vacation package.

Changes in travel plans in the last minutes lead to high cancellation charges for most airlines. But when it comes to Southwest, it is very flexible to cancel a flight at the last minutes.

It is the airline that has a straightforward flight cancellation policy for its customers. Call Flyofinder at +1-571-378-7016  for canceling a Southwest Airlines flight reservation.       

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What will happen if I have not used travel funds within 1 year?
Ans: You can reinstate your travel funds by paying a fee of $100.

Q: Can I cancel ‘Wanna GetAway’ fare type ticket up to 10 minutes from the departure time?
Ans: Yes. Like other fare types’ tickets, it is also eligible to cancel up to 10 minutes from the departure time.

Q: Can I get my points back if canceling an award ticket?
Ans: Yes, all points will be credited back to your Rapid Reward account if you cancel an award ticket at least 10 minutes prior to the departure time.

Q: Can minors travel alone on a Southwest flight?
Ans: Yes, an unaccompanied minor can travel on a Southwest flight as per the Southwest unaccompanied minor policy.

Also, read our blog Southwest Airlines Canceled Flights? .