Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

I am trying to prepare for the next flight date that opens March 8 and I have a few questions.
1. There are 9 of us flying (7 adult and 2 children) that need airfare plus infant flying on lap. How would I go about this for booking because you are only allowed to book 8 at a time? Looking for the easiest and most cost efficient way. Should I book in 2 group? Or call Southwest to book? Do they offer a child rate?
2. How do I apply gift cards? When I was playing around on the site this morning got to where you would enter info and payment but I did not see a spot for gift cards.
3. How many gift cards can I use? Is it 2 per reservation or 2 per person?
Thank you for any input you can give me.
 
I had never tried to book this early but because of a lot of talk about great deals around here I went on to book our August trip today around 6:50 when the flights posted. The WTGA prices for the dates I am looking for weren't anything special. Did I miss something or does this work best for flexible dates/ times? At this point I think I'm going to wait until the end of the month when my RR points post and I'll have enough to pay for our trip.
 
I am trying to prepare for the next flight date that opens March 8 and I have a few questions.
1. There are 9 of us flying (7 adult and 2 children) that need airfare plus infant flying on lap. How would I go about this for booking because you are only allowed to book 8 at a time? Looking for the easiest and most cost efficient way. Should I book in 2 group? Or call Southwest to book? Do they offer a child rate?
2. How do I apply gift cards? When I was playing around on the site this morning got to where you would enter info and payment but I did not see a spot for gift cards.
3. How many gift cards can I use? Is it 2 per reservation or 2 per person?
Thank you for any input you can give me.

Just my opinion from when I worked in reservations for Southwest.

1) Split the reservation up. You'll have two different confirmation numbers for the two groups, but the only other way to get around it is go through a group desk booking which is probably too much hassle. Lap child (under 2) will fly free and you just need to tell the Southwest res agent on the phone which pax is going to have the lap child and they'll note it on the PNR. As far as child rates, only off of the Anytime (Y Class) full fare and it typically isn't that much of a discount.

2) Should be on the payment portion of the screen as another option.

3) Each reservation can have a maximum of two payment methods when done online.
 
I had never tried to book this early but because of a lot of talk about great deals around here I went on to book our August trip today around 6:50 when the flights posted. The WTGA prices for the dates I am looking for weren't anything special. Did I miss something or does this work best for flexible dates/ times? At this point I think I'm going to wait until the end of the month when my RR points post and I'll have enough to pay for our trip.

There are two larger fare sales per year. One should be coming up in March, the other is typically in early Fall. This is when you'll see the biggest discounting take place. There are other spot sales that target highly competitive markets or ones with a lot of excess capacity to get planes filled, but they are pretty limited in scope. Always keep in mind if you fly Southwest more than once per year, you can always book now then change your flight to a lower fare later. Then use the flight credit towards a future reservation that is with in 12 months of the original reservation's booking date (not travel date).
 


Just my opinion from when I worked in reservations for Southwest.

1) Split the reservation up. You'll have two different confirmation numbers for the two groups, but the only other way to get around it is go through a group desk booking which is probably too much hassle. Lap child (under 2) will fly free and you just need to tell the Southwest res agent on the phone which pax is going to have the lap child and they'll note it on the PNR. As far as child rates, only off of the Anytime (Y Class) full fare and it typically isn't that much of a discount.

2) Should be on the payment portion of the screen as another option.

3) Each reservation can have a maximum of two payment methods when done online.

Ok thanks for the quick response. I did find where to enter gift cards. I was looking around where you enter credit card info and not realizing it was under travel funds section. When I clicked on that this is what it states "Up to three forms of payment per Passenger may be applied, which includes one credit card or PayPal account per transaction". So this statement I take to read that if I have 4 on a reservation I can use up to 8 giftcards. Is this correct?
Thank you
 
Just my opinion from when I worked in reservations for Southwest.

1) Split the reservation up. You'll have two different confirmation numbers for the two groups, but the only other way to get around it is go through a group desk booking which is probably too much hassle. Lap child (under 2) will fly free and you just need to tell the Southwest res agent on the phone which pax is going to have the lap child and they'll note it on the PNR. As far as child rates, only off of the Anytime (Y Class) full fare and it typically isn't that much of a discount.

2) Should be on the payment portion of the screen as another option.

3) Each reservation can have a maximum of two payment methods when done online.
Also is there away I can enter everyones info ahead of time so I don't lose the rate and airfare we want.
 
Ok thanks for the quick response. I did find where to enter gift cards. I was looking around where you enter credit card info and not realizing it was under travel funds section. When I clicked on that this is what it states "Up to three forms of payment per Passenger may be applied, which includes one credit card or PayPal account per transaction". So this statement I take to read that if I have 4 on a reservation I can use up to 8 giftcards. Is this correct?
Thank you

It might be different now with the new reservation system they have in place compared to the dinosaur we used when I was there (4 years ago). If it says per passenger, I would go off of that. You could always call reservations and confirm.

Also is there away I can enter everyones info ahead of time so I don't lose the rate and airfare we want.

There is not. Southwest won't hold the fare class until you actually pay for it. Even when we held reservations over the phone as a 24-hour courtesy, the fare class wasn't held and the price could be lost. One trick if you see it go up, decrease the number of pax on the reservation. It very well there could be say 5 seats at that price, but you put in 6, and it'll only show the fare for the next lowest fare class that has 6 seats available.
 


We didn't book yet, we actually aren't sure where we are flying out of. We were going to fly out of Pittsburgh, but may end up needing to fly out of Richmond to get my nephew who we thought would be here in Pittsburgh but now most likely won't be. Although we still aren't sure so don't know what to book. The prices out of Richmond aren't that great, and they really jumped since morning too. This morning it was 112 to MCO, now it's 222 (I'll drive before I pay that per person). The trip home is the same as it was this morning at 141. The rates seem to be about 145 each way in the past.

Out of curiosity I was looking at nearby airports. Dulles had 77 each way (it's up to 96 there now, still 77 back). We figured that we could save over $400 (now a little less than 400) by making the 2-2.5 hour drive. By the time we add the gas it'll take to go there and back, the extra meals for the extra day we'll be out, and possibly a hotel for the return night (we were just going to fly into richmond, drop him off, then drive home), I don't know if it'd be really worth it.

What does everyone else think? Would it be worth it to save $100-$200 after the added expenses? Or would it just be easier to spend the extra 400 on the flight but not have the added expenses if the price out of richmond drops back down (which I would assume it will level out)?
 
Ok. So I’m still waiting for my 52, 000 RR points to post at the end of the month so we can purchase our tickets for our 8/19 trip. Not only have the WTGA points increased by about $300 but there are only 4 left. The return flight we wanted is now sold out. Trying not to freak out here as booking this way is new to me. What are the chances they will release more WTGA tickets? Do they always do this?
 
Ok. So I’m still waiting for my 52, 000 RR points to post at the end of the month so we can purchase our tickets for our 8/19 trip. Not only have the WTGA points increased by about $300 but there are only 4 left. The return flight we wanted is now sold out. Trying not to freak out here as booking this way is new to me. What are the chances they will release more WTGA tickets? Do they always do this?

If the plane still has a lot of available capacity as you get closer, you'll see some more lower fare buckets opened up. When the next big sale happens in June, that would be a good time to check. If you already have it booked by then, if the fare drops you can get the points difference refunded back.
 
If the plane still has a lot of available capacity as you get closer, you'll see some more lower fare buckets opened up. When the next big sale happens in June, that would be a good time to check. If you already have it booked by then, if the fare drops you can get the points difference refunded back.
. Can I get the points difference on a WTGA (if another pops up) if I book an Anytime Fare? I know exactly what flights I want for our trip. I don’t mind waiting a bit but I want to make sure we get on those flights.
 
Grinning from ear to ear.

Purchased our 5 RT tix ISPMCO for travel in late August when fares were released last week. I work for another airline and know that with the ISP market on SW, you tend to get the best fares right out of the gate, which is why I awoke at 4AM on the morning that fares were released and continued refreshing the page. By around 7AM and after alot of waiting, fares were available for 2 preferred nonstops @ $136 each. Total for our group was around $1,350. Checked 4 days later, and those same segments were now $496 each way, for a total just shy of $5,000 RT for the 5 of us. There's absolutely no way that I could justify spending 5 grand for 5 of us to head to Florida, so we certainly lucked out with timing. Frontier is also now an option in our market and I've flown them once already, but after all of the ad-ons it may be a little less than SW but without the same level of service.
 
. Can I get the points difference on a WTGA (if another pops up) if I book an Anytime Fare? I know exactly what flights I want for our trip. I don’t mind waiting a bit but I want to make sure we get on those flights.

Yes. If you change an Anytime fare and grab a WGA fare, you'll get the points refunded.
 
Grinning from ear to ear.

Purchased our 5 RT tix ISPMCO for travel in late August when fares were released last week. I work for another airline and know that with the ISP market on SW, you tend to get the best fares right out of the gate, which is why I awoke at 4AM on the morning that fares were released and continued refreshing the page. By around 7AM and after alot of waiting, fares were available for 2 preferred nonstops @ $136 each. Total for our group was around $1,350. Checked 4 days later, and those same segments were now $496 each way, for a total just shy of $5,000 RT for the 5 of us. There's absolutely no way that I could justify spending 5 grand for 5 of us to head to Florida, so we certainly lucked out with timing. Frontier is also now an option in our market and I've flown them once already, but after all of the ad-ons it may be a little less than SW but without the same level of service.

Don't want to risk nonrev to Florida? :)
 
Yes. If you change an Anytime fare and grab a WGA fare, you'll get the points refunded.
Thanks! I totally screwed this up and I’m kicking myself. I had about 53,000 points on the 15th when the flights were released. It wasn’t enough to get the 4 tickets I needed but I should have gotten 3 and added a 4th when my wife gets her companion pass which should be around April or May. Would this have worked?
 
Thanks! I totally screwed this up and I’m kicking myself. I had about 53,000 points on the 15th when the flights were released. It wasn’t enough to get the 4 tickets I needed but I should have gotten 3 and added a 4th when my wife gets her companion pass which should be around April or May. Would this have worked?

From memory, yes it would have worked as long as there was still a seat available on the flight.
 
I have been watching Southwest fares out of Providence for a while now. We are a large family debating on whether to drive or fly in late June. It appears that there are many $99 fares over the next couple of months. Once late June hits the fares climb and the very few $99 fares available are at inconvenient times for a family with small children. Does anyone know if Southwest typically drops these fares closer to the dates? Flights leaving within the next 8 weeks have many more reasonably priced options. I am hopeful that these fares will drop, but also worried that maybe because it is considered a peak season at Disney and also being close to 7/4 holiday that they will get higher rather than drop. Anyone have experience or advice? Renting a car to drive will be almost as pricey since we don't want to take our own car this year.
 
Thanks! I totally screwed this up and I’m kicking myself. I had about 53,000 points on the 15th when the flights were released. It wasn’t enough to get the 4 tickets I needed but I should have gotten 3 and added a 4th when my wife gets her companion pass which should be around April or May. Would this have worked?
Companions can always be added to a flight so long as there is a seat left on the flight. I've been added only a few days before a flight before.
 
Sw related....
My ds n dh traveling SW today
Used miles, so free flights but I purchased early bird to make it easier..

Arrived hour before flight, easily thru security... boarded then
Delay... told light on, taxied back to gate, delayed then
Deplaned..
830am flight finally left at 1:25pm
They were comped..

hotel said no prob for late ck in but
Car rental went UP despite having it Less time ( Costco said at whim of market if change made on time)
Rebooked with another rental co
But they be basically lost the entire day and the appts they had :(
Well.. better safe and late..

But made me wonder what Airlines typically comp for delays etc?
 

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