Do you have 24 hours to cancel with Southwest?

The cancellation policies of AIrlines differ from one to the other. While some have flexible policies, some are stringent and charge a cancellation fee for the most expensive tickets. What is Southwest Airlines’ cancellation policy? Is canceling the Southwest Airlines ticket 24 hours after booking essential for a complete refund? That’s what we will learn here. Read on to learn more. 

Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy

Let’s take a look at Southwest Airlines’ cancellation policies in detail. 

Are All Southwest Airlines Flight Tickets Refundable? 

Southwest Airlines offers four fare types: Business Select®, Wanna Get Away+®, Wanna Get Away®, and Anytime. 

The Anytime and Business Select® tickets are refundable. If you are traveling in any of these classes, you may choose a payment mode for a refund or have the amount converted to Flight Credit or Transferable Flight Credit (depending on your fare type). You can use the credit to purchase tickets for future flights. 

The Wanna Get Away+® and Wanna Get Away® tickets are non-refundable. You won’t get a cash refund upon cancellation. Instead, the ticket’s value gets converted to flight credits or Transferable Flight Credits (based on your fare type). You can avail yourself of your flight credits when purchasing any flight ticket later. 

The refund for refundable tickets and issuance of flight credits for nonrefundable tickets apply only if you initiate cancellation ten minutes before your flight’s original scheduled departure time. 

Can you cancel your Southwest Airlines ticket 24 hours after booking?

Yes, you can cancel your Southwest Airlines ticket 24 hours after booking. Under such circumstances, you will get a refund. The money will be refunded to your original mode of payment. Another alternative is to have the amount held as a flight credit or Transferrable Flight Credit (depending on your fare). You may use the credits to buy flight tickets for future travel. 

• If you cannot meet the 24-hour deadline, at least cancel your ticket ten minutes before your flight’s departure to avoid any inconvenience.

• If you do not cancel your Southwest reservation ten minutes before your flight’s original departure time, your Anytime and Business Select tickets won’t receive a cash refund. Instead, the value of the tickets will be refunded as a Transferrable Flight Credit. The funds will be forfeited in the case of Wanna Get Away+® and Wanna Get Away® tickets.

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• For Wanna Get Away+® and Wanna Get Away® reward travel reservations, the points used to book the tickets (if any) and the taxes and fees associated with the reward travel reservation are forfeited if the reservation isn’t canceled ten minutes before the flight’s scheduled flight’s scheduled departure. 

• For Business Select® and Anytime tickets, the points are deposited into the traveler’s Rapid Rewards Account. If the reward travel reservation has any associated fees and taxes, those get converted to Transferable Flight Credit for future reservations. 

Will You Get A Complete Refund for Canceling Your Southwest Airlines ticket?

For refundable tickets, customers are eligible to get a 100% refund on the ticket value depending on how early they initiated the refund. The timeline is ten minutes before your flight’s original scheduled departure. When that’s done, then you can get as much as a 100% refund of your ticket’s value. If any flight credit from your previous reservation applies to your Anytime or Business Select Fare, it gets refunded as a transferable flight credit. 

How to Cancel Your Southwest Reservation? 

1. In most cases, you can cancel your Southwest reservation without dialling Southwest Airlines’ customer service number. It’s a simple procedure. 

• Go to Southwest.com. 
• Click on Flight in the upper-right-hand corner. 
• You’ll see a drop-down menu. Select the second option, Manage Reservations. Enter the Confirmation number, First Name, and Last Name. 
• Click Search. Once you find your travel details, click on Cancel. 
• In the case of nonrefundable funds, you’ll get an option Hold for future Use. 
• If the funds are refundable, you’ll see a Refundable section.
• There are two options: Request a refund or Hold for future. If you request a refund, you may select Refund to credit card. Otherwise, you may choose Hold for future use.

        1. If you have two or more people traveling with you on a reservation and want to change some information, divide the reservation. After that, you can cancel or change the reservation that needs updation. After you have altered it, you’ll get a confirmation email. This contains a new confirmation number for the passengers whom you divided off the original reservation. 

2. If you find it difficult to cancel your itinerary online and need to contact customer service, you can call 1-800-435-9792 (Call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA). If you are outside the United States, here are the contact numbers.

• Aruba – 588-2900
• Bahamas – 1-855-202-3403; 1-855-202-3402 (in Espanol)
• Belize – 0-800-0078684; 0-800-247-5463 (in Espanol)
• Costa Rica – 0-800-012-1916; 0-800-012-1917 (in Espanol)
• Dominican Republic – 1-800-751-9039; 1-800-751-9038 (in Espanol)
• Grand Cayman – 1-844-670-7914; 1-844-670-7990 (in Espanol)
• Jamaica – 1-800-425-8130; 1-800-425-8089 (in Espanol)
• Mexico  – 800-083-1179; 800-083-1178 (in Espanol) 

3. If the phone lines are busy and you are seeking an alternative way to contact Southwest, you may connect with them through their chat services. The Southwest Bot is available 24/7. However, if your queries aren’t solved, you could seek assistance from a live agent. They are available throughout the week from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. 

Conclusion

When you have to cancel or alter your tickets, ensure that you take prompt action to get maximum refunds. If you are calling customer service, keep your confirmation number and other flight details ready for quick service. For any information on cancellations and refunds, you can visit the Help Center on Southwest Airlines’ home page. 

Frequently Asked Questions