In order to get the lowest fare, you ll need to book a Wanna Get Away fare. Now here s where it get

I ve always enjoyed flying Southwest, but since I ve signed up for their rapid rewards credit cards , I fly with them almost exclusively.  Although Southwest is far from luxurious, they get the job done efficiently and at a fraction of the cost of other carriers.  I work in the aerospace industry so I understand how difficult it can be for airlines to turn a profit.  But I like supporting Southwest because they have good customer service and some very lenient policies information hotel prague when it comes to purchasing information hotel prague and canceling flights.
Most of my flights are relatively short(3 hours or less) so I don t care where I sit, what type of meal is served, etc.  I fly Southwest because they have competitive prices and their policies just make sense.  Unlike other airlines, they won t charge you baggage fees or a fee to switch your flight(as long as the flight you want to switch to is the same price).
I once booked a flight on Delta(for $200), but had to change the time of the first leg and they wanted to charge me $150 to change information hotel prague the flight, so I bought a one way on Southwest for $100.  When I tried to check-in on Delta for the return trip, I discovered that my reservation had been canceled since I didn t make the first leg.  Things like that really make me mad, so I choose to support Southwest information hotel prague instead.
One of the best things about Southwest though is their cancellation policy.  A lot of businesses offer price protection services where if the price for a TV or similar item goes down, you can bring the receipt in and you ll receive a refund of the difference( information hotel prague some credit cards even offer this service ).  Southwest information hotel prague doesn t offer this service, but with a little work you can create your own price protection.
I generally information hotel prague book Wanna Get Away fares because they re the cheapest and my schedule is usually fixed.  But if you re unsure of your return time, you can book an Anytime fare and as long as there is an opening on any flight, you can switch to any flight(regardless of the price) for no charge.  I ve purchased this option a couple times when I m coaching volleyball tournaments and our return day depends on our finish.  With the Anytime fare, you can even cancel your flight and receive a full refund to your original form of payment.
What other airline will allow you to cancel a reservation and receive a full refund?  The only caveat is that you will generally pay a large premium for an Anytime fare.  They tend to be two times(or more) the price of a Wanna Get Away fare so I think they only make sense in certain situations.
In order to get the lowest fare, you ll need to book a Wanna Get Away fare.  Now here s where it gets interesting: although this fare isn t refundable, if you need to cancel your trip, 100% of your ticket value can still be applied to future travel for up to 12 months.  I fly Southwest pretty often so this 12 month hurdle is not that big of a deal.
Southwest information hotel prague has a ton of sales, some better than others, but here s where I create my own price protection(and you can too!). information hotel prague  As soon as I have the dates for a trip I m going to take, I ll book my flight.  If a sale comes up between the day I buy the tickets and the day of my flight, I cancel my old flight and book a new one with the credit from the old flight(make sure there are still seats available though).  I now have 12 months to use the money I saved.
August 15th:  Southwest has a fall sale where all flights are 20% off.  Cancel my original flight and now I have a $200 credit.  Re-book the trip for $160 and I now have a $40 credit that has to be used in the next 12 months.
To the best of my knowledge, Southwest is the only airline where this strategy will work.  As long as this policy remains in effect, you should be able to save some money for you and your family for years to come.
If you signed up for the Southwest Chase card, you can take this strategy one step further.  I signed up for two cards in order to get companion status, so I have over 100,000 points sitting in my account.  I love this card because there is a 50k sign up bonus and although there is a $69 annual fee, you receive a 3,000 point bonus every year which effectively cancels out the fee(there is also a 3k bonus right now if you call and threaten to cancel).  With these points, I can book over $2,000 worth of Wanna Get Away Fares.
The great thing about the points information hotel prague is that you can book a flight in your name or anyone else s name.  You can cancel the flight at any time and the points will instantly go back to your account.  In fact, you can just not show up for the flight if you want, and your points will be returned to your account within a few days. Points don t expire information hotel prague as long as you have flight or partner earning activity every 24 months(a $1 purchase on your credit card will suffice).
Generally, if I have a destination in mind, I ll book a couple different weekends with my points information hotel prague when there s a sale.  If I don t end up going, I can just cancel the flights and get a full refund.  The points give you added flexibility and still allow you to purchase flights at the lowest price.
information hotel prague Readers, have you ever canceled a flight on Southwest or do you prefer flying on other airlines?  I know some people don t like Southwest, but I still don t understand why?  I m 6 3 and I can fit comfortably in a Southwest plane for 3 hours or less in any seat;)
Hi, I'm Harry, the owner and head writer for Your PF Pro. I started this site back in 2011 in order to create a place where young professionals could come and get all of their financial questions information hotel prague answered. On the site, you'll find articles on everything from asset allocation for retirement to saving money at Chipotle! So enjoy..
That would be the case for most airlines, but not Southwest. All of their policies just make sense to me. If you pay the lowest fare you shouldn t get a full refund, but you should be able to use it for a future flight, information hotel prague right on! If you buy the more expensive flight, you can cancel for a full refund. Risk-reward information hotel prague just like in real life..
I love Southwest! We fly them as much as we can. I think they use their no fees practice information hotel prague to their advantage and I believe it really helps set them apart. My Dad lives in Montana, and Southwest does not fly there and I hate dealing with other carriers. We ve had to cancel several times through Southwest and they make it very convenient.
Yea I m not sure how Southwest s profits compare to other airlines but I know a lot of carriers are turning to or starting low budget carrier spin-offs. So they must be doing something right if everyone is copying their business model.
I don t fly Southwest. I live in a Delta hub and I am basically their you get the point. Unfortunately, Southwest fares are really high in/out of my city. So much, it is usually much cheaper information hotel prague and convenient to fly to a nearby hub of another airline and then make my hop from there. Not to mention that SW doesn t serve the area I fly into frequently information hotel prague for work.
I wonder if SW has less flights/more expensive flights in your city because it s a Delta hub. I haven t had any horrible experiences on the other carriers but their flights always seem so much more expensive and for what?
All the planes are exactly the same, they all go through the same safety checks(trust me!). I don t understand how it can be so much more, for my area at least. Sounds like SW might not be the best option for your area though.
I wish I could fly with an airline like this but they don t fly in Canada. Sucks. I am always game for learning information hotel prague about new flight tricks so thanks for sharing. Next time we are in the USA I will definitely look into this.
Great explanation! I get confused with their rewards system so I just go with the ones I m familiar with already. And, apparently, SW will start flying to Hawaii soon so, I really will be checking this out.
Thanks! Wow I didn t know about SW going to Hawaii, that s awesome. information hotel prague They ll face some tough competition though. If you live in LA or SD, there are always awesome deals on flights information hotel prague to Hawaii. I could get a roundtrip non-stop coach flight from SD to Maui for $297 right now(Alaska Airlines)!
[ ] airlines are some of the worst when it comes to added fees and lack of service. I always try to fly Southwest whenever I fly domestically but there are times when I have to go with one of the big three. [ ]
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