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Spring Break deals on Southwest

Synergy

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So lately, Southwest has been having a beast of a time keeping their schedules accurate, thanks to the MAX grounding. That has meant that every time they cancel all the MAX flights for a period of time, they've opened up free changes on all flights in that time period. We don't know why, it seems absolutely idiotic, but they have old legacy IT systems almost as terrible as timeshare systems, so maybe this is the only way they can accommodate the cancelations.

In any event, what this means is that for the next couple of days, any flight you book from March 7th - April 13th, you can change to a better time, date (within two weeks), and/or (very) nearby airport.

There are some nuances about how to get the absolute best deal, and you can learn them all at https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/sou...nges-mar-7-apr-13-more-max8-rescheduling.html

This will only be available for a couple of days. I have to get a bit of sleep, but I'll come back tomorrow to help if people don't catch on. Use the monthly fare calendar to help you find the best fares on the route you need. Have fun!
 

Synergy

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OK, awake again and want to show you guys how to take advantage of this:

Let's say I really want to fly from the Bay Area to Maui from March 21st to 28th. Unfortunately, those dates are looking pretty pricey - $718 for the nonstops I want from Oakland.

I check the monthly fare calendar (https://www.southwest.com/air/low-fare-calendar/?int=HOME-BOOKING-WIDGET-LFC) and see that if I could fly on different days within that window above, the price would only be $278. I book those cheap flights. Then, once they're showing in my account, I change the flights to my preferred dates and times - for free. You can actually end up with flights up to 13 days outside the window, because you can move the flight multiple times, two weeks at a time!

Edit : I recommend booking these as one way flights instead of round trip. No price difference and it makes it easier imo.
 

Firepath

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But don't you have to make sure the flight you book is on one of the Max8s so you can be sure it will be cancelled? How to you verify that?
 

Synergy

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Not for the next two days - ALL flights within that window are eligible for free changes. It's ridiculous but I have been flying at rock bottom rates for almost a year by changing things around during these periodic free change phases.
 

Synergy

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If you cancel your flight within 24 hours of booking, you can get a full refund, so it's risk free if you somehow screw it up.

That thread I linked to has all the details, but I think I included the pertinent bits above. You just have to read.
 

Synergy

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Thought this would be ending at midnight, but it looks like it's still kicking for at least one more day. Because we fly southwest frequently and don't mind leaving some flight credit in their system, I went ahead and booked a bunch of speculative trips for next March and April. We've been doing this for months, taking trips if life and good accommodation deals allow!
 

Synergy

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Southwest just opened up the change window from April 14th to June 6th. Easy way to get cheap flights for Memorial day. If you have any questions, check out that thread or ask me.
 

Synergy

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I think today is the last day for this, and I also suspect this is the last round of free price changing. A blogger finally got tired of not getting views from this, and posted a detailed explanation with all the ins and outs. Southwest will not want to run this again. I think we got 11 months of rock bottom prices out of this - if you have flights from April to mid-June, take advantage while you can!!
 

CalGalTraveler

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Thanks for sharing. I wish I had known about this sooner as this would have helped for Thanksgiving flights.

A couple of questions:

1) is the change window still in effect for flights booked prior to April 14?
2) Can you change this fare more than once? i.e. if your travel plans change again?
3) How do you get to the last page of Flyertalk without scrolling? The last page button seems to have been removed?
 

Synergy

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**I expect the window to close tonight at midnight!!!**

Right now, the change window is April 14th - June 6th, which means you can change to flights from March 31st - June 20th. The initial flight you book has to be within 'change' window, and you can change them up to 14 days at a time, so you can get up to two weeks outside the change window.

It does not matter when you booked the flights, if they fall within the April 14th - June 6th change window, you can change them right now for free. If you somehow have lower prices than the absolute lowest price within those dates, then you can change to a preferred routing right now and keep your old price. If not, you'll want to cancel your previously booked flights and use the credit to book the cheapest flight available, and move it two weeks at a time until it gets to your actual preferred dates. I'd definitely recommend booking one way flights, it just makes life easier.

You can still change the flights in the future if your plans change, but you'll lose the super-low price you booked. You'll be charged the difference between your very low price and the price of the flights you're changing to. You can only change to a more expensive flight for free right now, while the change window is open. This is a very, very short window.

On mobile, the 'last page' button works just fine for me, not sure what's going on for you. Regardless, the last 90% of posts are just us all taking note of the new change window being opened, people expressing shock and awe at the great deals, asking questions that were answered many times in the first few pages, and us lamenting another window closing. All the pertinent info is in the first few pages, the later stuff is just discussion and repetition. Very little has changed since this all started last summer.

It is definitely an amazing deal for folks who require holiday flights - right now, Memorial day--and can commit to those flights right now. It is unfortunately not helpful at all if you're going to need to change those flights again in the future. We personally used it to book dozens of long weekend trips, and ended up canceling about half of them.
 

CalGalTraveler

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@Synergy Really appreciate your tips. I just booked memorial day at a much lower rate and can fly back on Monday instead of Tues. Does this work with points reservations too?
 

Luanne

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@Synergy Really appreciate your tips. I just booked memorial day at a much lower rate and can fly back on Monday instead of Tues. Does this work with points reservations too?
I would think it should. I change both paid for and points reservations all the time in order to get cheaper prices.
 

Synergy

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@Synergy Really appreciate your tips. I just booked memorial day at a much lower rate and can fly back on Monday instead of Tues. Does this work with points reservations too?

Yes, it does! That's what I'd recommend you use for any trips that you might need to change after the window closes - then the points all go back to the points owner. If you book your unsure trips with cash, those funds are tied to the traveler and must be used within a year.

If you booked something with cash today that you wish you'd used points for, you should be allowed to get that refunded (like straight to your credit card) for 24 hours, and you can just rebook right now using points.

So thrilled this could help people! Being able to choose the absolute best routing on for you (on a holiday weekend!!) at the price of an incredibly awkward routing on a slow Wednesday is amazing. There is a small possibility this will open up one more time, and give us 4th of July flexibility. I'll post here if/when it does!
 

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@Synergy Just to clarify. Do I need to make the exchange to the desired day today? or do I simply need to make the booking within the window and I can change later to the desired date for free? (I am booking a lot of travel rn)
 

Luanne

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Just make sure that you change your flights, do not cancel and rebook. If you change them and have paid for Early Bird that will transfer to the new flight. If you cancel, you lose that fee.
 

louisianab

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I think today is the last day for this, and I also suspect this is the last round of free price changing. A blogger finally got tired of not getting views from this, and posted a detailed explanation with all the ins and outs. Southwest will not want to run this again. I think we got 11 months of rock bottom prices out of this - if you have flights from April to mid-June, take advantage while you can!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! You just saved me like $500 or the points equivalent.
 

CalGalTraveler

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Thank you @Synergy. I just saved $120 and 7k points on two hawaii flights alone. We are flying companion on this ticket so this is double goodness. Also saved another $60 - 80 on other flights flying my college kids home for spring break.

Also saves us from using extra TS points to stay an additional night and board our pets because we can return home on Monday Memorial day instead of Tuesday morning.

I love Southwest...wish I had found this hack sooner.
 
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Luanne

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Although I don't have any flights during this timeframe I saved a lot (or more correctly had money and points returned to me) on several flights I had booked for older dd. One was over the Christmas holidays and one is on a flight she's taking to Maui. Every time SW announces a sale I go in and check any flights I have pending.
 

Synergy

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@Synergy Just to clarify. Do I need to make the exchange to the desired day today? or do I simply need to make the booking within the window and I can change later to the desired date for free? (I am booking a lot of travel rn)

Sorry, took a nap! Haha! You have to make the changes today - technically I don't know how long the window will remain open, but my gut says it will close tonight. Some people said that they were able to call in and change their flights for free after the window ended, but I had zero luck with several agents. I suspect that the people who were given the extra time to change were people whose flights were actually canceled or changed due to originally booking a flight scheduled to be on a MAX plane. I still have no idea why this is the way Southwest chose to handle the MAX schedule changes, but it has saved us a lot of money.


Even when this special window isn't open, it pays to check on on Southwest flights frequently - their prices are not static and if you have a little flexibility, you can often save some money either because your original flight went down in price, or another routing through a different city is now cheaper. Southwest points and the companion pass are the most flexible, greatest value out there, in my opinion, and if you fly a lot, it's not even the worst thing to get stuck with some future flight credit
 

CalGalTraveler

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Thanks @Synergy. I usually check/change the fares when sales are on but this is different and much more impactful.
 

Synergy

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Thanks @Synergy. I usually check/change the fares when sales are on but this is different and much more impactful.

Yes, this is downright batty. I'm so thrilled this has helped people. I'd estimate we've saved a thousand dollars or more in cash or points this year, and that doesn't even count the companion pass. I love seeing others with the pass, BTW. I think it's the best value in the air. It would be a good deal with any airline, but the fact that it's offered by the only airline out there with truly free cancelation is amazing.
 
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Synergy

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Back at it again for 6/7-8/10 to cover the vast majority of summer travel!! I feel like Southwest has increased their minimum pricing to take some of the value out, but you should still be able to save a bundle if you were tied to specific dates for holiday travel.
 

brownhaired_girl

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I was able to change flights today for June, August and October. As long as my city pairs stayed the same.
 
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