Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy

Southwest Airlines Cancellation Policy allows free cancellation with no catch and no hidden charges as long as you cancel within the specified time frame. Last-minute travel changes leads to sky-high cancellation fees over $100 which sometimes cost as much as the ticket itself. You can request Southwest flight cancellation online or via phone call.

Here are key details of the Southwest Airlines cancellation policy –

• No Southwest cancellation fee.
• No change fee.
• No need to wait on the pesky calls to request Southwest Airlines cancellations.
• You can cancel quickly and easily on the official website or through the mobile app.

What is the Southwest flight cancellation policy?

Southwest Airlines offer three fare type namely, Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select.

Here are the complete highlights of Southwest cancellation policy –

• Wanna Get Away fare can be reusable but not refundable as per Southwest refund policy
• Anytime and Business Select fares are fully refundable as well as reusable.
• As per Southwest cancellation policy, Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select fares can be used for a future trip up to one year from the original date of purchase by the originally ticketed passenger only. 
• Fares are reusable as well as refundable as long as they were canceled in accordance with Southwest Airlines no show policy, where a flight needs to be canceled at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled flight departure. 
• In case of the Anytime and Business fares, upon requesting Southwest Airlines cancellation, passengers have the option to receive the refund in the original form of payment or Travel Funds for future use. 
• While canceling Southwest Airlines flights booked with fare points, the remaining point balance will be credited back to the account from which they were booked.
• Ant taxes and fees will be eligible for a Southwest Airline flight refund.

What is Southwest 24 hour cancellation policy?

As per Southwest 24 hour cancellation policy, you can cancel your flight booking online or through the app within 24 hour of booking. You can receive a Southwest flight refund of any fare back to the original form of payment, or you can opt to generate Travel Funds. 

To cancel a flight you can call the cancellations helpline within 24 hour of booking. 

How much is the Southwest Cancellation Fee?

The chart below gives you an overview of Southwest Airlines flight cancellation fees in comparison with six other major airlines. In general, any major carrier in the US charges a cancellation fee of 200 USD once the 24-hour window is surpassed, while there is a free Southwest Airlines cancellation policy.

How to Cancel a Southwest Flight?

You can request Southwest flight cancellation online via website or mobile app, over the phone call, or at the airport counter at least 10 minutes before departure.

Steps to Southwest Airlines cancellation online

Here’s the step-by-step procedure for Southwest Airlines cancellations online

• Navigate through Souithwest.com on the desktop website or open the Southwest Airlines mobile app, and select ‘Look Up Reservation’ in the menu.
• As per Southwest Airlines rapid rewards cancellation policy, passengers who booked flights via Rapid Rewards can cancel or change Southwest reservations by logging in and looking it up in their account. 
• Enter the six-digit confirmation number and the passenger’s name in the required field.
• You will see available travel funds or Southwest Airlines flight refund balance attached to the booking confirmation you have entered. 
• If you have Southwest cancel flight refund value available, you can choose to receive a refund or convert the airfare into travel funds.
• Click on the ‘Cancel flight’ button to cancel the flight. You can also select a specific passenger for Southwest Airlines cancellation, in case, the attached booking confirmation you have has more than one passenger. 
• As per Southwest refund policy, airfare refund may take one to two billing cycles to reflect the refund in the account statement.

How to cancel a Southwest flight over the phone?

Passengers can cancel their flight and make Southwest flight refund request over the phone by – 

• Dial Southwest Airlines cancellation phone number.
• Keep your six-digit booking reference along with the passenger’s name handy in order to retrieve the booking.
• Ask the travel expert to cancel the booking. Keep a check on the Travel Funds or refundable value associated with your booking. 
• Southwest Airlines flight refund may take one to two billing cycles to reflect the refund in the account statement.

How to cancel a Southwest flight at the airport counter?

Passengers can request Southwest Airlines cancellations at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure and can be requested at the airport counter with one of the airlines customer representatives. 

Can you get Southwest compensation for cancelled flight?

As per Southwest Airlines cancellation policy, passengers are entitled to get Southwest canceled flight compensation if the flight is delayed at least three hours or more prior to the scheduled departure.

Passengers are entitled to the following Southwest canceled flight compensation –

• 325 USD for the flight distance shorter than 1500 km
• 475 USD for the flight distance between 1500 and 3500 km
• 725 USD for flights longer than 3500 km

Passengers are entitled to get Southwest canceled flight compensation under the following circumstances –

• Health emergencies where a host country puts travel restrictions
• Weather cancellation scenarios such as bad weather, and snowstorms
• Medical emergency
• Riots or State Emergency
• Severe traffic while reaching the departing airport
• Airport strike
• Airlines bankruptcy
• Flight fails to reach the final destination or stopover
• Passengers fail to board the connecting flight

What is Southwest vacations cancellation policy?

If your plans change, you must immediately cancel or change your package. Here are the important takeaways from the Southwest vacations cancellation policy – 

• If you haven’t added Travel Insurance to your packages, and request for cancellations, any refund will be in the form of a travel credit.
• If your vacation package includes a Wanna getaway fare you can make a Southwest cancel flight reservation request at least 10 minutes prior.
• The refund on the airfare would be issued in the form of travel credit and remains valid for 12 months from the date of issuance.
• Southwest vacation packages do not charge any cancellation fees for the air portion of your booking. 
• Once booked, any Southwest Airlines cancellations on the hotel or car rental are subject to suppliers’ penalties. Passengers can avoid penalties by purchasing the Southwest Vacations Travel Protection option. 

Are Southwest flights refundable?

Yes, Southwest Airlines flights are completely refundable. Here are the important highlights from the Southwest refund policy –

• Not all Southwest Airlines’ fares are refundable. When you cancel Southwest flight Wanna Get Away fare.
• It can be reusable but not refundable, while Anytime and Business Select fare are fully refundable as well as reusable.
• Southwest Airlines cancelled flight refund would be issued to the unused portion of the ticket. 
• Refundable fares that do not carry any restrictions may be applied towards future travel or can be applied for cancel flight reservation refund within 12 months from the date of issuance. 
• All original flight refunds would be credited to the original form of payment. 

Here’s the overview of Southwest Airlines cancellation policy for refundable fares as well as non-refundable fares based on the cancellation rule –

Please Note: There will be no refund options available once you have completed Southwest Airlines check in process.

Southwest flight Cancellation policy for non-refundable tickets

For non-refundable fares such as Wanna Get Away fares, passengers are entitled to get a 100% Southwest Airlines flight refund if requested a cancellation for the same within 24 hours of booking. You will get – 

• Either a 100% refund which is to be credited back in the original form of payment
• Or, choose to convert the airfare into Travel Funds which is to be used towards future travel.

Beyond, Southwest 24 hour cancellation, while canceling a Wanna Get Away fare please ensure –

• Passengers need to cancel a reservation in accordance with the no-show cancellation policy at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure.
• Passengers need to complete the travel within one year from the original date of booking. 

When you cancel Southwest flight, knowing the rules and your rights under the Southwest Airlines cancellation policy is crucial. With Southwest Airlines you can get a complete refund with no flight cancellation fees based on the fare type. You can book your flight with a 100% comfort and security without the fear of change of plans

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs