Southwest says travel credits will never expire – now some people will disappear
Over the years, people felt confident to book tickets to Southwest Airlines because they did not change the fees. If their plan doesn’t work, they can use the entire purchase price as credit for the new ticket.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said it was an advantage that made him lose a lot of business in the U.S. West, American Airlines and American Airlines. He always wanted to copy it, but he couldn’t do it until he became the actual CEO of the airline.
So, during the pandemic, Kirby made changes. He gave up on the change fee at Manchester United and the competitors quickly matched. Southwest Airlines did some fun things to maintain its strengths. When everyone else’s travel credits expire, Southwest Eliminate credit maturity.
- They say that for them, it’s not actually that expensive. There will be an accounting hit rate at first, but it will not matter afterwards.
- This will win a lot of their business. Even the occasional trip – the confidence that may be used within 12 months – will book confidence from them. This is a competitive advantage.
But Southwest’s financial performance deteriorated. They are still making money, but not that much. They got an aggressive investor who appointed industry veterans to the board. They voted to get rid of everything that made them unique and special. To name just a few:
- Their culture
- Their common flyer value
- Their small democratic seats and boarding
- Not to mention the long-term investment brand “Free Bag Flight”
The Southwest also abandoned the policy of unexpired travel credit. Valid on tickets purchased (or changed) May 28, 2025travel points expire 12 months from the date of purchase of the original ticket. The travel credit for the basic economic fare expires 6 months from the date of purchase of the original ticket.
This creates a very ridiculous scene. The basic economy is a way to divide price-sensitive leisure travelers from business travelers. This allows airlines to discount and fill seats without selling tickets to customers who are willing to spend more. These price-sensitive travelers also tend to buy tickets in advance (actually, the old way to do this is Purchase requirements in advance and Saturday night).
Someone purchased basic economic tickets in advance and canceled the trip after six months. Literally, no credit at all. The validity of credit depends on when you purchase the ticket, rather than canceling the trip and getting the credit.
They go from credit never expiration to some clients just unfortunately and nothing. As Southwest Airlines stops caring – not only stop caring about customers, but no longer cares about their own differences, offering a unique value proposition to earn products.
They just gave up. They knew the changes were the losers for them, but they saved their work with the Mirquit County board of directors. That’s really sad.