So, because of the 737MAX issues, Southwest has to change their schedule every month or so. There is currently a "loophole" where you can book the cheapest flight you can find between your two cities that falls between April 14 to June 6. You can then change to it any day/time within 14 days of the flight you just booked for no cost. Example:
Let's say the flight you want from Chicago to St Louis on 4/4 is $300. But the flight on the 17th (13 days from 4/4) is $100. You book the $100 flight on the 17th. As soon as you book, click change and change to the date/time you want for free. That $300 flight now only cost you $100.
Note: this loophole will only last a few days.
So if I already booked my flight two days ago does that mean I'm SOL?
Makes sense. I booked half of my trip on points so even better!
So the cheapest fare on the flights I want to take is the Wanna Get Away fare. If I buy flights in this fare class but one of the actual flights (on the date I want to travel) currently says Sold Out in the column for Wanna Get Away fares, will I be able to switch to that one? Or, am I only going to be able to switch to the flights that show availability in the flight class I have purchased?
Yes. As long as there is ANY seat avail on the plane.
So the cheapest fare on the flights I want to take is the Wanna Get Away fare. If I buy flights in this fare class but one of the actual flights (on the date I want to travel) currently says Sold Out in the column for Wanna Get Away fares, will I be able to switch to that one? Or, am I only going to be able to switch to the flights that show availability in the flight class I have purchased?
Yes. As long as there is ANY seat avail on the plane.
Sweet! Thanks for the info. Gonna try to do this tonight for the Phoenix show
Also, the Chase SW credit cards right now are 75k bonus points. You get 40k points after you spend $1k in the first 3 months, and then another 35k points after you spend $5k in the first 6 months of opening. It won't help anybody for this tour, but IF there is a fall tour, you can get some free flights for those with points. there is some restrictions though like it's not available to current card members and you can't have gotten a new cardmember bonus in the last 24 months, but still a fantastic deal.
My last flight is on the 14th (San Diego to Denver). Have to check this out
You can also use it on flights for BEFORE the 14th. You just have to make sure the "dummy" flight you book for cheap is 4/14-6/6 (and within 14 days of your "real" flight). Assuming it is, you can change it to 4/1-4/14 (or maybe even 3/31, math is hard).
Glad to hear it worked for you. I hope everyone sees this thread that is travelling. I was afraid it was going to die off when no one responded to it for a while.
Pro tip: Some airports have "sister" airports (BOS/PVD/MHT). You can actually change airports in that case. So you can book the cheapest BOS/MDW flight, and then change it to PVD/MDW for example. For those heading to the west coast, I believe SFO/OAK/SJC are sisters.
And Santa Ana, Ontario and Burbank are sisters for LAX Have flown into both SNA and BUR and they are tiny and much easier to navigate than LAX
BUR (Burbank) is the best airport ever, IMHO. The parking lot is $10/day, and the shuttle to get to the terminal from the parking lot is a 5 minute ride. There are rarely lines for TSA.
I tried to do it to book for Denver....booked cheapest SAN - DEN (which was $72 each way) for some days in May. When I went to change it the parameter dates had changed to later in April and I couldn't do it.
I tried to do it to book for Denver....booked cheapest SAN - DEN (which was $72 each way) for some days in May. When I went to change it the parameter dates had changed to later in April and I couldn't do it.
The change has to be within 14 days of your cheap flight.
I tried to do it to book for Denver....booked cheapest SAN - DEN (which was $72 each way) for some days in May. When I went to change it the parameter dates had changed to later in April and I couldn't do it.
The change has to be within 14 days of your cheap flight.
My bad...I changed it up and used the minimum points (6K)!!! Thanks!!!
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It worked, thanks for the tip!
Also, the Chase SW credit cards right now are 75k bonus points. You get 40k points after you spend $1k in the first 3 months, and then another 35k points after you spend $5k in the first 6 months of opening. It won't help anybody for this tour, but IF there is a fall tour, you can get some free flights for those with points. there is some restrictions though like it's not available to current card members and you can't have gotten a new cardmember bonus in the last 24 months, but still a fantastic deal.
The "cheap" flight you book MUST be between 4/14 and 6/6. You can then change that flight to a flight within 14 days from 4/1 to 6/20.
Yeah true that....I am going to keep an eye on that when it opens to look for good tickets/prices for a trip.