According to SouthWest Airlines Passengers whose flights were canceled or significantly affected from Dec 24 to Jan 2 are eligible to apply for a refund of their unused ticket to the original form of payment. To do so, complete an online form with your name and reservation confirmation number, after which you should expect to promptly receive your refund.
If you were separated from your luggage or other belongings during travel, you can also fill out a separate form to address that.
Pete Buttigieg has stated that if the cancellations were not weather related the company is required to cover not only the cost of airfare but of meals, transportation and hotels if you were stranded away from home. Southwest has pledged to refund its customers for canceled flights and expenses such as rental cars, hotels and airfare booked through other airlines. Other costs will be handled on a case-by-case basis, per the airline.
Southwest will also honor “reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel accommodations, and alternate transportation (for example: rental cars and tickets on other airlines)” incurred by cancellations, per its website. For those costs, email Southwest directly with your request and attach copies of your expenses for review.
So the Keys are 1) keep all your paperwork 2) First go to the SouthWest website and fill out all the required paperwork 3) Wait at least 5 Days check your credit card account. (SouthWest has 7 days to credit you back) 4) If still unsatisfied go to https://support.southwest.com/email-us/s/?clk=TRAVEL-DISRUPTION-LP and file a complaint.
Remember SouthWest is being hit with a lot of requests so some patience is required and for all your trouble Southwest has kicked in a 25,000 bonus Rapid Rewards that do not expire.
If it is all driving you nuts you can file an official complaint with the Department of Transportation realizing it takes 30 days for them to respond.
