<p>I’m not all that familiar with the fluctuation of Southwest Airlines, but from the airport we use to Ind the fares have doubled – and this is for a trip to return to college at end of August! </p>
<p>Should I wait? Every day they seem to go higher. Or do they go down? Last year we paid much much less and bought the tickets less than a month before travel. This year I thought I’d be smart and buy early, but I waited and two days later it’s twice the fare… ugh!</p>
<p>Anyone with experience with SW please advise…</p>
<p>As a rule, don’t book fares on the SW web site between Friday-Monday. Check to see if they have dropped again on Tuesday or Wednesday. You have to be diligent about this and check every day. The thing about SW is that if you book a fare, and it comes down, you can get the difference credited to your account and use it at another time. No change fees. No nothing. Much fairer than other airlines. And no baggage fees, so that if you’re traveling with luggage, even if another carrier seems more expensive, if you’ve got two bags, you’ll pay lots for your luggage.</p>
<p>Most if not all airlines test raising fares on Friday, Sat., Sun. so purchase your tickets on other days. I’ve read that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days in which to buy your tickets.</p>
<p>Wow - I didn’t know that! It’s sort of a scam but I understand that most businesses (more frequent flyers) book during the week, most families (less frequent flyers) book vacations on the weekend. Buyer Beware!!!</p>
<p>For Southwest, you can also download their DING! alert software. You enter the cities in which you have an interest, and it tells you every day if there are specials in those cities.</p>
<p>Momof3sons… How is that credit applied? Is it automatic or do I need to see when the prices drop and then ask for it? I agree, SW is terrific. Not only no luggage fees, but if you change your date of travel, no charge. I hope we can use them again!</p>
<p>For the SW credit -if you see a lower price, you go into the system and basically change your reservation. It may be the same flight but you have to do that change to get the lower price. Nothing actually changes until you confirm it at the end of the process. </p>
<p>Then you need to hang onto the original reservation confirmation even if you cancelled it. The credit does not show up automatically. You have one year from the initial booking to use the credit. When you make a new reservation, on the confirmation/payment page, there’s a section called “Apply Travel Funds”. You enter the old reservation confirmation number (normally letters) and your name, and the system should then show you available credits. You can choose to apply any credits, then continue to pay the balance. If the new flight is less than the credit, the balance of the credit will stay on the books (still using the original expiration date).</p>
<p>Unfortunately there does not seem to be any way to just pull up your account and look for existing credits. SW has a generous policy but they do want you to keep track yourself!</p>
<p>You can use the credit towards any family member/friend’s newly booked flight. You MUST have the confirmation # and the first and last name of the person whose flight warranted the refund/credit.</p>
<p>I have seen SW fares actually go down as the departure date approaches. It just depends on how fast they fill their flight. If the flight is not selling they lower the price. This is until about a month prior to departure.</p>
<p>We were watching Delta fares, and the minute we went to book they shot up 25%. It too was a Friday! Won’t do that again. However, I’m also wondering if airfares have recently risen to try to offset all the grounded flights in Europe. (SW would not be involved, but the international airlines may be trying to get back some of the lost revenue).</p>