If you’re traveling on Southwest Airlines and you have to cancel your flight (or Southwest cancels your flight despite it not being your choice), you chose one of the better airlines to fly with in terms of refund policies. The Southwest refund policy is pretty generous and easy to navigate.

In fact, Southwest is the only airline in NerdWallet’s annual analysis of airline rewards programs to get a perfect score in the fees category. It has few fees across the board (e.g., you can fly with two free checked bags). Plus, there’s one aggravating fee that’s common with other airlines but that you won’t see on Southwest — the airline charges no change or cancellation fees.

Even with Southwest's lower-cost, Wanna Get Away airfares — which don’t entitle you to a full cash refund — you’re typically able to retain the value of your airfare in the form of Southwest travel funds. These funds don’t expire and can be used toward future flights.

Here’s how to know whether you’re entitled to a Southwest refund and how to actually get it.

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Southwest refund policy

Can I cancel my Southwest flight and get a refund? Possibly — let’s look at the different scenarios.

All flights and fare types can be canceled within 24 hours of booking, without penalty, for a full refund to the original form of payment. For cancellations outside that window, it depends on the airfare you bought.

Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus tickets are nonrefundable (but still qualify for future travel credits).

Business Select and Anytime tickets are always fully refundable to your original form of payment.

Canceling Wanna Get Away tickets

Wanna Get Away tickets, which are generally the lowest-cost airfares you can purchase from Southwest, are nonrefundable.

But you’re not out completely. There are no cancellation fees, and instead — if you cancel your flight — the value of the ticket will be converted to a flight credit you can use to fund a future flight.