Southwest is one of the most popular airlines to fly in the U.S., partially because it offers a generous cancellation and flight change policy. However, depending upon the ticket you buy, you may receive travel funds instead of a cash refund in the event your flight plans change.

Here's how to use Southwest travel funds.

How do you get Southwest travel funds?

Thanks to its no-fee change/cancellation policy, Southwest provides a full refund or issues travel funds to your account. To benefit from this generous policy, you must cancel your flight at least 10 minutes before departure.

Here’s how to determine what kind of refund you’ll get:

You get a full refund to your original payment method when you book Anytime or Business Select tickets.

You get travel funds when you book Wanna Get Away or Wanna Get Away Plus tickets. If you use Rapid Rewards points, they will be returned to your Southwest account. Any refunded taxes will go to your travel funds.

Business Select and Anytime fares offer the most flexibility, but they also cost more than Wanna Get Away fares. Wanna Get Away fares, on the other hand, offer the lowest prices. But if you need to cancel or choose to rebook to a lower-priced flight, your only choice is to receive travel funds — cash refunds aren't on the table.

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Where can you see your travel funds balance?

When you log in to your Rapid Rewards loyalty account, your travel funds appear at the top of the "My Account" screen.

This shows the total available travel funds that you have, but it does not provide the details. You need to click on "View Details" to see the balance of the individual travel fund reservations. Here, you find the expiration date and balance for each reservation. As of July 28, 2022, any unexpired funds and any funds created from there on out will no longer expire. Southwest is updating their system, so for the time being, an expiration date of Dec. 31, 2040, will be displayed in the expiration field. Eventually, that field will go away altogether.

If you don't have a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards account, booked a flight that didn't have your loyalty number attached to it or have travel funds from a special purchase ticket, then you'll need to track them manually. Signing up for a Rapid Rewards account is free to do.

Unfortunately, you cannot manually add travel funds to your profile. To track your travel funds manually, visit the "Check Travel Funds" page on Southwest's website. You'll need to provide the passenger's first and last name plus the confirmation number from the reservation. On this page, you can also check the balance of Southwest LUV vouchers and gift cards.

What can I do if my travel funds have expired?

While unexpired funds and newly created funds no longer have an expiration date as of July 28, 2022, what if you have travel funds that expired just before this change in policy? According to the Southwest Community message boards, your one hope is to call customer service within six months of the expiration and ask them to reinstate your travel funds as a LUV voucher. The LUV voucher will be good for another six months from the date of your call. Southwest charges $100 for this one-time extension and it comes out of your travel funds.

What can Southwest travel funds be used for?

Travel funds from Southwest can be used to book any available cash flight or to pay for the taxes and fees on award flights. They are treated like cash and can be used to pay for some or all of the amount owed. If you don't use all of the travel funds for the reservation, any remaining balance remains for future use.

Can I use Southwest travel fund for someone else?

Your travel funds can be transferred to someone else with a Rapid Rewards account if you bought a a Business Select, Anytime or Wanna Get Away Plus fare. That person would have to book their own flight using the travel fund, though. You won't be able to use your travel fund to book for someone else. Wanna Get Away fares are not eligible to transferred, so they can only be used by the ticketed passenger.

4 steps to book a flight with Southwest travel funds

Your travel funds can be used to book flights online, over the phone or at a Southwest Airlines ticket counter. For this illustration, we'll focus on booking a reservation online.

1. Have your original ticket confirmation number handy

Before booking a reservation, print out or write down the travel funds reservation number(s) that you'd like to use. Southwest's website does not allow you to choose from a list during booking.

2. Browse and select your flights

During the booking process, you'll select your travel dates, cities and times as normal.

3. Apply your travel funds

When you arrive at the "Passenger & Payment Info" page, click to expand the "Apply Travel Funds, LUV Vouchers and gift cards" section. Here is where you'll enter your travel funds' confirmation number and your first and last name before clicking "Apply funds." Then, continue the booking process as normal and pay any remaining balance owed with your preferred form of payment, such as the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.

Again, you may use your travel funds for cash fares or to pay the taxes and fees on award tickets.

Remember, travel funds from other passengers may not be applied to your ticket.

4. Get confirmation

Now that you've filled out all of the necessary information and remitted payment with your travel fund, you should see a confirmation email pop up in your inbox.

Using Southwest travel funds

Southwest travel funds are typically created when you cancel or change a Wanna Get Away reservation. They are automatically added to your account when you attach your Rapid Rewards number to the reservation before it is canceled. These funds can be used to book cash or award travel, and any unused amount from your new reservation can be used on a future flight.