Do This Before Major Southwest Program Changes Go into Effect on May 28th

Most of you are probably aware of the fact that Southwest program will undergo major negative changes at the end of the month. Nancy has highlighted some of them in her recent post, and today I want to focus specifically on credit expiration. As of now, Southwest credits don’t expire, but that will change very soon. Depending on the fare, you will only have 6 to 12 months to put them to good use. So, what should you do if you have a bunch of credits right now? Well, here are a few things you may want to consider doing ASAP:

1) Roll them into one credit by booking a Southwest flight and then immediately canceling it

The reason? It will make it easier to manage your funds in the future, since you are only allowed three forms of payment per booking, and each credit is counted separately.

Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Let’s say you have three separate Southwest credits of $50 each in your account. Your goal is to find a flight that costs close to $150 and use them all to book it. You then cancel that flight so you can  have only one  credit of $150. No, it won’t have an expiration date as long as you do it within the next few weeks.

2) While you are at it, book a “Wanna get away plus” or “Anytime” fare

Even if your previous credit was non-transferable, the new fare rules will still apply.

3) Consider booking cheap Southwest  flights via certain credit cards now

Assuming you are interested in flying Southwest, that is. For example, Amex Hilton Aspire offers $50 quarterly credit on flights booked via airlines’ own website or via Amex Travel. You don’t have to select a specific airline, so it’s easy to take advantage of it. Assuming you aren’t planning to buy any other airfare in a near future, Southwest is a good option to consider. Again, assuming you have other credits and plan to fly this airline anyway.

You can start by clicking on “special offers” and then look for a ticket that costs as close to $50 as possible.

I find that Las Vegas has some cheap deals on a regular basis.

If you plan to roll your Southwest credits into one after canceling this flight, it doesn’t matter which fare you will book now, so I would go with the cheapest option.

Reportedly, as long as your Southwest fare costs less than $100, it will trigger The Amex Platinum airfare incidentals credit. Obviously, I can’t guarantee anything, so do this one at your own risk. Also, make sure you select Southwest as your preferred airline before purchasing your ticket.

But if you plan to take advantage of it at some point in the future, there is a compelling reason to do it now, so you can cancel your Southwest flight and have a flight credit that never expires.

Keep in mind that if you use your Southwest credit after May 28th, the new rules will apply. Still, this way you will lock in extra flexibility just in case. If you have kids and elderly relatives, the importance of travel flexibility can not be overstated.