Southwest Airlines is undergoing major changes this week, in an effort to boost its profitability. Yesterday, the airline started charging for checked bags, but that’s not the only major policy change that has been implemented as of this week.
Southwest flight credits are no longer valid forever
Southwest has long been known for its customer friendly policies. Back in the day, Southwest had no change fees on tickets, even when the competition did. That meant you could book a Southwest ticket without worry, and if you couldn’t take the trip, you’d be issued a flight credit for a future trip.
However, at the start of the pandemic, we saw many other airlines introduce a similar policy, to reflect the situation, and evolving consumer behavior. So in 2022, Southwest one-upped the competition.
The airline changed its policy so that flight credits would no longer expire. Up until that point, Southwest flight credits expired one year after they were issued, but Southwest once again wanted to find a way to differentiate itself.
Well, that’s now no longer the case. For tickets issued as of Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Southwest flight credits once again expire:
- On Basic fares, Southwest flight credits expire six months after a ticket is issued
- On Wanna Get Away Plus, Anytime, and Business Select fares, Southwest flight credits expire 12 months after they’re issued
Let me emphasize that those expiration dates are in relation to when a ticket was initially issued, and travel has to be completed within that timeframe. That means if you book a Basic ticket nearly six months out and then need to cancel, you’ll have very little time to use your flight credit.
Furthermore, I should mention that flight credits issued prior to May 28 should continue to have no expiration date, in line with the old policy.
This policy shift aligns Southwest with the competition
For so long, Southwest did its own thing, regardless of what the competition was doing. However, with Southwest having activist investors in the form of Elliott Investment Management, the mandate is clear — be just like all the other guys, and somehow that will be the key to profitability.
While I do think there are some areas where Southwest needed to evolve (like introducing premium seating options), I really don’t understand the extreme to which this is being taken.
I get the desire for ancillary revenue and finding ways to generate easy cash, but without the ability to establish a revenue premium in domestic economy, I’m not sure how that’s supposed to result in industry leading profitability, especially when Southwest doesn’t have first class or long haul aircraft, which are the areas where carriers like Delta and United are generating much of their revenue…
Bottom line
For tickets issued as of May 28, 2025, Southwest Airlines flight credits once again expire. They expire after 12 months for most fares, while they expire after six months for the carrier’s new basic economy fares. Since 2022, Southwest has been leading the industry by having flight credits not expire, and now that has been reversed.
What do you make of Southwest flight credits expiring once again?
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