Southwest Airlines, a US carrier formerly beloved by loyal customers for its customer service oriented ethos, has sparked outrage for the third time in as many months with another change to its policies. After announcing the end of free luggage and non-assigned seating, Southwest has said its once open-ended flight credits will now have an expiry date.
From 28 May 2025, any flight credits given out by Southwest will only be valid for between six months and one year, depending on the type of fare in question. Flight credits are what passengers receive if they change their ticket to a cheaper seat or if their flight is changed. In the words of Southwest’s small print, a credit is “from either a canceled flight or a downgrade in fare that can be used to buy a future flight.”
View from The Wing reports that credits for so-called “regular fares” will expire after 12 months, whereas holders of credits on basic economy “Wanna Get Away” fares will only have six months in which to use them. Another disadvantage for those on basic fares is that the credits will only be able to be transferred to someone else on Business Select, Anytime, and Wanna Get Away Plus tickets, and only if both people involved are Southwest Rapid Rewards members.
The changes to credits follow announcements at the end of 2024 and earlier in 2025 that the end of May would also bring the end of unassigned seating and, controversially, free checked bags—a policy that has distinguished Southwest from other airlines for 50 years.
From 28 May, only Southwest’s A-List loyalty program members will be entitled to check in their first and second bags. Other loyalty members, reward card holders, and business flyers will get one checked bag only. And the rest? Zilch.
Man, @SouthwestAir fell off. I'm cancelling my SW chase Credit card. No point in flying with them anymore if there's no difference between them and their competitors. Prices aren't better, the bags aren't free, and rewards aren't better. You lost my business.
— Caleb Reeve (@calebreeve) April 15, 2025
Acknowledging that some might react badly to the moves, Southwest’s chief executive, Bob Jordan, has said the new rules are “not going to change who we are, or the values that we stand for.” What changes, he said, is “the product that we offer our customers that they want significantly.”
But reactions online might undermine Jordan’s confidence. One X user asked “What incentive is there to fly with them now?”. In an indignant Reddit thread, a commenter declared “I now have no reason to stick with Southwest,” while others on X vowed: “never flying with them again” and “Southwest is not the 1st choice anymore.”
