Can I Change A Wanna Get Away Flight? | Know The Rules First

Yes, you can change this fare type by paying any fare difference, and you’ll get a flight credit when the new trip costs less.

Plans shift. Work meetings run long. Kids get sick. A connection starts looking too tight. If you booked a Wanna Get Away fare on Southwest, you’re not stuck. In most cases, you can move your trip to a new flight without paying a separate change fee.

The catch is simple: you’re trading your original flights for new ones at today’s price. If the replacement itinerary costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, you keep the leftover value as a credit for later.

This guide keeps it practical. You’ll learn what Southwest counts as a change, where your credit goes, and the time cutoffs that matter when you’re rushing.

Can I Change A Wanna Get Away Flight? What To Expect

Most changes fall into one of these outcomes:

• New trip costs more: You pay the fare difference at checkout.
• New trip costs less: Southwest issues a credit for the leftover value.
• Same price: You swap flights and pay $0.

Southwest’s system prices what’s available at the moment you confirm the change. That means the best time to change is often earlier, when more low fares are still sitting in inventory.

Change Versus Cancel: Which One Fits Your Situation

Both actions can end with a credit. The difference is timing and control.

Changing means you pick your replacement flights right away. It’s good when you already know your new dates and you want to lock them in before prices move again.

Canceling removes the trip and keeps the value as a credit. It’s good when you need breathing room and don’t want to rush into new dates.

Either way, act before departure. Southwest’s fare pages tie credit eligibility to canceling at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time. Fare Types and Benefits spells out that cutoff and the way credits can expire by fare type.

What Southwest Treats As A Change

Southwest uses “change” as a broad bucket. These are the edits people make most often:

• Switching to an earlier or later flight on the same route
• Moving the trip to a different date
• Changing only the outbound or only the return
• Swapping one leg of a connection while keeping the other leg

Name corrections and ticket transfers don’t behave like standard changes. If the passenger name is wrong, treat it as a customer service issue instead of trying to “fix” it with self-serve changes.

How The Fare Difference Math Works

Southwest prices each itinerary based on what’s for sale right now. Your original fare doesn’t “carry over” as a locked rate. You’re basically doing a new purchase and applying your old value to it.

A few things can make the fare-difference line feel odd:

• Close-in pricing: Flights often get pricier close to departure, even when the route stays the same.
• Partial swaps: If you change only one leg, the total can reprice in a way that’s not intuitive.
• Inventory swings: The last low fare can disappear while you’re clicking around.

If you’re changing because you spotted a lower fare, compare two paths: changing the reservation versus canceling and booking fresh. Sometimes the cleanest move is to cancel, let the credit land, then rebook the exact flights at the new lower price.

Where Your Credit Goes And How To Find It

When your new trip is cheaper, Southwest issues a credit for the leftover value. Depending on the fare rules tied to your booking, that credit may be tied to your confirmation number, your Rapid Rewards profile, or a category Southwest labels as a flight credit.

Southwest’s help pages walk through the basics of locating and using credits, along with the validity window they apply in certain cases. About Flight Credits is the cleanest starting point when you need to track down a credit fast.

Right after a change, take 30 seconds to confirm the credit is visible. Save the confirmation number tied to the credit and jot down the expiration date you see in your account. That small habit prevents the “I swear I had credit” scramble months later.

Common Change Scenarios And Outcomes

This table gives you a quick map of what usually happens, plus the detail that tends to decide the result.

Scenario	What Happens To Money Or Points	Detail That Changes The Result
New flight costs more	You pay the difference	Price is based on what’s for sale at the moment you confirm.
New flight costs less	You get a credit	Credit type and expiration can vary by fare.
Outbound changed, return stays	It reprices as a mix	One segment jumping in cost can move the total.
Only one leg of a connection changed	Total may reprice	Sometimes rebuilding the whole itinerary is cheaper.
Points booking changed to cheaper flight	Points return to the booking account	Taxes and fees can shift with the new itinerary.
Need to change on the travel day	Fare difference or same-day options	Benefits depend on what your reservation shows for that trip.
Missed flight with no change or cancel	Funds may be lost	Southwest ties protection to acting before departure.
Used a credit, then changed again	Credit can reissue	Reissued credits can follow the rules of the new fare.

How To Change Your Flight On The Website Or App

The steps are the same on desktop and mobile. You’ll swap flights, then confirm the new total.

1. Pull up the trip: Sign in and open your reservation. If you booked as a guest, use the confirmation number and passenger name.
2. Tap “Change”: Choose whether you’re changing one direction or the full trip.
3. Shop new flights: Pick your new times and dates. Double-check the calendar so you don’t shift the wrong week.
4. Read the price breakdown: Look for the amount due or the credit amount.
5. Confirm: Finish checkout and save the updated confirmation.

After you confirm, open your credits area and verify the amount is there if your new itinerary was cheaper. If you’re paying more, confirm the final total matches what you expected before you submit.

Changing Close To Departure Without Losing Your Ticket Value

When you’re near departure, the clock matters more than the price. Southwest ties credit protection to taking action at least 10 minutes before scheduled departure. If you wait too long, you can fall into a no-show outcome where the value may be forfeited.

If you’re in that last-minute zone, keep your change simple. Pick one new itinerary and confirm it. Don’t run ten searches across five dates. Inventory can shift between clicks, and you can waste the window you needed to protect the ticket value.

Points, Companion Pass, And Two-Reservation Trips

If you booked with points, changes are still driven by the same idea: you’re trading one itinerary for another at the current price. When the new itinerary costs less, points go back to the Rapid Rewards account that booked the reservation. Taxes and fees can change too, since those depend on the new flights.

Companion Pass travel can create a “paired” setup: your main ticket plus a companion ticket. After you change the main reservation, check that the companion itinerary still matches. If it doesn’t, you may need to cancel and re-add the companion portion based on what the app allows for your booking.

Credit Tracking That Takes Two Minutes

Credits get messy when you’ve changed a trip more than once. This routine keeps them straight:

• Save the confirmation number tied to any credit.
• Record the credit amount and the expiration date shown in your account.
• When you book with a credit, screenshot the checkout page showing the credit applied.
• After booking, check if any leftover value created a new credit.

It’s boring, but it works. It also helps when you’re managing more than one traveler and credits start to blend together.

Final Pre-Change Checklist

Use this as your last scan before you press “Confirm.” It catches the slipups that cost the most time and money.

Check	What To Verify	Why It Pays Off
Date and day	Right month, right weekday	One day off can blow up hotel and car plans.
Airports	Correct departure and arrival airports	Some metro areas have multiple airports.
Stops	Nonstop vs connecting and layover length	A tight connection can turn into a missed flight.
Total due	Exact amount due before payment	This confirms the fare difference you’re accepting.
Credit amount	Credit shown when the new trip is cheaper	You’ll want the value clear for your next booking.
Time buffer	At least 10 minutes before departure	This protects you from a no-show outcome.
Second reservation	Companion or separate booking still matches	Paired trips can desync after a change.

When Canceling And Rebooking Beats A Straight Change

Changing is usually the smooth path. Canceling and rebooking can be cleaner when you’re doing a bigger reshuffle.

• You want to split a roundtrip into two one-way bookings.
• You’re changing multiple legs and the repriced total feels off.
• You want to apply a different credit or a different payment method.
• You’re trying to line up flights for multiple travelers.

If low fares are scarce, you can book the new flight first, then cancel the old one. That keeps you from losing the seat you want in the gap between clicks.