[jedivader]

My wife and I also have funds that we cannot use. We booked a flight in December 2010 but had to cancel. We were going with another couple and booked all four tickets on our credit card and did not worry because if it did get cancelled, we would just use the funds for ourselves to go elsewhere. Well, we went to use them and the website stopped us. After getting in touch with Customer Service (busy signal for over an hour) we were told the same. Even if the tickets are under your credit card, only the name on the ticket can use the funds. We were told that this has always been their policy but they have now decided to enforce it. Also, a notice was never issued to customers vie e-mail or U.S Mail regarding this. We were told that in the fine print at the bottom of the reservations there was a notice of the change. Sounds to me like they were just trying to slip one buy. So now, we are stuck with $190 that cannot be used. The other couple hardly goes out of town and really never takes SWA if they do. We were told that we could wait a year and pay $50 to transfer the tickets. Oh, so we paid for the tickets with our credit card and now we have to pay $50 more to use them ourselves??? So, after a year we would now have $140 in funds.

What difference does it make who is on the ticket or who uses it?
Why would I read the small print when I was not expecting a change?
SWA sends out mail and e-mail regarding everything else, why not this?

SWA has really become a pile of junk and no longer cares about customer satisfaction/loyalty. They are only concerned about the almighy dollar and trying to keep up wth the other airlines. They have lost all perspective of what made them so great in the first place.