Yes, on every fare but Basic, and with no fees. Choice fares change to the lower fare and keep the difference as flight credit; Choice Preferred and Choice Extra can get it back to your original payment.
Verified against the airline's own policy pages.
Price drop calculator
Is it worth changing your Southwest Airlines flight for the lower fare? Enter what you paid and the new price to see what you’d get back after any change fee.
Enter what you paid and the new Southwest Airlines fare to see if claiming is worth the friction.
The rules of the game
Four things to know about Southwest Airlines price drops before deciding whether to claim one.
Cancel a Southwest booking within 24 hours of buying it and you get your money back on your original card, on any fare including Basic. The catch: the booking has to be made at least 7 days before departure. If the price drops inside that window, book the cheaper fare first to lock it in, then cancel the original ticket for the full refund.
Southwest charges no change fee and no cancel fee on any fare, Basic included. That makes it one of the few airlines where even a small drop is worth claiming: every dollar of the difference comes back to you. What changes from fare to fare is not whether you get the difference, but whether it comes back as cash or as a flight credit, and how long that credit lasts.
Southwest now sells four fares: Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred and Choice Extra. On Choice and above, you change your flight to the lower fare in Manage Reservations and keep the same booking. Basic fares cannot be changed without paying to upgrade, so you cancel for a flight credit and rebook with it. On a round trip with a Basic leg, Southwest only lets you cancel both legs together.
Choice Preferred and Choice Extra are refundable, so the difference can go back to your card or stay as a Transferable Flight Credit. Choice fares return a flight credit that expires 12 months from booking. Basic credits expire 6 months from the date you first booked, and a rebooked flight keeps that date. Cancel at least 10 minutes before departure, or the fare is lost.
After you book
Prices keep moving after you book. Most people who catch a drop do it by checking the price again and again, and sometimes they get lucky.
Option 1 · The manual way
Search your booking on the Southwest Airlines app or website every few days. If the price falls below what you paid, the calculator above tells you whether it’s worth claiming, and these are the steps.
4 methods ranked by ease and success rate.
Southwest Airlines change fees by fare class
Book the same flight at the new lower fare on southwest.com. This locks in the price before you give up your original ticket
Go to Manage Reservations and look up your original booking with your confirmation number and name
Cancel the original flight and choose a refund to your original form of payment (time remaining in your 24-hour window left in the 24-hour window)
Southwest only refunds within 24 hours when the booking was made at least 7 days before departure. Closer in, you get a flight credit instead.
All claim methods
Book the same flight at the new lower fare on southwest.com. This locks in the price before you give up your original ticket
Go to Manage Reservations and look up your original booking with your confirmation number and name
Cancel the original flight and choose a refund to your original form of payment (time remaining in your 24-hour window left in the 24-hour window)
Southwest only refunds within 24 hours when the booking was made at least 7 days before departure. Closer in, you get a flight credit instead.
Go to Manage Reservations on southwest.com or open the Southwest app, and look up your booking with your confirmation number and name
Select "Change" on your flight
Pick the same flight at the lower fare and confirm. There is no change fee
Southwest returns the difference: as a flight credit on Choice fares, or to your original payment (or a Transferable Flight Credit, your choice) on Choice Preferred and Choice Extra
Choice fare credits expire 12 months from the original booking date. Basic fares cannot be changed this way.
Check the lower fare is still showing for your flight on southwest.com
Go to Manage Reservations and cancel your original booking. There is no fee; the full value becomes a flight credit
Book the same flight again at the lower fare and apply your flight credit at checkout
The leftover credit is your saving, and it stays in your Southwest account for a future trip
Basic fare credits expire 6 months from the date you first booked, and the new booking keeps that same expiry. On a round trip with a Basic leg, Southwest only lets you cancel both legs together, so rebook the whole trip. Cancel at least 10 minutes before departure or the fare is forfeited.
Call Southwest at 1-800-435-9792 and ask for an agent
Give your confirmation number and say the fare on your flight has dropped
Ask the agent to change you to the lower fare (Choice fares and above) or to cancel and rebook it (Basic fares)
Option 2 · The easy way
Fares move after you book, usually when you’re not looking. Forward your Southwest Airlines confirmation once and Plot watches the price for you. When a drop is worth claiming, you get an alert with the exact steps.
“Plot has saved me over $1,100 in flight and hotel savings so far in 2026.”
Price Watch is part of Plot Pro.
With Plot
Fares can keep moving after you book. Plot is an app that keeps your trips in one place and watches the price after you book. Forward your Southwest Airlines confirmation once, and you hear about the next drop with the steps to claim it.
Forward your Southwest Airlines booking confirmation to plans@plot.travel. That is the only thing you need to do.
Plot keeps measuring your exact Southwest Airlines fare against the market, and reads the fine print (fare class rules, change fees, the 24-hour refund window) so a drop only counts when it's worth acting on.
Your Southwest Airlines price dropped
How to claim your savings
When the price drops, we tell you the savings and the exact Southwest Airlines steps to claim your refund or credit.
Price Watch is part of Plot Pro.
Questions
Common questions about Southwest Airlines price drops and refunds.
Yes, on every fare but Basic, and with no fees. Choice fares change to the lower fare and keep the difference as flight credit; Choice Preferred and Choice Extra can get it back to your original payment. Basic cannot be changed, so you cancel for credit (valid 6 months from booking) and rebook. Within 24 hours of booking, if you booked at least 7 days before departure, any fare cancels for a full refund.
Yes. US federal law requires airlines to let you cancel any flight within 24 hours of booking for a full cash refund, as long as the flight departs at least 7 days away. This applies to all fare types, including Basic Economy. It is the most reliable way to capture a price drop right after you book.
It depends on when you act. Within 24 hours of booking, you always get a full cash refund by law. After that window, Southwest Airlines typically issues the fare difference as a travel credit or voucher tied to your account, not cash. The price drop calculator on this page shows what your fare gets back.
For cancellations within 24 hours of booking, Southwest Airlines is required by law to process your cash refund within 7 business days for credit card payments and 20 business days for other payment methods. Travel credits from fare changes are typically available on your account within minutes to a few hours.
Yes. The amount depends on your fare class. Basic: Free · Choice / Choice Preferred / Choice Extra: Free. If you booked at least 7 days before departure, you can cancel within 24 hours of booking for a full cash refund on any fare class. No change fee applies inside that DOT window.
Yes. On Choice fares and above, change to the lower fare in Manage Reservations and the points difference goes back to your Rapid Rewards account. Basic fares cannot be changed, so book the lower fare first, then cancel the original: the points you paid come back to your account. Southwest charges no change or cancel fee on any fare.
Yes. Southwest prices points from the cash fare, so a cheaper fare usually means fewer points. Plot Pro watches Rapid Rewards bookings and tells you when the points price drops.
Plot watches your Southwest Airlines fare continuously after you forward your confirmation email to plans@plot.travel. When the price drops, we send you the savings amount and step-by-step instructions for Southwest Airlines's policies, so you know exactly how to claim your refund or credit. Price Watch is part of Plot Pro.
Still have questions? Email us
Deep dive
Southwest overhauled its fares on January 27, 2026. Here’s exactly how price drops work for each fare tier — Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra.
Read the full guideDeep dive
Where to find Southwest's Low Fare Calendar, how to read it in dollars or points, and what to do when your fare drops after you book.
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