Southwest Cancellation Policy in 2026: Refunds, Credits, and Deadlines

Southwest charges no fee to cancel any fare, but only Choice Preferred and Choice Extra tickets refund to your original payment. If you booked Basic or Choice, canceling gives you a flight credit instead, and you must cancel at least 10 minutes before departure or you can lose the money. That deadline and the fare you bought decide everything else on this page.

Southwest rebuilt its fares in 2026, so older guides that talk about “Wanna Get Away” are out of date. Everything here comes from Southwest’s own pages, which we read on October 12, 2026, and uses the current fare names.

What you get when you cancel, by fare

Southwest’s fare information page sets the rules for each fare. The columns that matter are the refund and the credit expiry.

Fare	Cancel fee	What you receive	Credit expires
Basic	None	Flight credit, non-refundable	6 months from booking and ticketing
Choice	None	Transferable Flight Credit, non-refundable	12 months from booking and ticketing
Choice Preferred	None	Refund to original payment	12 months if you take a credit
Choice Extra	None	Refund to original payment	12 months if you take a credit

Rules as of October 12, 2026, from southwest.com.

Choice Preferred and Choice Extra refunds return 100 percent of the ticket value, not counting optional travel charges, to the original form of payment. That is the single biggest difference between the fares, and it is the reason a cheaper Basic fare can cost more if your plans change.

The 10-minute rule

Every fare has the same deadline. You must cancel at least 10 minutes before the flight’s original scheduled departure time. Southwest’s support page says the same thing about changes: you can change a flight “up until 10 minutes before your original scheduled departure time.”

Miss it and the no-show policy applies. Southwest’s pages say what that costs on each fare:

• Basic and Choice, paid with cash: the funds are forfeited.
• Choice Preferred and Choice Extra, paid with cash: the ticket value becomes a Transferable Flight Credit that expires.
• Basic and Choice, paid with points: the points are forfeited, along with taxes and fees.
• Choice Preferred and Choice Extra, paid with points: the points return to your Rapid Rewards account, and the taxes and fees convert to a credit.

If you know you will miss a flight, cancel from the app or website before the 10-minute cutoff, even if you are already running late. A canceled Basic fare gives you a credit. A no-show gives you nothing.

The 24-hour rule

If you cancel within 24 hours of booking, Southwest’s refund policy page says you can take a refund to your original method of payment or hold the value as a flight credit. The page does not attach a “flight must be seven days away” condition, which some older guides still repeat.

This is the one route to a refund on a Basic fare. Southwest’s fare page says Basic fares are non-refundable “except as allowed by our 24-hour cancellation policy.” For the broader picture across airlines, see our guide to the 24-hour flight cancellation policy.

Roundtrips with a Basic segment

Basic fares add a trap on roundtrips. Southwest’s fare rules say that if one or both segments is a Basic fare, you can cancel only if you cancel both segments or you upgrade the Basic segment. You cannot keep the outbound and cancel only the return.

Check how your itinerary was priced before you plan to drop a single leg.

When Southwest cancels or changes your flight

The rules flip in your favor if Southwest is the one that changes the trip. Southwest’s cancellation options page lists four choices:

1. Keep going. Southwest automatically rebooks you on another flight to your destination.
2. Rebook. You can move the date or time by up to 14 days from your original travel date at no additional cost.
3. Take a flight credit. For a flight Southwest canceled, the credit is valid for five years.
4. Request a refund. Unused airfare refunds to the original payment method, generally within seven business days.

The refund policy page describes a significant change as “generally a delay or change of three or more hours domestically and six or more hours internationally.” If you decide not to travel after one, you qualify for a refund even on a non-refundable ticket, plus any bag fees and unused extras.

Southwest’s cancellation options page does not mention meal or hotel compensation. For what US airlines are and are not required to pay you in a delay, read what US airlines owe you for a canceled or delayed flight. If the airline cancels and you are stuck at the airport, what to do when your flight is cancelled is the checklist.

Changing instead of canceling

If you only need a different flight, a change is often better than a cancellation. Southwest says most flights can be changed on its website or app. Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra changes allow a fare difference to apply. Basic fares cannot be changed unless you first upgrade to a Choice fare or higher.

If the new fare costs less, the difference is refunded to the original payment for refundable fares. On the other fares it is held as a flight credit.

For same-day moves, see our guide to flight standby, which covers what each fare allows on the day of travel.

One honest caveat

Credit expiry dates run from the date you booked and ticketed, not the date you canceled. A Basic credit from a trip you booked in March has already expired by October. Look up your credit in your Southwest account before you assume you have a year.

Frequently asked questions

Does Southwest charge a cancellation fee? No. Southwest’s fare pages say all fare types can be canceled without a fee, as long as you cancel at least 10 minutes before departure.

Can I get a cash refund from Southwest? Yes, on Choice Preferred and Choice Extra fares, to your original payment. Basic and Choice fares are non-refundable except under the 24-hour cancellation policy or when Southwest cancels or significantly changes the flight.

How long does a Southwest flight credit last? Six months from the date you booked and ticketed for Basic fares, and 12 months for Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra fares. A credit for a flight Southwest canceled is valid for five years.

What happens if I do not cancel in time? The reservation is treated as a no-show. On Basic and Choice cash fares the funds are forfeited. On Choice Preferred and Choice Extra the value becomes an expiring Transferable Flight Credit.

Can I cancel just one leg of a roundtrip? Not if one segment is Basic. You must cancel both segments or upgrade the Basic segment first.

Sources

• Southwest fare information and rules, fetched October 12, 2026
• Southwest fare types and benefits, fetched October 12, 2026
• Southwest refund policy, fetched October 12, 2026
• Options if Southwest cancels your flight, fetched October 12, 2026
• Southwest no-show policy, fetched October 12, 2026
• Changing or canceling flights, fetched October 12, 2026