I have never flown Southwest, and have a question about fares.

I was checking fares, and just picked one-way fare between Philly and Denver for a day in May.

I see that there are 3 fares: <b>Business Select, Business, and Wanna Get Away,</b>

My question concerns the difference between <b>Business and Wanna Get Away</b>

As I see it, Business gives same day changes at no additional cost, and WGA is &quot;Applicable fare difference applies&quot;

Business is refundable, WGA is not.

WGA is less than half the Business fare. Seems to me quite a difference. Am I missing anything?

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35088368

I should have mentioned that I searched for 'southwest' and read the relevant posts. But I still could not believe that a 'Business' fare, which differs mainly in its refundability, would be worth more than double the cost of WGA, or be chosen by many people who are paying out of pocket.

Has anyone here chosen Business or Business Select?

When &quot;Wanna Get Away&quot; sells out, then you'll be paying &quot;Business&quot;. Doesn't really matter if you're leisure or business traveler. Those are just acronyms for &quot;discount&quot; and &quot;full&quot; fares.

I guess you have never bought a last minute fare on any other airline either?

It's called &quot;business&quot; because it's aimed at business people. Most businesses can't plan months ahead and thus buy their tickets hours, days before. With Southwest they were screwed especially if the bought the ticket within the 24 hour check in time. Now they will be able to do just that and still get prefered sitting, and couple of other perks. For somebody that has to fly once a week on a regular basis, this SW offer may seem like a salvation. To the leisure flyer that boards a plane 2-3 times a year and has the ability to plan way ahead, this is a total waste of money.

&lt;To the leisure flyer....this is a total waste of money.&gt;

That's what I wanted to know.

No, I have never flown on business or had to buy a ticket at the last minute.

I don't fly Southwest, but I do fly WAY too much on business. I normally buy refundable tickets (which I know are more) because our plans do change all the time, and it'll kill you if you can't get the tickets refunded... When you travel as much as I do - you save money by buying the refundable (and yes, our plans do change that much). So - for vacation, where you have a set amount of money, find the cheapest fare you can find (which is what I do when it's going to come out of my pocket for my couple of personal trips that I have to pay for).

While the cheaper WGA fares are not refundable, you can get a full credit if you have to cancel or change your flight. The funds can be used by you or anyone else. They do not charge you any change fee, but you do have to pay the current fare if you rebook. Sometimes, it is even less than original fare!

This is a fairly new pricing stategy aimed at trying to get more business flyers. The business select will give more FF credits, enable you to get A boarding passes and a drink I think.

Southwest has fare sales all the time. I would suggest if you are interested in flying with them, sign up for DING! which is their special fares watchdog. Fares are really low, but they come and go fast. You get a little icon your tray and it shows a little envelope when there are specials. When you sign up, you indicate which airports you want to fly to/from.

They also have click and save email alerts.

I hope this helps.
Deb