This Privacy Policy applies to the Southwest Airlines website, www.southwest.com as well as Southwest Airlines’ website specifically designed for business travelers, www.swabiz.com.
Southwest Airlines cares about your privacy. When you visit the Southwest Airlines website, the information you provide to us will be handled according to the standards outlined below.
Purchases
If you purchase a product or service from us, we request certain personally identifiable information from you during the purchase process. You must provide contact information (such as name, phone number, and address) and billing information (such as credit card number and expiration date) in order to complete a purchase.
We use this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we will use this information to contact you.
Privacy PolicyThe Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires you to provide your full name, date of birth, and gender for the purpose of watch list screening, under the authority of 49 U.S.C. section 114, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and 49 C.F.R parts 1540 and 1560. You may also provide your Redress Number, if available. Failure to provide your full name, date of birth, and gender may result in denial of transport or denial of authority to enter the boarding area. TSA may share information you provide with law enforcement or intelligence agencies or others under its published system of records notice. For more on TSA privacy policies, or to review the system of records notice and the privacy impact assessment, please see the TSA Web site at www.tsa.gov.
Contests and Surveys
We may occasionally offer users the opportunity to participate in surveys or contests on our website.
If we have your e-mail address, we may also send you surveys or contest invitations by e-mail. We may have your e-mail address if:
If you choose to participate in a contest or survey, we may request certain personally identifiable information from you. This information may include contact information (such as name, e-mail, phone number and shipping address) and optional demographic information (such as your age and gender).
Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you therefore have a choice whether or not to disclose this information. We use this information to administer the contest or survey (e.g., notify contest winners, award prizes and update participants’ profiles). We may also use this information to improve the website experience for our Customers or to improve our product or service offerings.
We may use third party service providers to conduct these surveys or contests. These companies are prohibited from using our users’ personally identifiable information for any other purpose. These third parties are bound by contract to Southwest Airlines to use adequate security measures to protect your personal information.
DING!
From our website, you have the option to download our DING! application. If you choose to download this application, you will be notified of exclusive Southwest airfare offers.
You do not have to install DING! to use our website, and downloading the application is completely voluntary. If you choose to take advantage of this application, you will be asked to provide up to 10 airports for which you are interested in receiving special offers. You will also be asked to provide your Rapid Rewards number, although providing this information is not required to use the application.
For more information on our DING! application, please visit http://www.southwest.com/ding/what_is_ding.html.
Forward-to-a-Friend and Refer-a-Friend
You may use a referral feature (either on a webpage, in an e-mail, from a banner ad or other communication) to inform a friend about a Southwest webpage or promotion. Southwest may use any e-mail address provided when using this referral feature to send both an initial e-mail and a subsequent e-mail to recipients about the particular promotion, product or service in which you indicated your “friend” may have an interest.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information We Collect
In some cases, Southwest may collect information about you that is not personally identifiable. Examples of this type of information include, but are not limited to the frequency of your use of this website and the route by which you choose to access it, and your use of any hyperlinks available on this website. We and our service providers or agents may process and use this data for purposes including, but not limited to planning website development, assessing patterns of use, planning and assessing marketing initiatives by Southwest. This information is gathered by certain tools and methods such as the collection of your IP address or the use of cookies.
IP Addresses
We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our websites. We do not link IP addresses to personally identifiable information except for fraud prevention.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user’s computer for record-keeping purposes. We use cookies on all Southwest affiliated websites covered by this Privacy Policy. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our websites.
We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. We use session cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our websites. A session ID cookie expires when you close you browser. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file.
We set a persistent cookie to store your account number, so you don’t have to enter it each time you want to log-in to your Rapid Rewards®, MySouthwest® or SWABiz® account. Persistent cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance their experience on our site.
If you reject cookies, you may still use our site, but your ability to use some areas of our site will be limited and we will not be able to provide you with the most convenient experience.
Site Usage Profile
We store information that we collect through cookies and log files to create a “profile” of your preferences. We may use this information to provide you with targeted advertisements and offers on our website.
We may also share this information in the aggregate (without any personally identifiable information linked to it in combination with other users’ information) with our marketing partners.
MySouthwest®, SWABiz,® Travel Guide, and Rapid Rewards® Registration
You are not required to establish a MySouthwest® account (also referred to as a SWABiz® Traveler account for the users of our SWABiz® website designed for corporate use) to use this website, however some features of our site are not available to unregistered users. For example, you must have a Rapid Rewards®, MySouthwest® or SWABiz® account to save your travel preferences (such as the type of rental car your prefer or your favorite travel routes) for future travel arrangements made through our website, store credit card information so that you do not need to reenter it for future purchases, have access to special Members-only promotions and discounts, or provide ratings, reviews or comments in our Travel Guide section of the website.
If you would like to take advantage of the conveniences available through special MySouthwest® or SWABiz® features, you must first register for a MySouthwest® or SWABiz® account. Additional features are available to Rapid Rewards® Members. To take advantage of those additional features, you must first enroll in the Rapid Rewards® program. During registration, you are required to provide contact information (such as name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and company name). Your birth date may be used to determine your eligibility to receive special age-restricted offers, such as coupons for alcoholic beverages on Southwest Airlines flights or other marketing offers. It is also necessary for you to provide your date of birth so that we can confirm your identity if you ask us to reset the password on your account.
Additionally, you have the option to provide demographic information (such as whether you are a college student age 18 to 23) and travel preferences to us; we encourage you to submit this information so we can provide you a more personalized experience on our site and send you valuable travel offers. We may use the travel preferences you store in your profile to send you special targeted e-mails based on these preferences. For example, if you express a preference for a specific type of rental car, we may send you special offers for renting this type of vehicle.
Rapid Rewards® Program
If you do not already have a Rapid Rewards® account, you can easily establish one during the MySouthwest® or SWABiz® registration process. Electing to establish a Rapid Rewards® account will enroll you in the Southwest Airlines frequent flyer program and give you the opportunity to earn free award travel by flying with Southwest Airlines and/or doing business with our Rapid Rewards® Preferred Partners. You will not be able to earn credits toward free flights if you elect to not sign up for this program. As a Rapid Rewards® Member, you may also receive special offers by e-mail simply for being a Member of the Rapid Rewards® program.
We may use the personally identifiable information you provide when you become a Rapid Rewards® Member for analytical, administrative, marketing, correspondence or other operational purposes. For more information on how we may use your personally identifiable information as a Rapid Rewards® Member, please see our Customer Communications section below.
Social Security Numbers
We do not require your social security number to enroll in the Rapid Rewards® Program, create a MySouthwest® or SWABiz® account or when you make a purchase. You do, however, have the option to provide the last four digits of your social security number when you establish a Rapid Rewards® account. This information will help us confirm your identity on southwest.com.
Post Purchase E-mail Communication
When you make a travel reservation with us and you provide your e-mail address during the purchase process, we will send you a confirmation e-mail that includes the details of your purchase.
If you provide your e-mail during the purchase process, we may also use your e-mail address to contact you about service-related information in connection with your reservation or to inform you of upgrades or product enhancements related to your purchase. We may also request your feedback on our services and/or your specific travel experience.
Shortly before your trip, we may send you a pre-trip e-mail confirming the details of the travel-related services you purchased through our website. This e-mail will also include special offers for products or services from Southwest Airlines or our marketing partners related to your trip.
E-Mail Promotions, Offers and Updates
As a Member of the Rapid Rewards® program, you may opt to receive Rapid Rewards® e-mail communications which may include program news and special offers either during the Rapid Rewards® enrollment process or from you Rapid Rewards® account preferences webpage. The default option is not to receive these e-mail communications, so you need to let us know if you are interested in receiving these messages with special Members-only news and offers. You may also opt-out of receiving these messages at any time by adjusting your preferences through the account preferences webpage.
We also provide you with the option of subscribing to our Click ‘n Save and In A Nutshell e-mail updates without establishing a Rapid Rewards® or MySouthwest® account. To do so, click on the subscribe links below. If you are no longer interested in receiving Click ’n Save and/or In A Nutshell e-mails, you may unsubscribe from these services by clicking on the unsubscribe link below or by clicking on an opt-out link provided in each e-mail.
For your convenience, a brief description of the periodic e-mails you may choose to receive from us is also provided in the chart below along with links to either subscribe or unsubscribe to each option. Once you subscribe to any of our e-mail communications, you will need to confirm your subscription by following the link provided in the e-mail confirmation you should receive shortly after subscribing.
| E-mails | Description | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Click ‘n Save® Special Offers E-mail | Weekly e-mail highlighting travel deals on flights, car rentals, hotels, cruises, and Southwest Vacations | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
| In A Nutshell News & Promotions E-mail | Monthly newsletter-style e-mail featuring announcements, upcoming promotions, events, contests, new products, and partner offers | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
| Rapid Rewards® E-mail Updates | Rapid Rewards® news and offers for Members only | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
| Rapid Rewards® Reports | Monthly report containing Rapid Rewards® account balance information, news, promotions and offers for Members only | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
Other E-Mail Communication
| E-mails | Description | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWABiz® Corporate Travel Manager e-mail Updates | News related to SWABiz®, Southwest’s Business Travel website; for registered Corporate Travel Managers only | Contact your Area Marketing Manager. | Contact your Area Marketing Manager. |
| SWAMedia and Investor Relations e-mail Alerts | Southwest Airlines news releases and investor information | Subscribe | Unsubscribe |
Promotional Mailings
As a Southwest Customer, MySouthwest®, SWABiz®, or Rapid Rewards® Member, you may receive periodic promotional postal mailings from Southwest Airlines and/or our select marketing partners. If you do not wish to receive such promotional mailings, you may call Rapid Rewards® Customer Relations at 214-792-4223 (option 2).
Account Information
We currently send non-promotional e-mails to our Rapid Rewards® Members containing account and award status notifications, to notify Members of program updates, and to communicate other program-related information.
Service-Related Announcements
As a Member or subscriber of our Click ‘N Save e-mail updates, MySouthwest®, SWABiz® and/or our Rapid Rewards® program, we will send you service-related announcements that may affect your account, flight reservations you have made or your ability to use the services we offer. For instance, if there is a problem with your flight we may send you an e-mail notifying you of any such issues. You may not opt-out of these communications, which are informational in nature.
Customer Feedback
We like to hear from our Customers. We encourage you to e-mail us your comments, questions or other feedback. By submitting such information along with your e-mail address, you consent to receiving e-mail from us in response to your feedback or question.
Supplementation of Information
We may on occasion supplement the personally identifying information you submit to us with information from third party sources.
Address Verification
For example, we use a third party to verify your address in order to ensure we maintain the accuracy of our database.
Enhancement of Profile Information
We also obtain publicly available data from third parties to supplement our existing user database to better target our advertising and to provide pertinent offers in which we think you might be interested. To enhance our Customer profiles, we tie this information to the personally identifiable information they have provided to us.
Company-Agents
We use outside companies to fulfill orders for Rapid Rewards® credits and select travel products. We also use third party payment processing companies to bill you for goods and services, or for other purposes within the ordinary course of business. We make these companies commit by contract (1) to provide adequate protections for your personally identifiable information that are no less protective than those set out in this privacy policy, and (2) to use your personally identifying information only for the purposes for which the third party has been engaged by Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines is not liable for the acts or omissions of these third parties except to the extent required by applicable law.
Product and Service Suppliers
Third party service and product suppliers may fulfill your travel reservation or product purchases. We do not share your e-mail address with these suppliers unless they need it in connection with travel reservations you have made on southwest.com.
We do not limit our suppliers’ use or disclosure of personally identifiable information that you may supply to them. Therefore, we encourage you to review the privacy policies of any supplier whose products you purchase through southwest.com. These suppliers also may contact you as necessary to obtain additional information about you for your travel reservation.
Rapid Rewards® Preferred Partners
Occasionally, we provide the name, address and other account information of our Rapid Rewards® Members to our preferred marketing partners. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any purpose other than to send our Rapid Rewards® Members approved marketing offers by mail.
Legal Disclaimer
We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law if we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, for fraud detection or prevention, and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order or other legal process.
Business Transitions
In the event Southwest Airlines Co. goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale (including transfers made as part of insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings or any other change in corporate control) of all or a portion of its assets, your personally identifiable information may be among the assets transferred.
Southwest websites covered by this Privacy Policy contain links to other sites that are not owned or controlled by Southwest Airlines Co. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites.
We encourage you to be aware when you navigate away from our site and to read the privacy policies of any other website that you visit that collects personally identifiable information. We provide links to third party websites as a convenience to the user. These links are not intended as an endorsement of or referral to the linked websites. The linked websites have separate and independent privacy statements, notices and terms of use, which we recommend you read carefully. We do not have any control over such websites, and therefore we have no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the organizations that operate such linked websites may collect, use or disclose, secure and otherwise treat your personally identifiable information.
The Southwest Travel Guide provides our Customers with a way to provide comments, photos, reviews, ratings, and other relevant travel information to fellow users of our website. To post content to our Travel Guide website, you must have a Travel Guide profile.
Users are able to select a screen name and avatar to do things such as participate in forums, write reviews, rate hotels and other travel services, post photos and video, and comment on other users’ travel journals. Users are also able to provide their interests, favorite places and other information about themselves in their Travel Guide profile for other users to view. Southwest reserves the right to use any information posted on our Travel Guide site for various marketing, administrative or technical purposes. For example, we may supplement Customer records with information the Customer may post on the Travel Guide site.
If you post content on our Travel Guide website such as comments on a user’s travel journal, make contributions to a forum, or otherwise post reviews, ratings, photos, videos or other content, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit there can be read, collected, or used by other users of these features and that any personally identifying information you post could be used to send you unsolicited messages. We are not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit through these features.
Southwest Airlines websites are targeted at general audiences. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent. If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide personally identifiable information of any kind whatsoever.
If a child provides us with personally identifiable information, a parent or guardian of that child may contact us by sending an e-mail here or by contacting us by phone or postal mail if they would like this information deleted from our records.
If you think we may have incorrect personally identifiable information about you or if your information changes, you may correct or update the information online by logging in to your MySouthwest®, SWABiz® or Rapid Rewards® account. You may also modify your account information or deactivate your account by contacting us by phone or postal mail.
Your Rapid Rewards®, MySouthwest®, or Travel Guide online password is unique to your account and is designed to protect your account from unauthorized use. Southwest Airlines will not be responsible for any lost, stolen, or otherwise disclosed passwords. Additionally, Southwest Airlines will not replace or reinstate any flight credits, partner credits, or program awards that are generated or redeemed by unauthorized password activity. Accordingly, your password should be guarded and not provided to anyone.
If you have any questions, complaints or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.(http://www.southwest.com/help/luvbook.html)
This privacy policy is current as of the effective date set forth above. Southwest Airlines Co. reserves the right to change this privacy policy from time to time consistent with applicable privacy laws and principles.
Updated: October 1, 2009
