Southwest Airlines tips & tricks
Here are some tips for ensuring you get a low fare or the best deal.
Southwest Airlines is popular in my family. There are many Southwest flights out of my two local airports - Burbank and LAX. Every hour, it flies to the Bay Area, where we have family and my daughters went to college. We don't have to price out the flight a la carte to see if we're getting a good deal (looking at you, Spirit Airlines). 2 bags included, no thinking involved. Here are some tips for ensuring you get a low fare or the best deal.
Sign up for Rapid Rewards
As a general rule, sign up for any airline loyalty program before you book a ticket on it. There’s no downside to signing up for a Rapid Rewards account. Your account will enable you to accumulate Rapid Rewards points that will hopefully add up to a free flight.
Earn Rapid Rewards points through Southwest travel partners
You can earn Southwest points through purchases with Southwest hotel and car rental partners.
Use the Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal
Starting your online shopping trips at the Southwest shopping portal can help you earn points on shopping you would have done anyway. I use Rakuten for as my shopping portal of choice, but you can use a site like Cashback Monitor to see which portal is offering the better deal for you.
Use Rapid Rewards Dining
You can earn 3x/dollar by eating at restaurants that participate in the Rapid Rewards Dining program.
Pay attention to special offers
Doctor of Credit is a great website for finding out quickly what the latest Southwest Airlines deals are. Many Southwest deals require preregistration or are for a limited time, so you want to monitor Doctor of Credit daily.
Book your flight as soon as the schedule is released
Unlike other airlines that let you book up to 11 months in advance, Southwest releases its schedule in batches for two quarters ahead. Southwest is currently accepting reservations through January 7, 2024. On June 29, 2023, it will extend bookings out to March 6, 2024. Booking 1-2 days after the schedule is released can lock in a very low fare for peak travel dates and locations. Then, use the next tip to take advantage of any dips in the price after that.
Book your flight, then check the pricing regularly.
Southwest Airlines provide customers the ability to rebook their flight anytime between initial booking and 10 minutes before the flight leaves. You can receive the difference back in cash, Travel Funds, transferable flight credits, or points. Recently, I booked two tickets to Kansas City for a family event. I checked the price on southwest.com a few times and was able to shave $50 off each ticket a few weeks later.
Book Wanna Get Away Plus™
Credits can be transferred to anyone with a Rapid Rewards account, not just for you. This is a great benefit for us, as someone in my family almost always has an upcoming Southwest flight. We can transfer credits between all four of us.
You can also make confirmed same-day flight changes without paying a fee. This is not only nice to get on an earlier or later flight if you want, it can be used to get you the flight you really want, if you're up for the risk. Just book the cheapest flight for that day - these are usually really early or late in the day. Then, at 12:00:01 after midnight, log on to Southwest.com and change the flight to the one you really want. But, if your ideal flight is booked, be prepared to get to the airport at the crack of dawn!
Wanna Get Away+
Non-refundable (flight credit if you cancel)
Two checked bags fly free
No fee to change or cancel
Earn 8 Rapid Rewards per dollar per qualifying flight
Transferable flight credit. Transferable flight credit: allows you to transfer your flight credit to another person. Both must be Rapid Rewards Members and only one transfer is permitted. The expiration date is 12 months from the date the ticket was booked.
Same-day confirmed change. If there’s an open seat on a different flight that departs on the same day as your original flight and it’s between the same cities, you can get a seat on the new flight free.
Same-day standby list. If there isn’t an open seat on a different flight, you can ask a Southwest Gate Agent to add you to the same-day standby list.
Wanna Get Away
Non-refundable (flight credit if you cancel)
Two checked bags fly free
No fee to change or cancel
Earn 6 Rapid Rewards per dollar per qualifying flight
Non-transferable. Credits can only be used for a new ticket for the same passenger.
Same-day flight changes pay the fare difference.
Same-day flight changes pay the fare difference.
Have non-transferable credits? Here’s a hack to transfer them
Do you have old Wanna Get Away flight credits that will expire, but you don’t plan to use them? Book a Wanna Get Away+ flight that’s about the same dollar amount. Then, cancel the flight. Now you have transferable credit that you can send to any other Rapid Rewards member. I don’t know how long this will work….
Buy discounted Southwest gift cards
Southwest gift cards pop up on sale at Best Buy, Staples, Target, and other places for 8% to 10% off all the time. There are some downsides - you won't earn the 3% on travel that Chase cards can give on travel, since these will code as regular shopping. Also, A Southwest gift card used for travel is not refundable. If you end up not taking the flight, the gift card amount becomes flight credit at Southwest.
Set an alarm for just before 24 hours before your flight departure.
It’s almost like buying concert tickets! If you check in on the dot 24 hours before your departure, you’re likely to get a high Boarding Group A number or a low B number. This will allow you to get a good seat and some overhead bin space on a full flight. It also allows you a better chance of sitting with your family or other traveling companion.
Bring a portable charger on the flight with you
Most Southwest planes don’t have USB ports in the seats. The airline is just starting to add them on some planes, but the majority of short-haul flights still won’t have charge ports. So, bring a good portable charger in your carry-on or personal item.
If you’ve checked bags, think about boarding from the back of the plane
At Burbank, for example, Southwest boards from the front and back of the plane. If you’re going to wait for your bags anyway, board from the back and get the seats you want.