Southwest offering 3-day sale on airfare, redemptions, with up to 50% savings

Southwest Airlines is celebrating its birthday this week and offering some deals in the process — both for paid flights and reservations booked using Rapid Rewards points.

The Dallas-based carrier is running a sale on certain late-summer and autumn flights over the next few days. It could help you save as much as 50% on certain bookings.

We found steep discounts that could help you save on August flights to Florida, weekend getaways to Nashville and flights to Dallas during football season.

It’s the latest in a series of recent deals and discounts TPG has tracked, fueling questions over whether 2024 might mark the “return of the airfare deal.”

Considering you won’t pay for a seat, a checked bag or a full-size carry-on when flying Southwest, this deal could be reason enough to book a trip for the second half of 2024.

Southwest takeoff from Cancun — KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

Deal basics

Airline: Southwest Airlines

Travel dates: Aug. 6 through Dec. 18, but certain dates and flights excluded

Book by: June 13. The sale runs from June 10 to 13

How to book: Directly through Southwest’s mobile app (a web browser won’t work!)

Promo code: BDAY

Requirements

There are a few additional rules and caveats you’ll need to know about to take advantage of this sale.

Not all trips are eligible. Even when booking within that Aug. 6 to Dec. 18 window, I found lots of potential dates and itineraries that didn’t offer a discount.
I checked flights from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Cancun International Airport (CUN), for instance, and was out of luck, searching numerous dates. However, unlike many airline sales, there are plenty of Fridays and other weekend dates that are eligible, so you aren’t strictly limited to, say, Tuesday and Wednesday flights.
Note that you have to be a Rapid Rewards member logged into your account to take advantage of these deals. And, don’t bother searching with a web browser: this is a mobile app-exclusive sale.

Sample flights

Despite many ineligible dates, we also found plenty of great savings opportunities, whether you’re hoping to squeeze in another late-summer trip or get something on the books for this fall.

For instance, here’s a one-way flight on a Saturday in August from Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) for $94, discounted from $127 (a 25% savings).

Chicago to Fort Lauderdale Southwest flight sale for $94 — SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

The sale technically includes potential savings of “up to 50%,” but many of the deals we found hovered closer to 25%

For instance, you can save about 27% on this Friday flight in September from Baltimore to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).

Baltimore to Phoenix Southwest flight sale for $94 — SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Notably, with this deal you can also save on redemptions.

For instance, here’s a flight from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Nashville International Airport (BNA) for just over 6,900 Rapid Rewards points — down nearly 3,000 points than usual. That’s a great option for a fall getaway to Music City.

Denver to Nashville Southwest flight sale for 7,000 Rapid Rewards points — SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Your best bet: plug in some dates and cities you might be interested in, and check both cash and points prices to see if there are potential deals you can take advantage of.

Maximize your purchase

If you book this deal, use a credit card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases such as:

American Express® Gold Card: 3 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through amextravel.com
The Platinum Card® from American Express: 5 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
Chase Sapphire Reserve®: 3 points per dollar spent on airfare
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 2 points per dollar spent on travel

If you’re a regular Southwest flyer, you may also want to consider adding one of the airline’s co-branded credit cards to your wallet. All three personal Southwest credit cards are offering 85,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months from account opening. These points are worth $1,105, according to our valuations. These offers end June 26.

Bottom line

It’s a great time to pull up Southwest Airlines’ mobile app and check out prices — cash and points — for a potential late-summer and fall getaway. Over the next three days, you could save as much as 50% on a booking.

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