Southwest Airlines offers cheap flights at various intervals throughout the year. This primarily includes the duration after the New Year, mid-week, before Spring, and late Summer. Furthermore, being a low-cost U.S. carrier, Southwest provides a plethora of options to make the air ticket affordable for passengers. Some of them are the use of the Low Fare Calendar, Rapid Rewards Membership, sales and gift cards, and achieving Companion Cards.
In this blog, the best timings, days, and tips to book cheap flights with Southwest Airlines are explicitly explained.
What is the Best Time to Book Cheap Flights on Southwest Airlines?
These are the most appropriate reservation periods for flyers looking for affordable flight tickets on Southwest Airlines.
- Advance Reservation: Being an early-bird is always advantageous in the aviation industry. As the prices rise tremendously closer to the date of departure. To be precise, if a passenger is travelling domestically, they should book at least 1 to 3 months in advance. In case of international flights, the bracket lies between 3 to 6 months before the departure date.
- Best Days of the Week: Furthermore, the travellers are advised to book flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These days of the week have lower demands compared to the others. Specifically, Southwest has been launching sales and offers promotional prices on these days of the week for a long time.
- Travel during Shoulder Season: Most importantly, if not urgent, passengers must avoid travelling during the most populated time of the year. As the prices are significantly high due to increased demand. Trips can be planned during early Spring, late Fall, and late Summer, avoiding major holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.
- Travel during Sale Seasons: Also, there are several sales and discounted offers prevailing on Southwest Airlines. Especially, during the time after the New Year, late Summer, and months before Christmas. Such sales can even result in gaining 40% discounts on flight prices.
- Flexibility is the Key: Be Flexible with your dates, as it enhances the chances of securing cheaper flight tickets. Subsequently, this way, the customers can avoid peak days and months, leading to budget-friendly travel.
To have a glimpse of the routes covered by Southwest Airlines, flyers can also read ‘Where does Southwest Airlines Fly’ [Complete Route Map].
Ways to Book Cheap Flights on Southwest Airlines
Moreover, this is a comprehensive list of Southwest-specific tools and programs that allow travellers to enjoy air travel at economical prices. The travellers who prefer flying during the above-listed time period can use these methods to make their travel more affordable.
- Low Fare Calendar Tool: The airline has incorporated a best fare finder tool on its official website. This well-organised, user-friendly calendar has listed cheap flight fares for up to 6 months. Constantly checking out the flight fares through this tool leads to passengers grabbing cheap airline tickets.
- Join Rapid Rewards: This is the membership program of Southwest Airlines. It allows travellers to earn points by travelling or purchasing products from the airline’s partners. Moreover, these non-perishable points are not only used to buy flight tickets but also include several purchasable amenities for free, such as onboard WiFi.
- Purchase Rapid Rewards Credit Card: Likewise, the travellers who have purchased the Rapid Rewards Credit Card can utilise their points to buy flight tickets. This way, the flyers can earn more points, further resulting in having quick access to the Companion Pass.
- Companion Pass: Henceforth, the flyers who have achieved Companion Pass after qualifying for all the requirements. They can use that to buy cheap tickets for their companion. As this pass eliminates all the taxes and fees included in ticket making air travel as cheap as $5.60.
- Use Flight Fare Trackers: Additionally, travellers can set flight alerts using some of the third-party sites. This way, the passengers can get instant notification on their phones of flight fare drops. Some of these sites are Skyscanner, AirTrackBot, and even Google Flights.
To know more about the expanded network of the carrier, passengers can also go through ‘Southwest Airlines Flights To Hawaii – A Complete Guide [2025]’.
Final Words
It can be stated that the passengers can conveniently book Southwest Airlines’ tickets at lower rates. The above-mentioned details not only contain some general booking solutions but also encompass the airline-specific insights.
Thus, the information presented above can be extremely beneficial for cost-efficient travellers.
FAQs
The best time to Book Cheap Flights on Southwest Airlines is on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, shoulder seasons, prior to the date of departure, and so on.
The eligibility criteria to achieve a Companion Pass on Southwest Airlines are to either fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 1,35,000 tier-qualifying points within a calendar year.
There is a significant difference between Rapid Rewards and Rapid Rewards Credit Card Members. This is because the former is the loyalty program. Whereas the latter is a unique credit card that offers more amenities with fewer restrictions to the cardholders.
The cheapest fare type of Southwest Airlines is Basic, formerly known as Wanna Get Away. However, cost-conscious travelers prefer it, even though it comes with many restrictions.
Yes, Southwest Airlines ‘Low Calendar Tool’ is advantageous in booking cheap flights.


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