If you have any Southwest Rapid Rewards points and plan to travel in the coming weeks, this is a great time to redeem them.
In this post:
Southwest offering 20% off award tickets
Southwest Airlines is offering a 20% discount when you redeem Rapid Rewards points for flights:
- This is valid for bookings made through Thursday, March 31, 2022
- This is valid for travel through Wednesday, May 25, 2022
- Use promotion code SAVE20NOW at the time of booking (it should be pre-populated at this link)
Even if you’re not sure you’ll be able to travel, keep in mind that Southwest has no change or cancelation fees, so you can always book a Rapid Rewards ticket now, and then cancel it later. Similarly, if you’ve already booked any travel, you can see if the price hasn’t changed (or has only gone up a bit), in which case it could make sense to rebook.
This is lucrative for a revenue based program
Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue based frequent flyer program. This means that the number of points required for a ticket is based on how much a ticket would cost in cash. Generally speaking you need roughly 83 Rapid Rewards points for each dollar worth of airfare, though there’s a bit of variance.
Because of that, there’s ordinarily not a way to get outsized value with Rapid Rewards points, since the points cost is correlated to the cash cost of a ticket. To be able to redeem Rapid Rewards points for more value is awesome.
For example, take a $122 Wanna Get Away fare from Tampa to Baltimore.
That usually costs 8,291 Rapid Rewards points plus $5.60, while during this promotion it would cost 6,633 Rapid Rewards points plus $5.60. That’s like getting nearly two cents of value per Rapid Rewards points, which is great.
Bottom line
If you’re going to be traveling in the coming weeks, then it’s definitely worth considering Southwest’s Rapid Rewards sale. Usually it’s hard to get outsized value with a revenue based frequent flyer program, so promotions like this can really make a difference.
Will you be taking advantage of this Southwest Rapid Rewards promotion?
The code must be entered by you not the agent they cannot enter a code. Don’t place on their computer to enter a code
I just checked my Flight and discovered I had a cheaper rate even with a 20% off if you look far enough in advance you may have a cheaper so check and see how much you’re really sav
Is there a way to modify a flight originally booked with points to take advantage of the promo? There doesn't seem to be a field to enter the promo code when changing a flight. Would I need to cancel and rebook?
Thanks Ben! I haven't been visiting as much since the pandemic began but I sure am glad I visited today. Saved 1000pts on PHX OAK
That just saved us about 20,000 points rebooking some reservations. Thanks!
Thanks! Modified a couple reservations I booked with points. Any discount helps!
Airfares are through the roof right now so even with a 20% discount, it's still high.