Receive 50% off on plane tickets during Southwest’s 2024 birthday sale – The Points Guy

Southwest Airlines is commemorating its anniversary this week by presenting special offers, including discounts on paid flights and reservations made with Rapid Rewards points.

The Dallas-based airline is offering a promotion on select late-summer and autumn flights for the next few days. This sale could allow you to save up to 50% on specific reservations.

We discovered significant discounts that could assist you in saving on August flights to Florida, weekend trips to Nashville, and flights to Dallas for the football season.

This is the most recent in a string of deals and discounts that TPG has monitored, sparking speculation about whether 2024 could signal the “comeback of airfare deals.”

Given that you won’t have to pay for a seat, a checked bag, or a full-size carry-on while flying with Southwest, this offer might be incentive enough to plan a trip for the latter half of 2024.

Deal basics

Airline: Southwest Airlines

Travel dates: August 6 to December 18, although some specific dates and flights are not included.

Make reservations by June 13. The sale is active from June 10 to June 13.

To book: Use Southwest’s mobile app directly (web browsers are not supported).

Promo code: BDAY

Requirements

To benefit from this sale, you’ll need to be aware of a few extra rules and considerations.

• Not every trip qualifies. Even when booking between August 6 and December 18, I encountered numerous potential dates and itineraries that didn’t include a discount.
• I searched for flights from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Cancun International Airport (CUN) on various dates but didn’t find any available. However, unlike many airline sales, this one includes numerous Fridays and other weekends, so you aren’t restricted to just Tuesday and Wednesday flights.
• Please be aware that you must be a Rapid Rewards member and logged into your account to benefit from these offers. Additionally, this is an exclusive sale available only through the mobile app, so searching via a web browser will be futile.

Sample flights

Even with numerous dates that don’t qualify, we also discovered many excellent savings opportunities. Whether you’re aiming to fit in an additional late-summer vacation or plan something for this fall, there are great options available.

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

The sale theoretically offers potential discounts “up to 50%,” though most of the deals we observed were nearer to 25%.

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

Importantly, this offer also allows you to save on redemptions.

For example, you can book a flight from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Nashville International Airport (BNA) for slightly more than 6,900 Rapid Rewards points, which is almost 3,000 points less than the typical rate. This makes it an excellent choice for an autumn trip to Music City.

Your optimal approach: input specific dates and cities you are considering, and compare the cash and points prices to discover any available deals that you can benefit from.

Maximize your purchase

If you take advantage of this offer, be sure to use a credit card that provides extra points for airfare purchases, such as:

If you frequently fly with Southwest, it might be worthwhile to add one of the airline’s co-branded credit cards to your collection. Currently, all three of Southwest’s personal credit cards are providing 85,000 points after you spend $3,000 within the first three months of opening the account. Based on our valuations, these points are valued at $1,105. These promotions are available until June 26.

Bottom line

Now is an ideal moment to open the Southwest Airlines mobile app and look at the fares — both cash and points — for a possible late-summer or fall trip. Within the next three days, you might save up to 50% on a reservation.

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