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If you’ve been collecting Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points for some time now, you’ve probably wondered, “How many Southwest points do I need for a free flight?” With Southwest’s dynamic pricing model, where the points needed for a flight vary, navigating award redemptions with the airline can get tricky. Understanding the minimum number of points you need for free flights is essential in making the most of the Rapid Rewards program.
Whether you’re a frequent flyer or new to the Southwest Rapid Rewards program, it’s crucial to get an idea of how many points you’ll need for your dream award flight. In this post, we’ll explore how many points you need for Southwest Airlines award tickets and highlight some of the best ways to use your Rapid Rewards points.
How Many Southwest Airlines Points Do You Need for a Free Flight?
Let’s get this out of the way now. Southwest Airlines, unlike many major competitors, does not deploy a fixed pricing structure for its award flights. Southwest Airlines award flight pricing is dynamic. The number of points needed for a free flight on Southwest Airlines depends on your destination, the time of booking, and the type of fare. The price also depends on other key factors including demand and the cash price of a ticket.
While there isn’t a fixed minimum number of points for an award flight, the short answer is that you can book Southwest Airlines awards for as few as 2,200 points for a one-way ticket. However, the actual points needed can vary widely with 2,200 points be on the very low end of Southwest’s award flight pricing. You will only find flights priced at this point during one of the airline’s sales.
Here’s one example of a Southwest award flight from Denver to Salt Lake City for just 2,617 points one-way. (Image via Southwest.com)
Related: How Many American Airlines Miles Do You Need for an Award Flight?
Calculate How Many Southwest Points You Need for a Flight
Southwest Airlines uses a dynamic pricing model, which means the points required for a flight are, essentially, tied to the cash price of the ticket. Generally, you can expect to get around 1.5 cents in value from each point. So, if the cash fare is $100, you’d need around 6,667 points. However, as already noted, the value you get from your Southwest points can fluctuate.
Here is an overview of what you can expect to get from your points:
- Low Value per Point: 1.3 cents per point
- Average Value per Point: 1.5 cents per point
- High Value per Point: 1.8 cents per point
Sample Southwest Airlines Award Flights
To give you a better idea of how many points you’ll need for a flight on Southwest Airlines, here are some examples for different flights over the next few months:
| Route | Sample Date | Points Needed for Wanna Get Away Fare | Lowest Cash Fare ($) | Value per Point |
| Dallas (DAL) to Austin (AUS) | November 9th | 3,389 | $59 | 1.74 cents |
| Tampa (TPA) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | October 15th | 4,160 | $69 | 1.66 cents |
| Denver (DEN) to Salt Lake City (SLC) | September 4th | 2,617 | $49 | 1.87 cents |
| New York-LaGuardia (LGA) to Atlanta (ATL) | October 2nd | 3,775 | $64 | 1.70 cents |
| Seattle (SEA) to Phoenix (PHX) | October 2nd | 3,466 | $60 | 1.73 cents |
| Nashville (BNA) to Las Vegas (LAS) | October 4th | 14,275 | $200 | 1.40 cents |
| St. Louis (STL) to San Juan, PR (SJU) | November 9th | 11,620 | $173 | 1.49 cents |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL) | November 7th | 11,783 | $169 | 1.43 cents |
The spread in value per point is rather significant in the examples listed in the table above. In the examples above, you can get as little as 1.40 cents per point to as much as 1.87 cents per point in value. You will quickly see that this is a common thread for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program.
Does Southwest Airlines Have an Award Chart?
Unlike many of its competitors, Southwest does not publish an award chart. This is a result of the airline’s dynamic award pricing and award rates essentially being pegged to the cash fare.
Related: What It’s Like to Fly on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8
How Does Southwest Price Award Flights?
Southwest prices its award flights based on a number of factors. However, all of these factors are almost directly tied to the current cash price of the ticket. This can work in your favor during one of the airline’s sales or off-peak times when ticket prices are lower. Conversely, this means you will need more points during peak travel periods like the summer months and around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Looking for a Southwest Airlines award chart? You’re out of luck. Southwest Airlines doesn’t publish award charts as a result of their dynamic pricing for award travel. (Image by Southwest Airlines)
Southwest Redemption Sweet Spots
As a result of the airline’s cash-fare-based approach to award pricing, there aren’t fixed sweet spots. Even without fixed sweet spots, you can still find great value by booking flights during sales or off-peak times. Here are some tips for maximizing your Southwest points:
Book Flights During Sales
Southwest puts its fares on sale on a somewhat regular basis. One of the most common promotions from the airline is select routes being bookable for just $49 one-way. Occasionally, Southwest prices sale fares as low as $39 one-way. During these sales, the points required for an award flight can drop significantly, offering great value for your Rapid Rewards points.
Take Advantage of Companion Pass
Companion Pass is Southwest’s top-tier elite status. Though it is considered a status tier, it’s more unique than typical elite status in that those with Companion Pass can select a companion to bring along at no additional cost. Companion Pass is available for tickets booked with cash and booked with points.
This means that if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, you can bring a companion on any flight for just the cost of taxes and fees, effectively doubling the value of your points. If you’re interested in learning more about the Companion Pass elite tier, check out this deep dive from AwardWallet.
Travel During Off-Peak Times
Traveling during less popular times (e.g., mid-week or off-season) can result in lower cash fares and, as a result, fewer points needed for an award flight.
Does Southwest Charge Fees on Award Tickets?
When redeeming Southwest points for flights, you’ll still be on the hook for any taxes and fees. Aside from taxes and fees, Southwest Airlines does not charge fees on award tickets. You will also find that any government-imposed taxes or fees are pretty insignificant.
Domestic Taxes and Fees on Award Travel
For domestic award flights, you typically only pay the government-imposed security fee of $5.60 per one-way flight. There are no additional carrier-imposed fees, which is the case for almost every airline based in the United States.
International Taxes and Fees on Award Travel
International award flights may incur higher taxes and fees. These vary from country to country and even arrival city. For example, if you were to fly from a city in the US to Cancun, you would need to cover both the $5.60 security tax and Mexico’s tourism tax which is around $40. If you were to fly from the US to Aruba, you would pay the $5.60 security tax and Aruba’s $10 tourism tax.
When you redeem points for travel on most of Southwest Airlines’ international flights from the United States, you will need to cover additional taxes and fees. (Image via Southwest.com)
The Bottom Line
Knowing how many Southwest Airlines points you need for a free flight is essential for maximizing your Rapid Rewards points. While points requirements vary due to dynamic pricing, planning ahead and booking during sales can help you get the most value from your Rapid Rewards points. With no blackout dates and minimal fees, Southwest Airlines offers a straightforward and valuable frequent flyer program.
What are your favorite ways to use Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points?
