There is a lot to like about Southwest Rapid Rewards Program. From Flexible change and cancellation policy There are no blackout dates for award tickets and a variety of Rewards Credit CardMany travelers appreciate the program’s simple, flexible nature — as well as TPG Staff.
Now, the airline is offering a new feature on certain flights that makes your Rapid Rewards points even more valuable.
If you use your points to book some early morning flights (8am or earlier) or evening flights (7pm or later), you can save 20% off standard award fares.
We first noticed this when searching for early 2025 flights from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY).
While both the 3:20 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. departures have the same cash price ($176.98), you’ll save 2,499 points by booking the evening flight through Rapid Rewards. This raises your redemption value from 1.37 cents per point to 1.71 cents per point—well above TPG’s July 2024 value. valuation.
This redemption savings also works the other way around and across multiple dates — including high-demand travel periods like Thanksgiving and single-stop itineraries.
Discount applies to both Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares, but does not apply to higher Anytime and Business Select fares.
Unfortunately, these discounts only seem to apply to a very limited number of flights. We searched dozens of routes across the US on a variety of dates and only found them on a handful:
- MCO to MSY and MSY to MCO
- MCO to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and BWI to MCO
- MCO to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and PIT to MCO
- Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) and VPS to BNA
Daily News
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers to get the latest news, in-depth guides, and exclusive offers from TPG experts
However, many other routes departing from MCO, including flights to Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW), Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in Missouri, are not discounted.
It’s unclear whether these savings will spread more widely over time, but for now, it’s worth checking to see if any of them fit into your travel plans.
And because Southwest does it It’s really easy to change an award ticket. When prices drop, you can change your current trip to an early (or late) flight to get a partial refund of your Rapid Rewards points.
We’ve reached out to Southwest for more details on this service, and we’ll update this post with any additional information we receive.
Read more related:
