Two weeks in the past, Southwest Airways revealed it could convey new “variable” award pricing to its Fast Rewards loyalty program.
Now, it is right here.
Final week, the airline quietly started rolling out its much more fluid redemption charge for purchasers trying to e-book flights utilizing factors, a spokesperson confirmed to TPG Wednesday.
Going ahead, how a lot worth you may get out of a Southwest level will range — maybe considerably, in some circumstances — from one flight to a different.
It is a shift Southwest executives revealed March 11 as a part of a a lot bigger overhaul to the service’s business technique, which additionally included the finish to its long-standing “luggage fly free” coverage.
‘The Day Southwest Died’: Reactions pour in concerning the service’s huge adjustments
How Southwest Fast Rewards redemptions are altering
To be clear, redemptions on Southwest had been already dynamic, in a way: They fluctuated based mostly on the money worth of a flight however at a comparatively mounted (and predictable) charge.
Whereas the setup did not lend itself to the candy spots traditionally discovered on airways that used an award chart for mileage redemptions, it provided relative consistency.
TPG’s March 2025 factors and miles valuations peg the worth of a Southwest Fast Rewards level at roughly 1.35 cents — in step with a JetBlue TrueBlue level and a United MileagePlus mile however barely greater than the worth of a Delta SkyMiles mile.
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What we’re seeing
TPG is presently reviewing the adjustments to Southwest’s redemption charges to see how they will have an effect on the subsequent journey you are hoping to e-book with factors and can report again on what we see.
Listed here are just some examples, although.
On this flight through the week of July 4 from Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport (PHX) to Honolulu’s Daniel Okay. Inouye Worldwide Airport (HNL), the one-way, $597 flight will be redeemed for 54,000 factors. That is a charge of 1.1 cents per level — effectively beneath TPG’s earlier charge of 1.35 cents.
Alternatively, for this Tuesday flight in September from PHX to San Francisco Bay Oakland Worldwide Airport (OAK) in California, you will get simply over 1.7 cents per level by redeeming 7,500 factors as a substitute of paying the comparably low-cost $129 for the flight.
For flights on one Friday in June from Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Las Vegas’ Harry Reid Worldwide Airport (LAS), redemption charges are presently hovering round 1.2 cents per level. That very same day, redemption charges for flights from Cancun Worldwide Airport (CUN) in Mexico to Houston’s William P. Passion Airport (HOU) are on par with historic marks (between 1.3 and 1.4 cents).
In the meantime, you may get round 1.17 cents per level in worth for a Memorial Day weekend departure from Chicago’s Halfway Worldwide Airport (MDW) to Louis Armstrong New Orleans Worldwide Airport (MSY).
Hit significantly arduous: flights to and from Hawaii, Bay Space-based household journey blogger Leslie Harvey, of Journey With Tykes, informed TPG after checking award costs for about 100 flights on Wednesday.
“I am seeing principally throughout the board that Hawaii flights are a worse worth than different kind of extra commonplace, mundane flights,” Harvey, an avid Southwest flyer, stated whereas discussing a few of the adjustments she noticed with TPG. “I feel it is principally damaging. I’ve seen a few flights which have been I assume, higher than I am used to seeing. However they appear to be true outliers.”
We’ll preserve crunching the numbers and report again on traits we discover.
Backside line
Southwest’s shift on Fast Rewards redemptions got here simply weeks after the airline slashed the variety of factors passengers might earn on its lowest fare courses.
Wanna Get Away Plus flyers now earn simply 6 factors per greenback, down from 10 factors per greenback beforehand.
Wanna Get Away passengers earn solely 2 factors per greenback, down from 6 factors per greenback beforehand. Efficient Might 28, Wanna Get Away shall be changed by a brand new “fundamental” fare class.
Nonetheless, Enterprise Choose passengers will proceed to earn two free checked luggage — even after the “luggage fly free” profit ends — and can earn extra factors per greenback (14) than they did beforehand.
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