Southwest Airways introduces variable award pricing for Fast Rewards program
Two weeks in the past, Southwest Airways revealed it could deliver 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 patrons trying to ebook flights utilizing factors, a spokesperson confirmed to TPG Wednesday.
Going ahead, how a lot worth you will get out of a Southwest level will differ — 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 top to its long-standing “baggage fly free” coverage.
‘The Day Southwest Died’: Reactions pour in concerning the service’s massive modifications
How Southwest Fast Rewards redemptions are altering
To be clear, redemptions on Southwest had been already dynamic, in a way: They fluctuated primarily based on the money value of a flight however at a comparatively fastened (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.
Every day E-newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s consultants
What we’re seeing
TPG is presently reviewing the modifications to Southwest’s redemption charges to see how they will have an effect on the subsequent journey you are hoping to ebook with factors and can report again on what we see.
Listed below 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 may 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 an alternative 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. Pastime Airport (HOU) are on par with historic marks (between 1.3 and 1.4 cents).
In the meantime, you will 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 notably laborious: flights to and from Hawaii, Bay Space-based household journey blogger Leslie Harvey, of Journeys With Tykes, advised 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 type of extra customary, mundane flights,” Harvey, an avid Southwest flyer, mentioned whereas discussing a few of the modifications she noticed with TPG. “I believe it is principally destructive. I’ve seen a few flights which were I suppose, higher than I am used to seeing. However they appear to be true outliers.”
We’ll maintain 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 lessons.
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 Could 28, Wanna Get Away will likely be changed by a brand new “primary” fare class.
Nonetheless, Enterprise Choose passengers will proceed to earn two free checked baggage — even after the “baggage fly free” profit ends — and can earn extra factors per greenback (14) than they did beforehand.
Associated studying:
Supply hyperlink
