Southwest's nationwide sale runs September 1 to 3, 2026, with one-way Basic fares from $59 for travel September 22 through March 3, 2027. The day-of-week rules, the blackout dates, and the $45 first-bag fee that decides whether $59 is really $59.
Southwest opened a nationwide fare sale on September 1, 2026, and the headline number is real: one-way fares from $59. The booking window is short, the fine print is longer than the sale page suggests, and the fare product behind that $59 is not the Southwest ticket most people remember. Here is what is actually in it.
Book by: September 3, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Southwest's terms: "Purchase from September 1, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time ("PT") through September 3, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. PT."
Travel: September 22, 2026 through March 3, 2027. A 21-day advance purchase is required, so the earliest you can fly on a ticket bought on the last day of the sale is September 24.
Days of the week (this is where most people get caught):
| Route | Sale fares valid on |
|---|---|
| Within the continental U.S., and interisland Hawaii | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday |
| Continental U.S. to Hawaii, St. Thomas, or international | Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday |
| Hawaii, St. Thomas, or international to the continental U.S. | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday |
| To or from Puerto Rico | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday |
Friday and Sunday are not listed for domestic travel. Southwest adds that "advertised fares may be available on other days of the week, but that's not guaranteed," so a Friday search is not pointless, just not promised.
Blackout dates, continental U.S. and interisland Hawaii: November 24, 25, 28 and 30, December 19, 23, 26, 28 and 30, 2026, then January 2, 4 and 18 and February 15, 2027. Flights to Hawaii, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and international destinations carry their own blocks around Thanksgiving (November 19 to 25 outbound, November 27 to December 1 inbound) and the winter holidays (December 17 to January 5, both directions).
Displayed prices include taxes and fees. Seats, days and markets are limited, and the low fares are on nonstop service where indicated, single-connection service otherwise.
The sale fares are Basic fares, the lowest of Southwest's four current bundles (Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, Choice Extra). Basic changed a lot in 2026, and the sale terms only say "Travel is available for one-way Basic fares unless otherwise specified." The rest comes from Southwest's fare pages:
Southwest's Customer Service Plan gives you a 24-hour window after booking for a full refund, provided the reservation is made a week or more before departure. That is the one clean exit on a Basic fare.
So a $59 fare with one checked bag is a $104 trip. That single line changes who this sale is for.
Southwest's fare page states that "Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers only receive their first checked bag for free," and A-List Preferred members and Choice Extra fares get two. On a $59 fare, the first-bag fee is 76% of the ticket price. If you hold a Southwest credit card, the $59 is $59. If you do not, either travel with a carry-on or price the Choice Extra bundle on your route before assuming Basic is the cheapest way to fly with luggage.
We are not going to tell you which Southwest card to get here. The point is narrower: on this specific sale, the bag fee is nearly the fare, and Southwest's own pages say one category of customer skips it.
The sale page does not publish a points price. Southwest's terms say only that "points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight." If you are deciding between cash and points on a sale fare, the cash-versus-points math we ran on the last big Southwest sale still applies: at these fare levels cash usually wins, because points prices track the fare and the 2x earn on a paid ticket is worth having.
Southwest's promotional Companion Pass from August is valid for companion travel from January 5 to March 3, 2027, and this sale's travel window runs through March 3. Southwest's published Companion Pass exclusions are Southwest Vacations, Getaways, Group Travel, charters, interline and non-revenue travel. Basic fares are not on that list. That is an absence in the terms rather than a promise, so if you hold that pass, add the companion on the booking screen and confirm it applies before you pay.
Sale terms, fare rules and bag fees verified against southwest.com on September 1, 2026. Southwest's sale page switches to "this offer is no longer valid" after the booking deadline.