Southwest Fare Sales 2026: What Repeats, What to Check, Every Sale We Priced

Southwest ran a nationwide sale every three to four weeks in 2026. The advance-purchase rule, the $45 bag fee, the points price following the cash price, and the card-offer fine print, with a dated ledger of every sale we covered.

Checked September 20, 2026. Every sale below is described from our own coverage on the date shown. Whether Southwest is running a sale today is on southwest.com; this page is the record of the ones we priced and what repeated.

TL;DR

Southwest ran a nationwide fare sale about every three to four weeks through the summer of 2026. We priced five of them, plus a cardmember bonus and a promotional Companion Pass.
The pattern held every time: a short booking window of two to four days, a travel window that starts three weeks out, day-of-week and blackout rules, and a Basic fare that looks cheap until the first-bag fee is added.
The points price fell with the cash price in the sale we checked, so a sale is also a points sale.
The card offers around the sales were the fine print to read twice: the 10X cardmember offer was the total rate, not a bonus on top, and the promotional Companion Pass had to be registered before the qualifying booking.

What repeated across five sales

Advance purchase. The September sales carried a 21-day advance purchase rule, which means a booking made on the last day of the sale cannot depart before the travel window opens three weeks later, whatever the advertised dates say.

Travel windows. Each sale sold travel for a stretch of two to five months ahead, typically starting a few weeks after the sale closed and running into the next season, with blackout dates around holidays.

The bag fee. Southwest's Basic fares in these sales started at $49 to $59 one way. A checked bag costs $45 on a Basic fare, so a $59 seat with one bag is a $104 seat. Every sale post we wrote came back to that line.

Points followed cash. In the September 14 to 17 sale we checked, the points price on the routes we looked at dropped with the cash price. Rapid Rewards points are priced off the fare, so a fare sale is a points sale too.

How to read the next one

Check the advance-purchase rule and count forward from the sale's last day. That is your earliest departure.
Price the fare with a bag. If you check one, add $45 each way on Basic.
Compare the points price on the same flight. If you hold Rapid Rewards points, the sale applies to them as well.
If a cardmember offer runs alongside, read whether the multiplier is the total earn rate or a bonus on top. The September offer was the total.
If a Companion Pass promotion runs, register first, then book. The August promotion did not count bookings made before registration.

Southwest's own cards and where they fit sit in our Chase trifecta guide, and the transfer side, when Chase runs a bonus to Rapid Rewards, is in the transfer bonus history.

What a real deal looks like

A Southwest sale is a real deal when three things line up. The dates you can actually fly fall inside the travel window after the advance-purchase rule is applied. The fare with your bags added still beats the other airline on the same route, which on a Basic fare means adding $45 each way for one checked bag. And the points price on the same flight has fallen with the cash price, so you can choose whichever is cheaper for you that day. When the three line up, book on the last day you can, not the first: the sale price holds for the whole window, and a later booking date moves your earliest departure later too.

The sales we priced

Date covered	What it was	What we found	Ended
April 22, 2026	Mother's Day sale, flights from $49	We priced cash against points and showed how Southwest's cards change the return	May 1, 2026
July 9, 2026	Up to 40% off base fares, travel August 4 to December 16	The fine print on "base fare", and which card to pay with	July 10, 2026
August 3, 2026	Promotional Companion Pass: one qualifying round trip booked within a four-day window, companion for taxes only January 5 to March 3, 2027	Register before booking or the trip does not count	August 7, 2026
September 1, 2026	Nationwide sale, one-way Basic fares from $59, travel September 22 to March 3, 2027	Day-of-week rules, blackout dates, and the $45 first-bag fee that decides whether $59 is cheap	September 4, 2026
September 9, 2026	Travel s'more sale from $59 one way, 21-day advance purchase	A last-day booking cannot depart before October 1	September 11, 2026
September 9, 2026	Targeted cardmember offer: 10X on the first $500 of Southwest purchases, September 8 to 10	10X was the total, not a bonus on top	September 11, 2026
September 14, 2026	Up to 40% off base fares booked September 14 to 17, travel October 5 to March 3, 2027	Points prices fell with cash prices on the flights we checked	September 18, 2026

Each of these was its own article while the sale was live. Those pages now point here.

Past offers we covered here

Each of these was its own article while the offer was live. The offers have ended, so their pages now point here, and the dated record stays on this page.

April 21, 2026: Southwest's FLOWERS Promo Code Has Ended: When to Pay Cash vs. Redeem Points. Southwest's Mother's Day sale offers flights from $49. We calculate whether to book with cash or points, plus how Southwest credit cards boost your return. Ended April 30, 2026.
July 8, 2026: Southwest's Up-to-40%-Off Sale Ended July 10, 2026: What Was in It (and Which Card to Pay With). Southwest's up to 40% off base-fare sale ends July 10, covering travel Aug 4-Dec 16, 2026. What the fine print means, plus which card to pay with. Ended July 9, 2026.
August 3, 2026: Southwest's One-Round-Trip Companion Pass Offer Ended August 6, 2026. Southwest's promotional Companion Pass needs one qualifying round trip booked by Thursday, August 6, 2026, and gives you a companion for taxes only from January 5 to March 3, 2027. Register before booking or it does not count, and check your own account first: the offer is targeted, not public. Ended August 6, 2026.
September 1, 2026: Southwest's $59 National Sale: Book by September 3 (and What a Basic Fare Now Includes). 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. Ended September 4, 2026.
September 9, 2026: Southwest's "Travel S'more" Sale Ends Tomorrow, and the Fine Print Closes the First Two Days of Its Own Travel Window. Southwest's nationwide sale starts at $59 one way and closes September 10, with a 21 day advance purchase. That combination means a booking made on the last day cannot depart before October 1, even though the advertised travel window opens September 29. What the terms actually allow, and the order to book in. Ended September 11, 2026.
September 9, 2026: Southwest Is Paying 10X on Your Next $500, and the Fare Sale Ends the Same Night: How the Two Stack. A targeted Southwest Cardmember offer pays 10X on the first $500 of Southwest purchases made September 8 to 10, and the Travel s'more fare sale closes the same night. The catch is that 10X is the total, not a bonus on top, which means the cheapest eligible card gains the most. The math per card, how the two stack, and why gift cards decouple the deadlines. Ended September 10, 2026.
September 14, 2026: Southwest Just Cut Points Fares Too: Up to 40% Off Base Fares, Book by September 17. Southwest's national sale takes up to 40% off base fares booked September 14 to 17 for travel October 5, 2026 to March 3, 2027, and on the flights we checked the points price fell with the cash price: Dallas to Denver dropped from $166 to $106 and from 10,500 to 6,500 points on the same seat. The blackout dates, the day-of-week rule, the change clause that forfeits the discount, and which card to pay with. Ended September 18, 2026.

Do this with your own numbers

Best card finder — paste a store link, see the best card and portal rate
Purchase optimizer — run your own spending through the same numbers this article used