By Vamsi, RewardsGuru.club. Published November 2, 2026.
Checked on Monday, November 2, 2026, the sale's first day, on Southwest's sale page, the route-price file behind it and Southwest's own flight search. Fares and seats change by the hour; the terms quoted here are Southwest's own.
The short version: Southwest's new sale, "Tis the season for great sales," has one-way fares from $59 to $129 and a "Holiday Travel Included" tag. Book by Thursday, November 5, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, for travel from December 1, 2026 to March 3, 2027. The terms black out December 26 and 28 and January 2, and they rule out Sundays, so the three days after Christmas are all closed to sale fares. We priced one sale route, Cleveland to Denver nonstop at $109, on Southwest's own search for 10 dates. Christmas Eve was $109. December 23 was $198, and December 29, the first sale day after Christmas, was $322. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day, both blacked out in last week's sale, were back at $109.
The sale, in Southwest's words
The sale page's headline is "Tis the season for great sales. Holiday Travel Included. One-way sale fares from* $59 to $129." From the terms on the same page:
- "21-day advance purchase required."
- "Purchase from November 2, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time ("PT") through November 5, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. PT."
- "Travel valid December 1, 2026 through March 3, 2027."
- "Continental U.S. and interisland Hawaii travel only."
- "Travel blacked out December 26, December 28, 2026, and January 2, 2027."
- "Travel valid Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays."
- "Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of the week and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods."
The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, which is 1:59 a.m. Central and 2:59 a.m. Eastern on Friday, November 6. The 21-day rule doesn't bite this time: a booking on the last day reaches November 26, and travel starts December 1.
What "Holiday Travel Included" leaves open
Put the blackout dates and the Monday-to-Saturday rule on a calendar, and the holidays look like this:
| Date | Day | Sale fares allowed? |
|---|---|---|
| December 24 | Thursday | Yes |
| December 25 | Friday | Yes |
| December 26 | Saturday | No, blacked out |
| December 27 | Sunday | No, Sundays aren't in the sale |
| December 28 | Monday | No, blacked out |
| December 29 | Tuesday | Yes, the first day back |
| December 31 | Thursday | Yes |
| January 1 | Friday | Yes |
| January 2 | Saturday | No, blacked out |
| January 3 | Sunday | No, Sundays aren't in the sale |
| January 4 | Monday | Yes |
The weekday line sits lower in the terms than the blackout dates, and the banner leaves it out, so December 27 and January 3 are easy to miss.
What one route actually priced
The sale page lists a "one-way starting at" price for each route, which is the lowest fare Southwest found across the travel period, not a price for every day. To see how far a holiday date moves, we searched one sale route on Southwest's own site: Cleveland to Denver, listed at $109 nonstop. These are the Basic fares on the nonstops, one way, checked November 2:
| Date | Nonstop Basic fares |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, December 8 | $109 and $109 |
| Wednesday, December 23 | $198 and $198 |
| Thursday, December 24 | $109 and $109 |
| Friday, December 25 | $198 and $312 |
| Tuesday, December 29 | $322 and $350 |
| Thursday, December 31 | $198 and $214 (a connection was $119) |
| Friday, January 1 | $198 and $198 |
| Monday, January 4 | $109 and $109 |
| Monday, January 18 | $109 and $109 |
| Monday, February 15 | $109 and $109 |
What it shows, on this one route: Christmas Eve priced at the sale fare and Christmas Day didn't. The first sale day after Christmas cost about three times the sale fare. One route is one route, and the busiest days are where Southwest's own terms say sale fares may not appear, so each trip's dates are the thing to search.
Two Mondays last week's sale blocked
Last week's sale, which ended October 29, blacked out January 18 and February 15, 2027. This one doesn't, so Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day are open to sale fares. On Cleveland to Denver, both priced at the $109 sale fare.
Thanksgiving is gone instead. Last week's sale started travel on November 17, and this one starts December 1.
What changed since last week's sale
Southwest's sale page loads its prices from a file on southwest.com, and last week's file is still there next to this one. This sale's file lists 978 routes, all priced from $59 to $129, and 785 of them nonstop. Last week's listed 7,413 routes, but only 727 of them were $129 or less, so this sale has more routes in that price range.
On the 951 routes in both, 505 got cheaper, 343 stayed the same and 103 went up. The middle change was $7 cheaper. The biggest moves:
| Route | Last week | This sale |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland to Denver | $209 | $109 |
| Providence to Raleigh/Durham | $170 | $89 |
| Nashville to Denver | $168 | $89 |
| Nashville to Knoxville | $59 | $121 |
| Los Angeles to Oakland | $69 | $122 |
| Burbank to Sacramento | $89 | $129 |
The $59 fares grew from 136 routes to 142, all of them nonstop. Interisland Hawaii flights are $69.
Points prices
The same file carries a points price for every route. The $59 fares are 3,320 Rapid Rewards points one way, and most of the $129 fares are 8,725. Southwest's terms add "taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight" to points bookings.
Taking the $5.60 off the cash fare, a point covers about 1.48 cents of fare in the middle of the list and about 1.6 cents on the $59 routes. We value Rapid Rewards points at 1.3 cents, so at sale prices a point stretches further than our average.
Before you book
- Basic fares are the sale fares. Southwest's terms: "Basic fares are nonrefundable and non-changeable except as allowed by our 24-hour cancellation policy." Canceling at least 10 minutes before departure may still leave a flight credit, per the same terms.
- The deadline is Pacific time. 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Thursday is 2:59 a.m. Eastern on Friday.
- Your own dates are the test. The table above is one route on one morning, and Southwest's search shows each day's fare before you pay.
Last week's sale, route by route, is in our October 29 piece, and the sale before that is in our look at the up-to-40%-off sale.
Sources: Southwest's sale page and terms, this sale's price file, last week's price file, Southwest's flight search at southwest.com, read November 2, 2026.
Related articles
- If You Think You Missed Southwest's $59 Holiday Fares on October 12, You May Be Wrong: The Same Sale Is Back Through October 29, and 5,555 of 6,424 Routes Are Within $10
- If You Think Southwest's Up to 40% Off Sale Always Gets You the Cheapest Seat, You May Be Wrong: On Los Angeles to Honolulu, the Regular Nonstop Was Cheaper
- Southwest's Up to 40% Off Sale Ends October 8: Which Holiday Days Are Still Open
- Southwest's New Fall Sale Ends October 1. Check the Day of the Week First.
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