Is Flying Southwest Airlines Still Worth It? Maybe Not…

It’s a sad time for air travelers in America. Loyalty program enthusiasts have had it rough with rewards devaluations, the slashing of benefits, and generally customer-unfriendly pivots from the industry. But Southwest’s turn for the worst is especially tough to witness.

Southwest Airlines has always been one of America’s friendliest, if not the friendliest. They have never charged for your first two checked bags. They have never had a restrictive basic economy product. They have never charged change fees (even before that was normal). All that, and more, is about to change.

The airline consistently promised to never waver on these policies, but that commitment seems to have been abandoned. We honestly believe that there is almost no real point in choosing Southwest anymore. Here’s why.

Quick Summary of Southwest’s Policy Changes

Southwest is no longer the stand-out airline that it has been for decades. The big takeaways – at least for now, because who knows if it could get worse – are as follows.

Beginning March 4, 2025:

• Wanna Get Away fares (the lowest priced tickets) will only earn 2 points per dollar – a ⅔ devaluation from the previous 6 points per dollar
• Wanna Get Away Plus fares earnings have been cut by ¼, Anytime fares earnings remain the same, and Business Select fares will increase slightly

The vast majority of travelers simply book the cheaper Wanna Get Away fares, especially for the customer-friendly Southwest policies like free bags and no change fees, which makes it the most impactful change. But…

Beginning May 28, 2025:

• Southwest will no longer offer free checked bags on non-Business Select fares, representing a massive policy shift that the company promised for years not to alter
  • Southwest credit card holders and A-List Members will get one bag free; A-List Preferred members will get two
• Wanna Get Away fares will become “Basic” fares, which seem to approach basic economy status
• Basic fares will still allow cancellation, but flight credits will be non-transferrable and expire after 6 months
• Basic fares will no longer allow flight changes for a fare difference
• Basic fares will no longer allow free same-day standby on earlier flights

Higher fare classes, which no one buys, will offer more ticket flexibility; only the (most expensive) Business Select fares will include two free checked bags. To top it all off, your Rapid Rewards points will be harder to use.

Southwest is No Longer America’s Friendliest Airline

The March 4th announcement about Rapid Rewards points earning rates was already devastating – a ⅔ devaluation of points with zero notice is pretty cruel. But the changes announced just a few days later seriously limited any value in flying Southwest, and the airline barely offers any proposition that sets it apart from its competitors. 

No more free bags, more strictness with flight credits and changes, and the introduction of “Basic” fares were described in the CEO’s email to customers as changes that “may be a disappointment to some.” And with the previously announced shift away from open seating, this new fare class seems to be the beginning of a basic economy product. 

Take a look at the graphic above, which they sent out in their announcement email. The point seems to be to force you to book a more expensive fare, which no one ever does with Southwest. That logic makes it nearly equivalent to basic economy.

The only real difference from other airlines is that, for now, full-sized carry-on bags are safe. But Southwest doesn’t seem to care about “disappointing” its customers, so no one should be surprised if that, plus seat selection fees, comes very soon. At least they pointed out that inflight entertainment is still free!

Let’s look in more detail at the worst parts.

No More Free Checked Bags on Southwest

The Change: The cheapest fares will no longer offer two free checked bags, as they have forever, despite assuring customers that this would never happen.

Our Take: This was one of the major reasons to fly Southwest. If you have to check luggage, strongly consider other airlines that have better loyalty programs and wider destinations, even if you have a Southwest credit card that would get you one free bag.

Southwest Airlines has always offered two free checked bags with every ticket. There were no restrictions, with even rewards tickets and the cheapest “Wanna Get Away” fares offering the same benefits. The airline promised over and over again that they would never compromise on this benefit, and it was really what set Southwest apart from the competition.

That’s done now. Wanna Get Away fares are now called Basic fares, which sounds an awful lot like Southwest is approaching basic economy. Basic tickets don’t qualify for any free bags, nor do the higher-tier Wanna Get Away Plus or Anytime fares – you have to buy all the way up to Business Select, which no one would ever do, to get two free bags included.

Southwest credit card holders will get one bag free, as will A-List members; A-List Preferred members will get two bags free. So, your best bet, unless you want the most expensive ticket or you are an unbelievably frequent Southwest flier, is to hold one of their credit cards. Even that isn’t a great strategy unless you fly Southwest somewhat frequently, as other airlines are probably a better option (more on that below).

Much Less Flexibility on Southwest with Changes and Cancellations

The Change: The cheapest fares will still allow cancellations for flight credits, but those credits will expire after 6 months, as opposed to the previous never-expire policy. You also won’t be able to change those tickets or try for same-day standby on an earlier flight.

Our Take: This was the other major reason to fly Southwest; they did no change fees and free cancellations for credit long before everyone else did. The new six-month expiration date is rough, and again, you should strongly consider another airline at this point.

Southwest always set itself apart with its highly flexible change and cancellation policies – tickets were always changeable without a fee, could always be canceled for future flight credits, and you could even get on standby for an earlier same-day flight. This was the case well before the pandemic caused all the other carriers to do this, and it has been another major reason people choose Southwest.

In fact, once the competition started doing the same with changes and cancellation credits, Southwest went further. In 2022, they made it so flight credits never expired, as opposed to the previous 12-month expiration policy.

Basic fares will still be cancellable for credit, but that credit will expire after just six months. Weirdly, tickets will not be changeable, but it seems that you could just cancel for a credit and re-book. Same-day standby will no longer be an option.

You could book a higher fare class to get around this. Those fare classes also get a 12-month validity period for your credit if you cancel, but that’s still far more punitive than the former never-expire policy. Plus, no one wants to buy the higher fare classes.

Rapid Rewards Points Earnings Have Been Decimated

The Change: The cheapest fares will now only earn 2 points per dollar spent rather than the previous 6 points per dollar.

Our Take: Southwest’s Rapid Rewards no longer offers any value for ordinary fliers. You can earn a nice chunk of points through a credit card bonus and find decent utilization for them, but otherwise, there’s no point in flying Southwest for points.

Southwest’s loyalty program was of decent value, even after quite a few devaluations (especially recently). Redemption rates were quite predictable, but the large domestic network made them easy to use, and you could earn points at a somewhat fair rate.

Not anymore. Rather than the six points per dollar the base fare offered before, you’ll now earn just two miles per dollar spent on fares. Your $100 flight will get you a whopping 200 Rapid Rewards points. View From the Wing calculates that the program now simply serves as a 2.5% rebate on your purchases, which is pointless (no pun intended). 

Again, you could buy up to an expensive fare to earn more points, but this would be a good idea for very few travelers. So, don’t fly Southwest to chase points. The best way to earn free Southwest flights now is to get a credit card sign-up bonus and use the points ASAP before they devalue again… which they will.

Rapid Rewards Points Will Become Less Valuable

The Change: Southwest points redemption values will become more variable, depending on the demand of the route.

Our Take: This is a fancy way of saying they plan to charge more points for busier flights, while probably not charging less for less busy flights. Basically, use your Southwest points while you can.

Southwest’s announcement said they would “introduce variable redemption rates across higher-demand and lower-demand flights.” Right now, redemption rates are quite predictable, as they are based on the cash price of the ticket.

The plan seems to be to charge more points for “higher demand” flights, meaning those rates will no longer be tied to the cash price in the way that they are now. It is to be seen how bad this devaluation will be.

On the other hand, they claim that this will also affect lower-demand flights. But if we had to guess, they will probably just leave those unchanged, rather than charging fewer points as would only be fair. Hopefully, we’re wrong.

Full-Size Carry-On Bags Are Still Free on Southwest (for now)

The Change: There is no change in carry-on bag policy for now. You can still bring a full-sized carry-on bag for free on Southwest.

Our Take: While it may seem fine for now, we would be shocked if Southwest didn’t eliminate full-sized carry-ons for Basic fares in the near future. It seems that Southwest is doing everything it can to be like the competition.

Even in the new Basic fare class, you can still have one regular-sized carry-on bag and one personal item. Luckily, this does set Southwest apart from the competition, along with the fact that Basic fares will also qualify for flight credits if canceled.

For now, this is the one thing Southwest fliers can hold onto. But the changes seem to be the beginning of basic economy, and we expect Southwest to eliminate carry-on bags from its cheapest fares. Stay tuned for that.

Open Seating is Still Southwest’s Policy

The Change: There is no change to Southwest’s open seating policy for now, but they previously announced that they will indeed transition to assigned seating soon.

Our Take: While not a problem yet, we strongly expect to see the cheapest fares excluding seat selection. Southwest is essentially moving towards a basic economy ticket, and it would only make sense that they’ll want you to pay more for a seat.

We’ve known for some time that Southwest will move away from its unique open seating policy. They announced the transition to assigned seating in July 2024, with a potential start date in early 2026. Some welcomed the change, some are sad to see open seating go.

For now, open seating is still a thing. But again, we think there are signs of more to come. Since “Basic” tickets sound a lot like basic economy, it is predictable that Basic fares will not offer free seat selection. So, while not announced just yet, we can probably add that to the list of awful changes to come. 

Southwest’s website does say that credit card holders will be able to select certain seats for free, as seen above. We don’t have details just yet, but it will be another benefit of holding one of their cards.

What Happened to Southwest Airlines?

We’ve always really enjoyed flying Southwest. Besides the friendly policies, the staff always seemed to be the friendliest in the skies as well. The aircraft has free wifi for messaging, good entertainment with live TV, and free snacks and drinks, along with all of the above-mentioned policies.

The airline has an investor called Elliott Investment Management, who have five seats on the company’s board. They are activist investors who have been advocating intensely for better profitability, in the form of matching the competition. It seems they’ve succeeded.

We’ll see if their magical solution for returns on investment produces results. Either strong demand for air travel will be sufficient, simply leaving customers annoyed and less connected to the brand, or these major alterations will drive people to the competition who might offer more value.

So, Is it Still Worth it to Fly Southwest?

Barely. Without checked bags, less flexibility, and an abysmal rewards program value, it would be very wise to check other options before defaulting to Southwest. With limited exceptions, other airlines probably offer better value.

• If you need checked luggage: Probably not worth it. Even if you have a Southwest credit card and can still get one free bag, you can probably do better elsewhere.
  • You can get a free bag with a different carrier if you hold their credit card. Plus, you’ll probably earn more valuable miles on other carriers – the earning rates are probably better, redemption rates might be better, and the destination options to redeem may be more diverse since Southwest doesn’t have long-haul destinations.

• If you are trying to earn/redeem points: Not worth it. Unless you’re booking a more expensive fare class (which is rare), Southwest points are no longer worth chasing; redemption rates will soon be poorer.
  • You can still sign up for their credit card and get a big bonus, which can be used for decent value, but consistently flying Southwest for points is rarely going to be smart. But use those points soon, as Southwest promises to eventually destroy their value even more.

• If you need flexibility: Maybe worth it, if other airlines are more expensive. The new Basic fare still offers future flight credits (despite their short six-month validity).
  • Other airlines’ basic economy fares do not allow for changes or future flight credits. Combined with a full-sized carry-on bag, this benefit is one that retains value. But, that assumes the Southwest ticket is cheaper than a competitor’s non-basic-economy fare, so compare carefully.

• If you need a full-sized carry-on bag: Maybe worth it, if other airlines are more expensive.
  • As we said above, other airlines’ basic economy fares don’t include carry-ons. So if Southwest is cheaper than an alternative airline’s non-basic-economy, this benefit still has decent value – for now, as we’d expect this to change.

• If you want to select your seat: Definitely not worth it. However, this has always been the case, since Southwest’s open seating policy means you aren’t guaranteed anything.
  • This will probably change in the future based on the transition to assigned seating. Southwest has said that credit card holders will be able to select seats, with details to come.

These verdicts are very general, and you’ll have to consider options on a case-by-case basis. Obviously, Southwest will have advantages sometimes. If their ticket is half the price, has a better schedule, or the other options are airlines like Frontier or Spirit, you should obviously go with Southwest. You’ll still get wifi for messaging, snacks and drinks, and in-flight entertainment.

But if you want to keep earning miles that can be spent on long-haul international destinations, don’t chase Southwest flights. If you have to pay for your checked bag either way, you should probably consider another airline. If you value flexibility with cancellations and changes, you should strongly consider a (non-basic-economy fare) on another airline.

It’s a sad time for American travelers. Stay tuned for what could be next.