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Southwest has launched a flash sale in which it’s offering discounts of up to 40% off its base fares. The sale only runs through 11 January and as usual, there are a lot of terms and conditions to navigate (e.g. you can only travel on select days of the week if you want to book the best fares), but a quick look at some of the deals on offer shows that there’s still value to be had here.
Key terms
- Must use the promotion code ‘WOW’ when booking
- Promotion code savings valid for one-way or round trip Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares booked on Southwest.com.
- Book by January 11, 2024 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
- Travel between January 30-May 22, 2024.
- For continental U.S. travel:
- 40% off promotion code savings valid for Tuesday and Wednesday travel
- 30% off promotion code savings valid for Monday and Thursday travel
- 25% off promotion code savings valid for Saturday travel
- 20% off promotion code savings valid for Friday and Sunday travel.
- For travel to/from international destinations, Hawaii, & Puerto Rico, a 30% discount is offered when using the promo code.
- Interisland Hawaii travel is excluded from the promotion.
- Blackout dates:
- Continental U.S. travel: March 9-10, March 16-17, March 23-24, and March 30-31, 2024.
- Travel to Florida blacked out March 1, March 7-8, March 15, March 22, and March 28-29, 2024.
- Travel to international/Hawaii/Puerto Rico blacked out February 15-18 and March 7-31, 2024.
- Travel from international/Hawaii/Puerto Rico blacked out February 23-27 and March 14-April 7, 2024.
- Promotion code savings are applied before government taxes and fees.
- Discount is valid on new reservations only.
- Discount will apply only for select flights booked within the Booking Period while supplies last for travel flown within the Travel Period.
- Changes made to the itinerary after purchase will eliminate qualifications for this promotion and will result in forfeiture of any promotion code savings.
Full terms and conditions can be found on this page.
General example fares
These are just some example fares that I found by doing random searches.
Sadly, these fares are not even close to the lowest fares that I’ve seen on these routes in recent years (I’ve seen some of these as low as $29 in the past), but standard fares appear to be disappointingly high right now.
- From $67 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles and Sacramento
- From $62 one-way nonstop between Nashville and Chicago (MDW)
- From $55 one-way nonstop between Denver and Salt Lake City
- From $63 one-way nonstop between Dallas (DAL) and Boston
- From $70 one-way nonstop between Chicago (MDW) and Houston (IAH)
California/Hawaii fares
Whenever I write about Southwest fare sales I usually get a deluge of emails asking about fares to Hawaii so for all those of you who usually write in, here are the better deals that I’ve seen:
Long Beach
- From $139 one-way nonstop between Long Beach and Honolulu (Oahu)
- From $118 one-way nonstop between Long Beach and Kahului (Maui)
Los Angeles
- From $109 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles and Honolulu (Oahu)
- From $138 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles and Lihue (Kauai)
- From $118 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles and Kahului (Maui)
- From $131 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles and Kona (Big Island)
San Diego
- From $130 one-way nonstop between San Diego and Honolulu (Oahu)
- From $131 one-way nonstop between San Diego and Lihue (Kauai)
- From $114 one-way nonstop between San Diego and Kahului (Maui)
- From $131 one-way nonstop between San Diego and Kona (Big Island)
San Jose
- From $119 one-way nonstop between San Jose and Honolulu (Oahu)
- From $119 one-way nonstop between San Jose and Kahului (Maui)
- From $124 one-way nonstop between San Jose and Kona (Big Island)
Oakland
- From $109 one-way nonstop between Oakland and Kahului (Maui)
- From $119 one-way nonstop between Oakland and Kona (Hawaii)
- From $109 one-way nonstop between Oakland and Honolulu (Oahu)
- From $131 one-way nonstop between Oakland and Lihue (Kauai)
Interestingly, while I didn’t have much luck finding any super-cheap fares on the mainland routes that I searched, the fares for travel between California and Hawaii are comparable to the low prices that I’ve seen in previous sales and some of the routes are offer fares are even a little cheaper.
Bottom Line
The most tempting fares that I’ve seen (so far) are for travel between the West Coast and Hawaii ($109 one way is a pretty great deal), but there are a few other good deals too. As usual, this Southwest sale comes with more terms than an Apple Music subscription so make sure you take a look through the restrictions before you start making plans.
The best way to find the lowest fares is to use Southwest’s Low Fare Calendar which appears to automatically include the promo code and which should quickly show you if your preferred routes have any great deals on offer. If you’re able to be flexible with your dates, you should be able to find something that works for you.
