Today is the big day where Southwest has extended their flight schedule. You can now go ahead and book flights through April 24, 2022. Up until this point you were only able to book January 4, 2022 which means you can now book for the rest of the winter and into the spring — including MLK weekend, Presidents Day weekend and all of your winter and spring breaks. Many times booking the day the Southwest flight schedule is released will give you the best deal for peak dates.
Photo by Ralph Freso, Getty Images
Book Now, Cancel Later
I personally love the flexibility of Southwest because I can cancel my vacation plans with NO PENALTY! I can also continue to watch the prices of the flight and if they go down in price I can get the difference in points back. You can read more about the exact process and steps to go about this with these blog posts: “Changing and Canceling a Southwest Flightâ€, “If a Southwest Flight Goes Down in Price….â€, and “Seeing if a Southwest Flight Went Down in Price is Now a Lot Easier“. But essentially if you…
- Paid for the flight… You will receive a voucher for the difference in fare price to be used one year from the date the flight was originally purchased (NOT the date the change or re-price process took place). This voucher is non-transferable. The voucher will be tied to the confirmation number of the original flight. There is NO fee for this.
- Booked your flight using points… The difference in points will go back into your account immediately. The taxes paid will go back to the credit card used. Again, there is NO fee for this. This is why I love booking Southwest flights using points!
Remember, Southwest will now track your Travel Fund vouchers for you, so you no longer have to manually keep track.
Book Now, Add Your Companion Later
If you are going for the Southwest Companion Pass, where you can fly a companion 2-for-1, you can still book your flight now and add your companion later. Once you actually receive the pass, you can go ahead and add on your companion to your reservation. Remember, your companion flies for free plus taxes/fees. This is a great way to take advantage of todays prices with the Southwest flight schedule release and have your companion fly for free.
Reminder: Points earned from the five Southwest credit card welcome offers will count towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass, but make sure to time your application accordingly. Personally, I’d hold off on applying until October as this is a typical time when Southwest announces a huge limited time offer on their credit cards.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card
Overall…
We are a big Southwest family, which means the day the flight extension schedule comes out is a big travel booking day for me. But, this year is slightly different. I truly am not sure when I will be back on a plane again with my family — I am waiting for my kids to be vaccinated. But, fortunately, with the flexible policies and a plethora of points, I can make many speculative bookings! There’s no reason not to book. I am in no way locked into anything and I can cancel the day of, if needed.
What did you book?
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yep, fares are still too high; since the travel fund does expire on the initial purch date, only book when one feels the fare is on sale
I was very disappointed with Southwest’s high prices! Delta was $200 cheaper for a RT from SLC to HNL…and NON-stop on the way there. What a bummer.
Same as you. I ended up cancelling our trip to Mexico as the prices over the holidays were no better than the legacy airlines. Very disappointing for my family. Oh well.
@Brian – I am so sorry you had to end up canceling. I suggest continuing to check prices. I was actually able to re-price one of my flights tonight for 4,000 points less!
the flights over thanksgiving are way too high. I was waiting for them to open up on May 23rd like they originally stated before I could book – should have booked with another airline. Checked yesterday and no wanna get away flights even available. We have a vacation planned in Cancun and the flights are costing more than the resort. Hope they open up more wanna get away flights.
Do you know when they are going to start selling flights that are after June 6th?
@Points for Four – December 11, 2019
When do we see July 2021 flights for San Diego comic con weekend ??
Xavier – Those won’t come out till early 2021.