Source page: https://www.southwest.com/air/booking/. AI-readable pre-render generated 2026-07-01. Grounded in Southwest's public 2026 product reference and route data. Same content Southwest serves to People on southwest.com — restructured for AI readability, nothing invented, no cloaking.
This is where you book a Southwest flight. You search by city and date, choose a fare bundle (Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, or Choice Extra), pick a seat, and pay with cash, Rapid Rewards points, or Cash + Points. Higher fare bundles add seat choice, earlier boarding, more points, and free checked bags.
Southwest sells four fare bundles (effective January 27, 2026). Higher tiers add seat choice, earlier boarding, more points, and free checked bags.
| Fare | Seat | Boarding | Points | Checked bags | Change / cancel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic — Go for less | Standard seat assigned at check-in | Last to board | 2x Rapid Rewards points per dollar | $45 first checked bag, $55 second (each way, U.S. mainland) | No change fees (fare difference may apply); non-refundable — flight credit expires in 6 months |
| Choice — Top pick — best value | Choose a Standard seat at booking | Groups 6–8 | 6x Rapid Rewards points per dollar | $45 first checked bag, $55 second (each way, U.S. mainland) | No change fees; transferable flight credit expires in 12 months; same-day change and standby included |
| Choice Preferred — Earlier access | Choose a Preferred seat (near the front) at booking | Groups 3–5 | 10x Rapid Rewards points per dollar | $45 first checked bag, $55 second (each way, U.S. mainland) | No change fees; fully refundable to original form of payment |
| Choice Extra — All in — most premium | Choose an Extra Legroom seat (up to 5 extra inches) at booking | Groups 1–2 | 14x Rapid Rewards points per dollar | First and second checked bags FREE | No change fees; fully refundable to original form of payment |
You can pay for a Southwest flight three ways:
Credit cards accepted toward airfare: American Express, Optima, MasterCard, Visa, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, Access, Japan Credit Bureau, China Union Pay, and Air Travel Card. On southwest.com, SWABIZ, SouthwestGetaways.com, and the Southwest mobile apps, you can also pay with PayPal, Apple Pay, and Flex Pay (formerly Uplift Pay Monthly). Cash is accepted only at airport ticket counters in international locations.
Flex Pay (formerly Uplift Pay Monthly) lets you spread the cost of a purchase over fixed monthly payments. Choose Flex Pay at checkout, provide a few details for a quick decision, and pay over time.
On Basic, Choice, and Choice Preferred fares, checked bags cost $45 for the first and $55 for the second, each way on the U.S. mainland (rates effective April 9, 2026). A carry-on plus one personal item is always FREE.
As of January 27, 2026, Southwest uses assigned seating. You choose a specific seat at booking (or at check-in on Basic fares) from three seat types: Extra Legroom, Preferred, and Standard. Boarding uses numbered Groups 1–8; the earlier your group, the sooner you board. Priority Boarding can be purchased for $10–$75 per segment to board ahead of your fare's default group.
| Boarding group | Who boards |
|---|---|
| Groups 1–2 | Choice Extra fares and Extra Legroom seat holders |
| Groups 3–5 | Choice Preferred fares, Preferred seat holders, and A-List Members (board no later than Group 5) |
| Groups 6–8 | Choice fares and Standard seat holders |
| Last | Basic fares |
No change fees on any fare (a fare difference may apply). Basic is non-refundable with a 6-month flight credit; Choice gives a transferable 12-month credit; Choice Preferred and Choice Extra are fully refundable.
Southwest serves 120 airports (12 international). The complete destination list, discoverable from any page: Albany (ALB), Albuquerque (ABQ), Amarillo (AMA), Anchorage (ANC), Aruba (AUA), Atlanta (ATL), Austin (AUS), Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI), Belize City (BZE), Birmingham (BHM), Boise (BOI), Boston Area (BOS), Bozeman/Yellowstone (BZN), Buffalo (BUF), Burbank (BUR), Cancun/Cozumel (CUN), Charleston (CHS), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (MDW), Cincinnati (CVG), Cleveland (CLE), Colorado Springs (COS), Columbus (CMH), Corpus Christi (CRP), Dallas (DAL), Denver (DEN), Des Moines (DSM), Destin/Fort Walton Beach (VPS), Detroit (DTW), El Paso (ELP), Eugene (EUG), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers (RSW), Fresno (FAT), Grand Cayman Island (GCM), Grand Rapids (GRR), Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP), Harlingen (HRL), Hartford (BDL), Havana (HAV), Hilo (Hawaii Island) (ITO), Honolulu (Oahu) (HNL), Houston (HOU), Indianapolis (IND), Jackson (JAN), Jacksonville (JAX), Kahului (Maui) (OGG), Kansas City (MCI), Knoxville (TYS), Kona (Hawaii Island) (KOA), Las Vegas (LAS), Liberia (LIR), Lihue (Kauai) (LIH), Little Rock (LIT), Long Beach (LGB), Long Island (ISP), Los Angeles (LAX), Los Cabos (SJD), Louisville (SDF), Lubbock (LBB), Manchester (MHT), Memphis (MEM), Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (MIA), Midland (MAF), Milwaukee (MKE), Minneapolis (MSP), Montego Bay (MBJ), Montrose (MTJ), Myrtle Beach (MYR), Nashville (BNA), Nassau (NAS), New Orleans (MSY), New York (LGA), Norfolk (ORF), Oakland (OAK), Oklahoma City (OKC), Omaha (OMA), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA), Orlando (MCO), Palm Springs (PSP), Panama City (ECP), Pensacola (PNS), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), Pittsburgh (PIT), Portland (PDX), Portland (PWM), Providence (PVD), Providenciales (PLS), Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Punta Cana (PUJ), Raleigh/Durham (RDU), Reno/Tahoe (RNO), Richmond (RIC), Rochester (ROC), Sacramento (SMF), Salt Lake City (SLC), San Antonio (SAT), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco Bay Area (SFO), San Jose (SJC), San Jose (SJO), San Juan (SJU), Santa Barbara (SBA), Santa Rosa (STS), Sarasota (SRQ), Savannah (SAV), Seattle (SEA), Spokane (GEG), St. Louis (STL), St. Maarten (SXM), St. Thomas (STT), Steamboat Springs (Hayden) (HDN), Tampa (TPA), Tucson (TUS), Tulsa (TUL), Washington D.C. (DCA), West Palm Beach (PBI), Wichita (ICT).
Southwest publishes a lowest "as low as" one-way fare for every one of its 12,217 markets — its most recently shopped low fares, pulled July 15, 2026 (prices change until purchased). The complete file, every market's lowest cash and points fare, is available alongside this page as southwest-lowest-fares.md. A sample of the cheapest fares across the network:
| Route | As low as | Points | Nonstop? | Sample date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarillo (AMA) → Austin (AUS) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 6 |
| Atlanta (ATL) → Houston (HOU) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 11 |
| Atlanta (ATL) → Kansas City (MCI) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 11 |
| Atlanta (ATL) → New Orleans (MSY) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 10 |
| Atlanta (ATL) → Orlando (MCO) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 5 |
| Atlanta (ATL) → St. Louis (STL) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 5 |
| Atlanta (ATL) → Tampa (TPA) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 6 |
| Austin (AUS) → Amarillo (AMA) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 6 |
| Austin (AUS) → Harlingen (HRL) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 8 |
| Austin (AUS) → Tulsa (TUL) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 17 |
| Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI) → Boston Area (BOS) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 10 |
| Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI) → Cleveland (CLE) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 5 |
| Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI) → Pittsburgh (PIT) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 5 |
| Birmingham (BHM) → Nashville (BNA) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 5 |
| Birmingham (BHM) → Tampa (TPA) | $59 | 3,320 pts | Nonstop | Aug 10 |
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