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Wow, wow, wow. Have times a changed. Not only will Southwest begin having assigned seating and seats with extra leg room later this year, but last week they introduced a new category “basic fare” that will have a lot of restrictions ( similar to other airlines basic economy ), and now they’ve dropped the hammer again.
Starting May 28th, 2025, 2 Free Checked bags for all passengers will end.
When we first heard of Southwest changes last year, we were assured that the 2 free checked bags perk would remain untouched. However, the airline is getting significant pressure from Elliott Management to make cuts, add revenue, and while I truly believe that assurance was made in good faith at the time, management is under pressure, and a ton of changes go into effect May 28th, 2025 Southwest flights even began appearing on Expedia last month.
Table of Contents
Here is a big overview chart of what’s changing beginning May 28th, 2025
- Checked bags
- Earning/Burn Structure
- This is already in effect – more details below but redemptions will go variable
- Flight Credit Expiration and Transferability
- Changes and Same Day Changes/Standby
Who will get have to pay for a checked bag?
Basically anyone that doesn’t have a Southwest Credit Card, status, or business select seating
- Wanna Wanna Get Away
- which will be replaced with Basic Fare for tickets booked on or after 5/28/25
- Wanna Get Away Plus
- Anytime fare
Who will get a free checked bag?
This is divided into two groups
1 free checked bag
- A-List Members
- Rapid Rewards Credit Cardholders
2 free checked bags
- A-List Preferred
- Business Select
Flight Credits will expire if booked on/after 5/28/25
- 6 months for Basic Fares
- 12 months for all other tickets
Out with Wanna Get Away, and in with New Basic Fares
Starting May 28th, 2025, Wanna Get Away Fares won’t exist. They will be replaced with new “Basic Fares”
- No flight changes allowed
- No transferrable flight credit
- Checked bags will have a fee
- Earn only 2x Rapid Rewards
- Credit from cancelled flights will only be valid for 6 months
Different Rapid Reward Earn Structures
In addition to new earn structures for each fare bucket, redemptions will go variable. Some may be a lot higher, some may be a lot lower.
- Wanna Get Away ( Basic )
- Was 6x
- Now 2x
- Wanna Get Away Plus
- Was 10x
- Now 6x
- Anytime
- Was 10x
- Now 10x
- Business Select
- Was 12x
- Now 14x
The carrier recently adjusted the number of Rapid Rewards points Customers earn on qualifying flights. Customers now earn more points on Business Select fares while earning less on Wanna Get Away® and Wanna Get Away Plus® fares. Southwest Rapid Rewards, the carrier’s loyalty program, will also introduce variable redemption rates across higher-demand and lower-demand flights
Here’s what to do
- Â Book by May 28th, 2025 to enjoy 2 free checked bags
- Think about Status Matching if you plan on flying Southwest much in the next year
- Go here to match
- 90 days of status + 12 month extension if you fly 3 roundtrips, or 6 one ways in 90 days
- Add a Southwest Credit Card to maintain your free checked bag
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account openingÂ
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:Â
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.Â
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.Â
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