Southwest released a video last week which provided a few updates with regards to how their new paid checked baggage policy will work, some hints as to their revised dynamic pricing policy and seating benefits on their credit cards and more.
Here’s the full video:
In case you’d rather have a TLDW (Too Long, Didn’t Watch) version, here’s a summary of what was shared.
Checked Baggage Policy
Up to 8 additional passengers eligible
As a quick recap, this will be the new checked baggage policy from May 28, 2025:
- Two free checked bags
- A-List Preferred Members
- Business Select fares
- One free checked bag
- A-List Members
- “Other select customers” (no indication yet as to who’ll be selected)
- Southwest credit cardholders
- Zero free checked bags
- Everyone else
What we didn’t know when Southwest first announced these changes was how free checked bags would work when people travel with someone eligible for at least one free bag.
The good news is that Southwest will extend the free baggage policy to up to 8 additional passengers traveling on the same reservation. For example, if a family of five is traveling on Southwest and one of the parents has a Southwest credit card, all five family members can bring a checked bag for free.
Checked baggage fees unknown (for now), but hints given
In the video, they claim that they’re not allowed to provide specific details about bag pricing and other fees before they’re active. However, they did share that baggage fees “will be in line with industry standards” and that they’ll share more details as we get closer to May 28.
We should therefore be prepared for fees to be in the $35-$40 range for your first checked bag and $45-$50 for your second bag based on pricing for airlines like American Airlines, Delta and United.
A weird baggage policy For Companion Pass companions
The weirdest announcement within the video is how the free checked baggage policy will work for companions of Companion Pass holders.
For Companion Pass holders who are eligible for one or two free checked bags, their companion will have to pay for their checked bags, but they’ll subsequently receive a refund to their original form of payment. This seems like a frustrating and potentially confusing setup, but I’m assuming that it’s due to system limitations based on how quickly Southwest has had to throw this policy together as I imagine the upcoming new process is more convoluted than Southwest themselves would like.
Assigned Seating
Some Southwest credit cards come with free EarlyBird Check-Ins or A1-15 boardings every year. Seeing as Southwest is moving to an assigned seating model, those benefits will be rendered moot going forward.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that their credit cards will become less valuable. In the video they alluded to the fact that there’ll be some kind of seating benefits on at least one type of card – if not more – but there’s nothing specific at the moment. Hopefully this comes in the form of the ability to select seats for no fee rather than just being a “You get to be in boarding group 3” benefit.
Dynamic Pricing
The announcement a couple of weeks ago stated that Southwest “will also introduce variable redemption rates across higher-demand and lower-demand flights.” I’d taken that to mean that most award flights would maintain their current value, but that only some flights at either end of the demand spectrum would be priced differently.
Things might be worse than that though. That’s because in the video they state: “We are changing our redemption rates factoring in how much demand exists for a flight. For example, flights with lower demand will have a lower redemption rate, and flights with peak demand may have a higher redemption rate, and some flights will have the same or similar redemption rates as they do today.”
That sounds a little more loosey-goosey than I was expecting. To me, that gives the impression that while some award prices will stay the same and some flights will be regarded as peak and off-peak (and thus provide worse or better value for your points respectively), other non-peak and non-off-peak flights could still see a devaluation due to the inclusion of the “or similar” qualifier.
Question
How do you feel about this video update? Does it settle some of your nerves about upcoming changes, or does it make you dread them even more? Let us know in the comments below.
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I have been a huge fan and customer of Southwest Airlines since the early 1980’s. These changes do make me nervous. I live in a small town with an airport that includes Southwest, however I live in an area that is a bit isolated and I usually get 2 layovers. Will connection flights be gauged differently? I usually fly to another state and into popular cities. This will affect me.
Being so vague 100% makes me dread the forthcoming details.
“I’m assuming that it’s due to system limitations based on how quickly Southwest has had to throw this policy together”
This makes me Muppet-arm-flailing mad. There is ZERO reason that Southwest 1. had to do this and 2. couldn’t develop a logical, reasonable process to implement it. No external entity was forcing this. Southwest decided to do this and decided the timeframe. They decided to be jerks to customers and employees alike.
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.
In this particular situation, an investment company took a large position in Southwest and they’re the ones who’ve seemingly pushed this change on the airline – I’m not convinced that Southwest would’ve made these changes otherwise and certainly not as rapidly as they’ve ended up doing.
Absolutely agree. That is quite different from the FAA saying “you are required to do <activity>”.
Hopefully, and to be more direct I actually think, his post was sarcasm.
it sounded very much like sarcastic angst being released.
I still waiting for some mention as to what they are planning on doing to the CP. the bean counters have go to be wanting them to pull the plug on that. “Those are all freebie flyers”
Yeah, well you take that away, and I have ABSOLUTLEY NO REASON to fly SWA more than anyone else. In fact, I may go back to AA since I have LT Platinum status which at least gets me free bags and free extra legroom seats.
The CP situation is screwy but i understand how they got there since the companion ends up on a separate reservation.
Appreciated the TLDW I’ve been waiting for All of this is a bummer since SW hasn’t been winning on pricing for a long time. At the end of the day, I’ll do like most of us: milk the companion pass until they inevitably take that away, then shop SW alongside all other carriers on price and route convenience. Considering they’ll have zero unique advantages, a much smaller network, typical points redemption rates, and limited or no partners, I expect I’ll use them about as often as I’ve used frontier and Allegiant in recent years. Which is to say, not often.
I already gave up and cancelled my Rapid Rewards premier credit card. It’s been on my chopping block for quite some time but I think the latest changes in my view migrate Southwest to “just another airline” and I’ll be gravitating my domestic travel to whoever gives me the best deal and itinerary.
Honestly if they go crazy with the slashing of redemption rates on the peak flights – at that point it’s basically a complete gutting of the system unless you hold a card and spend a lot on it or fly in such a way that Business Select makes sense (I think A-List Preferred might even start preferring Biz Select). They have killed the ability to earn points and potentially killed their value when you try to redeem them
At its worst, it might make the companion pass finally fall below the value tier it needs to have to keep thinking it
“Flights with lower demand will have a lower redemption rate” sounds as though the redemption value (number of cents per point) will be worse for those flights, perhaps the opposite of what they intended to say.
I think it means it would be better value. For example, let’s say a $50 flight currently costs 3,500 points – that’s a 1.42 cents per point value. If they reduced that redemption rate to 3,000 points the value would be 1.67 cents per point which is better value for your points.
That is probably what they meant, but something like “redemption cost” would have been clearer.
Thank you for the analysis of the updates.
I’m curious how the SWA Priority CC will be affected since it comes with 4 upgraded boardings per card member year. I’m hoping the SWA CCs don’t start to resemble the updated UA CCs with the many coupons.
I’m assuming those will be replaced with the ability to select a seat 4 times or get extra legroom or front seats once or twice