(EXPIRED) Southwest: Save 20% On Award Flights With Promo Code SAVE20NOW (Book By 3/16 For Travel Through 5/24)

Southwest is out with a new offer today giving 20% off when using promo code SAVE20NOW. Unlike promotions when you get a discount on both paid and award flight, this latest offer is only valid when booking award flights with Rapid Rewards points.

The Deal

• Save 20% when booking Southwest award flights & using promo code SAVE20NOW.
• Direct link to offer.

Key Terms

• Book a Southwest flight on Southwest.com or swabiz.com using your Rapid Rewards points from March 14 through March 16, 2023 and receive 20 percent off when you fly between March 14 and May 24, 2023 (the “Promotional Period”).
• Enter code SAVE20NOW in the promo code box when booking.
• Offer is valid for domestic and international travel.
• The 20 percent promotion code savings are valid for one-way or round trip Wanna Get Away, Wanna Get Away Plus, Anytime, and Business Select fares booked with Rapid Rewards points from March 14 through March 16, 2023, flown during the Promotional Period, and is applied before taxes and fees.
• Savings are reflected in the price when entering the multiuse code SAVE20NOW in the Promo Code box on Southwest.com and swabiz.com.
• This discount is only available through Southwest.com and swabiz.com.
• Discount is valid on new reservations only.
• Discount will apply only for flights booked March 14, 2023 through March 16, 2023, and taken on the dates within the Promotional Period.
• If one segment of the trip is outside the Promotional Period and one is within the Promotional Period, only the portion of travel falling within the Promotional Period will be discounted.
• Changes made to the itinerary after purchase will eliminate qualification for this promotion.
• The discount is only valid with the provided promotion code and is not combinable with other promotion codes or fares.
• All reward travel is subject to taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges of at least $5.60 per one-way trip. Applicable taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges can vary significantly based on your arrival and departure destination. The payment of any taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges is the responsibility of the Passenger and must be paid at the time reward travel is booked with a credit card, flight credit, or Southwest gift card.
• When traveling on reward travel, you will receive all fare product features except for earning Rapid Rewards points.
• Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in points used.
• Points bookings are subject to change until ticketed.
• If you cancel your reservation at least ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight, any remaining unused points will be returned to your Rapid Rewards account.
• All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms.
• Offer is not redeemable for cash, and may not be used in conjunction with other special offers, or toward the purchase of a gift card or previously-booked flight, or changed to a previously-booked flight.
• Discount is not valid on group travel, Southwest Vacations, and government fares.

Quick Thoughts

Southwest sometimes offers promo codes that give a discount on paid flights. Those particular promos in turn also give a discount on award flights because award pricing with Southwest is tied to the cash price.

That’s not the case with this latest deal though. If you try using the promo code with cash pricing selected, you’ll get an error message stating “Sorry, we found some errors…
The discount code entered can only be used on reservations booked with points. To complete your reservation using your discount code, please book using points.” However, switch your search to a reservation using Rapid Rewards points and you’ll get a green bar confirming the discount: “Score! Promo code SAVE20NOW has been applied.
ENJOY YOUR EXTRA SAVINGS BELOW!”

Saving 20% on award flights can result in some excellent savings on a cents per point (cpp) basis, particularly on flights that are already cheap in cash. For example, here are some of the cash prices from Houston to LaGuardia on April 11:

Those $80 prices are in fact $79.98 for accuracy’s sake. Deduct the $5.60 you have to pay on award tickets and you’re left with $74.38 which you’d save if booking with points. Here’s how award tickets are priced that morning when using promo code SAVE20NOW:

Redeeming 3,446 points for savings of $74.38 means you’re getting 2.16cpp of value by redeeming Rapid Rewards points – much better than normal.

Something important to note about this award sale is that although it’s valid on flights through May 24, 2023, you have to book by March 16 which only gives you a couple more days to take advantage of this offer. It’d be better to book sooner rather than later though as the cheapest award options will likely get booked more Rapidly.

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