Late last year Southwest announced that it will devalue Rapid Rewards redemptions on their Wanna Get Away fares.  Starting March 31, 2014, Southwest will increase the cost of redeeming Wanna Get Away fares from 60 Southwest points per $1 worth of Wanna Get Away fares to 70 Southwest points per $1 worth of Wanna Get Away fares.   This means that you will now need 15% more Southwest points to redeem a Wanna Get Away ticket (Southwest’s lowest fare tickets).  Southwest is not making any changes to Anytime or Business Select award tickets.

So if are planning on booking award tickets on Southwest in the near future make sure to book them prior to Monday, March 31, 2014 to get the most value out of your points.  Currently, Southwest is allowing you to book tickets up to November 1, 2014.  You can book tickets using Southwest points even if your plans are tentative, because you can get your points back without paying a change fee if you have to cancel.  Unlike many airlines, finding award availability is easy because Southwest has no blackout dates and you can book awards if there are seats available for sale.

In our opinion, Southwest is the best frequent flyer program for travel within the US and we usually fly with them when we travel within the US.  Southwest is very convenient in that you can cancel or change flights for free without paying change fees.  Southwest recently began offering flights to Mexico and other international destinations so you are no longer limited to US flights only.

Are you booking any trips on Southwest before March 31?