by It’s always advisable to book your tickets for Christmas and New Year’s Eve as early as possible, but sometimes you forget or your plans change at the last minute. Airfares tend to go up the longer you wait, but there are still some affordable options: Southwest is offering 25% off one-way flights for trips that occur over the Christmas and New Year period.
This Southwest offer lets you fly anywhere in the continental US, so it’s perfect if you have yet to book tickets to visit family for Christmas or are planning to spend your New Year’s Eve in a new city. Simply enter the promotional code “HOLIDAY25” on Southwest’s website to receive the discount.
You only have until tomorrow to book these Southwest discount tickets and given the hectic nature of holiday travel, these tickets are sure to sell out. So book as soon as possible.
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Deal Basics
Airlines: Southwest Airlines.
Routes: This offer is only valid on Southwest network routes located in the continental US. These routes include places like Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, New York City and Washington, DC
How to book: Buy your tickets directly from the Southwest website.
Travel data: 24th to 25th December and 31st December to 1st January.
book by: 7 Dec
example flights
Book these tickets as soon as possible as many of the flights – particularly in the Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares – are already sold out. Fares are also still more expensive compared to a typical Southwest flight as they occur over the Christmas and New Year period. Still, they’re more reasonable than some others, especially considering you’re only booking weeks before the bank holidays.
For example, if you fly from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Dallas Love Field (DAL) on Christmas Eve, many Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares will be sold out.
However, the Anytime and Business Select plans are still available. There isn’t much difference in price between the two, so you can opt for either one if you’re willing to spend more on a leisure flight. The 25% discount also applies to all fare classes, so shown prices for Business Select and Anytime stickers are reduced.
However, other destinations have more availability. All class fares are available for flights between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Charleston International Airport (CHS).
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Among December 24 departures, you can still get fares for as little as $110 when you fly from Baltimore to Charleston, South Carolina – a steal considering how expensive fares can get during the holidays.
If you were to fly back to Baltimore on December 26, the fares would be slightly more expensive: you can get flights for as little as $141 that day.
With the discount, the lowest price for a round trip flight from Baltimore to Charleston is $250; This compares reasonably well with Google Flights, which shows flights between the two cities for at least $423.
This Southwest deal may not be for everyone, however, as many of the cheaper fares for select destinations have already sold out.
Maximize your purchase
Use cards that earn bonus points when purchasing airline tickets, such as The American Express Platinum Card® (5 points per dollar spent on airline tickets booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel for up to $500,000 of such purchases per calendar year), the Citi Prestige® card (5 points per dollar, the spent on plane tickets), the Citi Premier® card (3 points per dollar spent on airline tickets), the Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar spent on airline tickets), the American Express® Gold card (3 points per dollar spent on airline tickets when booking directly with the airline or through Amex Travel), the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card (3 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases), or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar spent on travel). Learn more about maximizing fare purchases in this post.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card was independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been verified or provided by the card issuer.
bottom line
If you haven’t booked your holiday home ticket yet, this Southwest deal might be perfect for you. But remember, it’s only practical depending on where you’re flying from. When I was looking for flights from New York City I couldn’t find many options, but when I was looking for flights from other cities like Baltimore I was able to find a few cheaper options.
Traveling during the holidays can get expensive — especially if you wait to book your tickets — so snag this Southwest deal while you can. The flights are already filling up.
