Southwest Airlines: Sometimes Their Crazy Cheap Fares (With Free Bags!) Aren’t As Good As They Seem — Here’s What I Mean
I recently booked my $10 flights home for the holidays thanks to Chase Ultimate Rewards points and the Southwest Companion Pass. The flights for my partner and me to fly cost only 19,000 points TOTAL, and I’ll be bringing my daughter as a lap child. But as I was searching for flights, I realized that Southwest Airlines has a pretty strong hold on me. Why?
Because paying 9,500 points (19,000 points total/ 2 people = 9,500 each) for a round-trip flight on Southwest Airlines is amazingly cheap.
Especially because you can transfer the entire sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card into Southwest points. So you’d have 50,000 Southwest points after you meet that card’s spending requirement.
No other airline can even come close to comparing to Southwest.
The Southwest Companion Pass Is a Pretty Sweet Deal Because Your Partner Flies With You for Free!
When Looking at Southwest Airlines Flights, Consider the Routing
I’m such a thrifty points saver that I even pass up airlines that have non-stop flights to my destination. And a non-stop flight is a BIG luxury when you’re bringing your child. Heck, a non-stop flight is a luxury when you’re traveling alone!
So you might want to look at other airlines that cost more points or cash but have non-stop flights.
Still, I haven’t brought myself to cancel my insanely cheap holiday flights and rebook one of those non-stop flights. The tickets would end up costing at least 50,000 miles for 2 round-trip tickets on American Airlines, or at least ~50,000 miles for 2 round-trip tickets on United Airlines.
Here’s how I amassed my Chase Ultimate Rewards points fortune. And here’s everything you need to know about the best deal in travel, the Southwest Companion Pass.
And Southwest, if you are reading this, please add a non-stop flight from Austin to Detroit! 
