Secret Tips for Booking Free Summer Flights with Southwest

The first thing you need to know about Southwest is the fact that the airline has frequent sales - as in, all the time! Since the number of miles you'll need to book a flight depends on the fare price, waiting for a good sale can help you save some miles for later.

Also keep in mind that, like some other airlines, Southwest lets you book one-way flights with miles. This can be a boon if you have miles with another airline loyalty program or if you just want to create your own open jaw where you fly into one airport and out of another.

Another major benefit of this airline loyalty program is the fact that you can change or exchange flights without a penalty. This means that, if you book a Southwest flight with miles and the price goes down, you can cancel and rebook your flight with fewer miles and pocket the difference.

Southwest may fly to more destinations than you think, and flights are often C-H-E-A-P. It's not uncommon to see one-way flights around the United States that cost less than 6,000 miles per leg. That's 12,000 miles for a round-trip flight, which is a steal.

While Southwest has long been known as a family-friendly domestic airline, don't forget that they also fly to many Caribbean destinations such as Aruba, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman. You can book these flights with miles as well.

Recently, Southwest Airlines announced their intention to fly to Hawaii later this year. While exact routes haven't been shared yet, we expect this information any day. These new routes will also be bookable with miles, meaning you can fly to Hawaii with Southwest for "free" one day.

If you want to earn free flights with Southwest, you would be smart to consider picking up one of their co-branded credit cards. The Southwest Premier Credit Card is a solid travel credit card option since it offers a big signup bonus along 2 miles per $1 on Southwest flight purchases and 1 mile per $1 on everything else.

Southwest began offering a premier travel card in July of 2018 - the new Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority credit card. This card is offering 40K miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases within a year and another 25,000 miles for spending $15,000 within that year. You also get a $75 annual travel credit and other perks for the $149 annual fee.

If you have a business, also keep in mind that Southwest offers two co-branded business credit cards with Chase. Both their Premier and Plus business cards offer nice signup bonuses and the potential for ongoing rewards that can help you book free Southwest flights and more!

Another important tip to remember is the fact that Southwest Airlines is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards. This means that, if you have a premier travel credit card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them 1:1 to Southwest.

One extremely smart way to rack up Chase points is by signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This premier travel card offers 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 within three months, plus you get 2 points per $1 spent on travel and dining and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. The $95 annual fee is waived the first year.

If you really want to up your travel game, you can also consider signing up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve. This card, which has a $450 annual fee, comes with a big signup bonus, airport lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit and more. And yes, you get to transfer your points directly to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio.

If you have a business, there's yet another travel card that lets you transfer miles to Southwest - the Ink Business Preferred. This card offers 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 within three months plus 3 points per $1 in special bonus categories. A $95 annual fee does apply.

While the number of travel cards that let you earn Southwest miles may seem dizzying, having a few different cards can let you rack up more miles over time. Remember that you can have both co-branded Southwest cards and Chase cards that let you transfer points to Southwest. You don't have to choose.

Another important feature that can let you earn more free flights with Southwest is their companion pass - a benefit that lets a companion fly for free. This perk is offered if you earn 110,000 Southwest miles within a calendar year and good for the year you earn it as well as the following year.

A crucial detail to understand about the Southwest Companion Pass is that it's good whether you pay for your own flight in cash or miles. So, you can book your flight with miles for free then add your companion to make their flight free as well. Score!

Believe it or not, you can also use your miles to book flights for people other than yourself - and this is true even if you're not on the flight. This makes it easy to use your miles to bring people to your area for a visit, or for other people to use their miles to fly you to where they live.

We already mentioned how you can pick up several Southwest and Chase cards to earn more miles, but it's also important to get your spouse or partner in the game. Both you and your spouse can earn the same signup bonuses on the same cards - even if you live at the same address!

Another easy way to earn Southwest miles is with their dining program. This program lets you earn miles just for signing up and dining at participating restaurants in your area. If you're going to dine out anyway, why not earn miles for free flights?

Southwest also offers an e-shopping portal that lets you earn miles for many purchases you make online. All you have to do to earn additional miles and save on airfare is click through the portal before you shop! It's easy and free, and you're probably doing most of your shopping online these days anyway.

You can also book hotels and rental cars through Southwest, and prices are usually comparable (or better) than what you'd pay elsewhere. The best part is, you can earn even more Southwest miles when you book through the Southwest website whether you have a Southwest credit card or not!

Southwest also offers vacation packages that bundle your airfare and hotel for one low price. While you can't pay for these packages with miles, you can earn extra bonus miles when you book them. Those miles can be used later for another free flight.

A lot of people complain about Southwest's first-come-first-serve boarding process, but you can avoid and it and get an early boarding number if you pay $15 one-way for Early Bird boarding. But, you can also get an early boarding number for free if you check in exactly 24 hours before you depart.

Southwest offers two free checked bags per person on their flights, and this is true whether you pay in cash or miles. Since checked bags usually cost $25, this is an average savings of $100 one-way for a family of four.

While it's possible to "fly free" with Southwest Rapid Rewards points and other airline miles, it is important to plan for government-mandated taxes and fees. These fees will cost you $5.60 per leg on domestic flights, but they can be over $100 per person for Southwest flights to the Caribbean.