5 Best Southwest Airlines Sweet Spots

Southwest Airlines is making huge changes in 2025. The airline eliminated free checked bags for most passengers, introduced assigned seating and rolled out dynamic award pricing — a shift that effectively devalued the Rapid Rewards program. NerdWallet now values Southwest points at 1.3 cents each, a median value drawn from real-world data.

While it may now be difficult to find great value for your Southwest points, it’s still possible with some effort. Here are some Southwest sweet spots to check out.

» Learn more: Ways to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points

1. Low-fare calendar flights 

Southwest's low-fare calendar is your best bet for finding good redemptions. It allows you to toggle between the cost of a flight with points versus cash.

The calendar makes it easy to quickly calculate the cent-per-point value for any day, helping you maximize your redemptions.

» Learn more: How to get cheap Southwest flights

2. Flights to Cancun

International flights can get you some of the best value out of your Southwest points. While not every route is a standout, it's easy to spot deals on the fare calendar.

Here’s an example of a one-way flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Cancun (CUN).

A Basic fare costs $132, or 4,000 points. When calculating the value of your points you’ll want to subtract the taxes and fees (almost $50 for this flight) from the fare to get your numbers.

In this case, you’ll be redeeming your Southwest Rapid Rewards points at a value of about 2 cents each.

» Learn more: 12 things to know before flying Southwest

3. Flights between Atlanta and Chicago

It’s not just international flights where you’ll find good deals on Southwest. Even short-haul jumps between hubs such as Atlanta (ATL) and Chicago (MDW) can yield good value, as you can see in the screenshot below.

This nonstop route costs $69 for a Basic fare, or as little as 4,000 points one-way.

This grants you a redemption value of 1.6 cents per point, which still beats out NerdWallet’s valuation of 1.3 cents each.

» Learn more: Southwest’s new fares: Cardholders and elites win, others pay

4. Flights to Hawaii

A fan-favorite, flights to Hawaii are notoriously expensive. That is, of course, unless you’re flying with Southwest. A trip from San Diego, California, to Maui, for example, can be had for as little as $164 one-way.

But if you’d prefer to redeem points instead, it’ll cost you just 9,000 points for a Basic ticket.

This gets you a value of 1.8 cents per point.

» Learn more: How to upgrade your Southwest flight

5. Flights to Orlando

Our final option on this list is a destination that's especially popular for its theme parks: Orlando, Florida.

Houston's Hobby Airport (HOU) is one of Southwest’s hubs, which means you’ll find plenty of daily flights out of the airport. Flights between Houston (HOU) and Orlando (MCO) can be found for just $114 with a Basic fare, or 7,000 points.

You'll get 1.5 cents per point on this redemption.

This number is on the lower end of our list of sweet spots, but still beats NerdWallet's value of 1.3 cents per Southwest point, making it a good option for using your Rapid Rewards points.

(Top photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines)