I woke up to some shocking news: Southwest Airlines will now start charging for baggage. No more free baggage! I know the rumors have been swirling about this for a while, but Southwest has always been adamant that it won’t charge for baggage. Well, things change.
Changes at Southwest Airlines
No More Free Baggage: For flights purchased on or after May 28, 2025, customers will need to pay for baggage. The exact fees haven’t been announced. Some customers will still get free baggage:
- A-List Preferred status members (2 free bags)
- A-List status members (1 free bag)
- Southwest Airlines credit card holders (1 free bag)
- Customers traveling on Business Select fare (most expensive fare)
Basic Economy Fare: Southwest will have a Basic Economy fare
Rapid Rewards Earning and Redemption Rates: Rates will become dynamic based on flight demand
Flight Credits Expire: While flight credits currently don’t expire, for flights booked on or after May 28, will expire in one year or earlier based on the fare class
My Thoughts on These Changes
I haven’t flown on Southwest Airlines in several years because the fares aren’t as low as they used to be. Since I have an AA credit card, I get free bags on AA. So, flying on Southwest for free baggage hasn’t been an incentive for me.
After these changes, I don’t even recognize Southwest Airlines anymore. These changes will be VERY unpopular with passengers, and I’m curious how their sales will react.
What do you think of these changes at Southwest Airlines?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Why ruin a good thing? SWA flights to Hawaii are almost always full as are so many SWA flights. The only theory I have is the private equity group now managing the Board at SWA wants to drive it into bankruptcy for the tax benefits. We fly SWA several times a year to Hawaii, but that will change. We can fly direct on other airlines with more comfort. Goes back to the old maxim:
If it ain’t broke, brake it!
Goes without saying this is really bad news for many of us focused on domestic, Hawaiian, and Caribbean locations. Southwest is a great option for families focused on those destinations.
Free bags was definitely a big point of differentiation for us. We travel with 4-6 checked bags/items, so this was easily worth $400 on top of fares for us roundtrip. We try to keep annual fees at a minimum but the value of cards with free checked bags for people on the same itinerary just went up for us, so will likely have to keep some annual fee cards around for luggage.
Also horrible news: dynamic pricing for award flights! That may actually be an even tougher change for us to manage as unlike bags there won’t be a credit card benefit we can get that ameliorates the impact of that change! I think spring break travel may not be available until after this change at the end of May, so we won’t be able to get as great a deal on our Hawaii trip next year as anticipated with the combo of paying for bags and the dynamic pricing for award flights.
I think the points of differentiation for southwest now may be their flexible cancellation/change policy, the number of places they fly to domestically, and the CP. And potentially their lower cost to bring luggage if they price luggage fees low? I have found their ticket pricing to be better than most here in the upper Midwest, so that may be enough to keep us prioritizing them.
But man, given how un spectacular their boarding process and planes are, this feels like they really aren’t all that different from others anymore. I’d rather have the Delta or United experience if I’m playing the same for those as I am for southwest.
@Cheapblackdad Yes, Southwest really won’t be much different from the other airlines now. So many angry people on social media yesterday! I’ll be curious to see if their baggage prices are lower than the competition.
The best thing about Southwest was the cancelation policy and the non-expiring flight credit. Also, the selection of flights from BUR near my house. But if they are going to start charging for bags and flight credits will expire, I might stick with American or Delta.
@Anastsia I loved flying in and out of Burbank when I lived nearby! LAX is such a pain with all the traffic.
We flew Southwest because of the free bags. I’ll be flying Jetblue more as I prefer their free wifi, assigned seats, and more direct flights from Boston.
@Michelle Glad you have a good alternative.