Southwest Airfare question

[clh2]

So - do any of my budget-minded friends on the disboards have any idea when Southwest will start to discount fares for the end of July.

Looking to go from Milwaukee to Denver. Chicago-Midway "might" work - as long as we don't have to stay overnight in Chicago.

Our dates are a little flexible - but we are going to our niece's wedding. So - as long as we are there for the day of the wedding - it doesn't matter if we come in a couple of days in advance or stay a couple of days later.

Thank you!

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

Southwest is our least expensive way to fly out of Denver. Sometimes the lowest fares are only 4-8 weeks out and sometimes they have been months out. Sign up on www.airfarewatchdog.com and then put in the information on which airports you are interested in. They will consistently email you airfares from those airports. I keep a log of current airfares so that I know when a really good deal comes out. Sometimes a good deal will last only days or hours so I am ready to jump at a good deal when I recognize it.

If you are not opposed to using credit cards to your benefit, sign up for a FREE Rapid Rewards account on Southwest.com and then watch your inbox for credit card offers like... "sign up for our credit card and get 50,000 points." Last year we got 3.5 tickets from Denver to Orlando with those 50,000 points. It was worth the $99. annual fee. We never carry a credit card balance; we use it like a debit card.

Best of luck to you and safe travels.

 

[Tricia's mom]

You will not see any discounts.. Just fares going up... Southwest releases X amount of lower fares when the flights first open up. That is the best time to book. I believe you have missed that window. They open up til end of September at this point .
Southwest doesn't work that way.... Try checking another airline...

 

[strmtroopr96]

If you keep watching you will most likely see Southwest prices fluctuate from day to day or week to week. I have only been watching fares for May in the last few weeks and already they have gone from $139 to $158 to $119 to $140 and back to $158 in just about 3 weeks time.

We almost always fly Southwest and I have never NOT seen their prices go up and down. You need to have a price in your head that you are willing to pay and then jump on it when you see it.

 

[JCMHutch]

I have found that the lowest SW prices are usually available by booking early.

Prices can fluctuate from time to time - but they will credit you the difference if the price does go down after you've booked. We had that happen several weeks ago. DH booked a ticket to Orlando for June on SW and the price dropped by almost 1/3 two weeks later. SW gave him a credit for the difference and we plan to use it towards our October trip.

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

I am also stalking Southwest, but mine is for our November trip! I have found out from others that it does seem the cheapest prices are as soon as they are released. But, they do offer sales a lot that could be very helpful! Watch out for those as well!

 

[gigi1313]

You will not see any discounts.. Just fares going up... Southwest releases X amount of lower fares when the flights first open up. That is the best time to book. I believe you have missed that window. They open up til end of September at this point .
Southwest doesn't work that way.... Try checking another airline...

I disagree! SWA fares fluctuate all.the.time. We traveled over New Years and while deciding I saw our fares range from $94-340, for the same light on the same day! I bought about a month out at $110, when a few days prior it was much higher...

Ergo I agree with the advice to keep looking, sign up for watchdog, and good luck!

 

[hsmamato2]

IMHO SWA fares are not the cheapest when released, they usually seem to run 'cycles' of sale dates..... the last 'cycle' was thru June early June, so I'm assuming any disounts for the rest of summer will show in the next few weeks.... if there are any to be found I'm hoping too!

 

[Angie789]

I also disagree that SW flights are cheapest when they are first released. We are fairly regular travellers and SW is always our first choice, so I pay close attention to flight costs. SW fluctuates all the time, and rarely is the first price the lowest.

Maybe their pricing strategies are different depending on the airport??

 

[2minnies]

Have you also tried frontier from mke?

 

[ManyMinnie]

Check Frontier, too. They fly direct to Denver from MKE.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

So - do any of my budget-minded friends on the disboards have any idea when Southwest will start to discount fares for the end of July.

Looking to go from Milwaukee to Denver. Chicago-Midway "might" work - as long as we don't have to stay overnight in Chicago.

Our dates are a little flexible - but we are going to our niece's wedding. So - as long as we are there for the day of the wedding - it doesn't matter if we come in a couple of days in advance or stay a couple of days later.

Thank you!

Airlines don't usually discount tickets during busy travel times. They don't need to.

If I had an important event to attend in July, I would already have purchased my tickets. There isn't going to be any big WN airfare sale for your travel dates. You should look at fares on all airlines flying your route.