[Southwest Awards Now Require 86 Points Per Dollar Of Base Fare] Southwest Will Devalue Points Again Next Month, Here’s How Much

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Update, 1/8/24: You now need to redeem 86 Southwest points per base dollar of airfare for award tickets. That’s up from 60 in 2011, 70 in 2014, and 83 in 2021.

The value of each point will still vary based on the fare and how much of it consists of taxes.

For example:

• A flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on 2/6 is $23.14+$16.84 tax=$39.98, or it can be redeemed for 1,991 points+$5.60. 1,991/$23.14 gives you the 86 points per dollar calculation, while $39.98-$5.60/1,991 gives you a value of 1.73 cents per point redeemed.
• A flight from LaGuardia to Chicago/MDW on 2/6 is $36.17+$17.81 tax=$53.98, or it can be redeemed for 3,111 points+$5.60. 3,111/$36.17 gives you the 86 points per dollar calculation, while $53.98-$5.60/3,111 gives you a value of 1.56 cents per point redeemed.
• A flight from Louisville to Atlanta on 2/7 is $111.52+$23.46 tax=$134.98, or it can be redeemed for 9,591 points+$5.60. 9,591/$111.52 gives you the 86 points per dollar calculation, while $134.98-$5.60/9,591 gives you a value of 1.35 cents per point redeemed.

Originally posted on 12/7/23:

Southwest will devalue their points on 1/1/24.

Southwest devaluations are typically gradual, so that customers remain like the fabled slowly boiled frog.

But at least this time, the airline is giving advance warning, which they failed to do last time.

When Rapid Rewards 2.0 launched in 2011, you needed 60 points per dollar of airfare.

Back then, a $58.90 ticket from Louisville to Atlanta was just 2,880 points + $2.50 security fee.

The math behind that was 2,880 points divided by the $48 pre-tax cost, which equals 60.

The overall value of points varies based on the fare (the lower the fare, the higher the points value), but in that case it was $58.90-$2.50=$56.40/2,880=1.96 cents per point:

They devalued that to needing 70 points per dollar in 2014, but provided 6 months advance notice of that devaluation.

That rate lasted until 2021, when Southwest devalued them to needing 83 points per dollar and it was done without warning.

After the 2021 devaluation, a $66.98 ticket from Louisville to Atlanta was 4,060 points + $5.60 security fee.

The math behind that was 4,060 points divided by the $48.91 pre-tax cost, which equals 83, which is what the points are currently worth.

The overall value of points varies based on the fare level, but in that case it was $66.98-$5.60=$61.38/4,060=1.51 cents per point:

The exact value of Southwest points today will vary based on the fare.

Southwest says that starting on 1/1/24, you will approximately 4% more points per base dollar of fare. If you multiply 83 by 104%, that would mean you will be about 86.3 points per dollar, though we won’t know the exact level until 1/1.

In the example above, the $66.98 flight from Louisville to Atlanta would go up from 4,060 points to about 4,220 points ($48.91 fare before tax x 86.3).

The value per point in that case would then be $66.98-$5.60=$61.38/4,220=1.45 cents per point, down from 1.51 cents per point.

Of course, Southwest is a revenue based mileage program where the cost of an award is directly tied to the cost of a flight. Other programs correctly claim they need to devalue when the cost of flights go up, but a revenue based program shouldn’t need to be devalued as points requirements automatically go up when flight costs go up.

It’s another reason why I try to keep most of my mileage balances in bank points like AMEX or Chase where they won’t be devalued based on the whims of an individual airline.

In other news, you can directly book Southwest tickets via the Chase portal, though flights often seem to be more expensive than directly from Southwest and you lose the Southwest flexibility and lifetime non-expiring credit or points when buying from Southwest with cash or points and need to cancel.

Will you book any flights before the devaluation?