Maximize your rewards: Southwest is providing discounts on select early and late flights

There’s plenty to appreciate about Southwest's Rapid Rewards program. With flexible change and cancellation policies, no blackout dates for award tickets, and a variety of rewarding credit cards, many travelers find the program straightforward and adaptable — just like TPG staffers do.

The airline has now introduced a seemingly new feature on select flights that allows your Rapid Rewards points to stretch even further.

Booking select early morning flights (8 a.m. or earlier) or evening flights (7 p.m. or later) with your points could grant you a 20% discount off the standard award rate.

We first spotted this while looking for an early 2025 flight from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY).

Although both the 3:20 and 7:20 p.m. flights have an identical cash fare of $176.98, booking the evening flight through Rapid Rewards will save you 2,499 points. This enhances your redemption value from 1.37 cents per point to 1.71 cents per point — significantly higher than TPG's July 2024 valuations.

These savings on award redemptions were also applicable in the opposite direction and across various dates — even during peak travel times like Thanksgiving and for one-stop routes.

The discount is applicable to both Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares, but it does not extend to the pricier Anytime and Business Select tickets.

Sadly, these discounts appear to be offered on a very limited number of flights. We checked numerous routes throughout the U.S. on different dates and found them on only a few:

• MCO to MSY and MSY to MCO
• MCO to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and BWI to MCO
• MCO to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and PIT to MCO
• Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) and VPS to BNA

However, many other routes departing from MCO, such as flights to Chicago's Midway International Airport (MDW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Denver International Airport (DEN), and Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in Missouri, did not show any discounts at all.

It remains uncertain whether these savings will expand in the future, but for now, it's a good idea to check for any that align with your travel plans.

Plus, since Southwest makes it incredibly easy to modify an award ticket when prices drop, you might be able to adjust your existing trip to an earlier (or later) flight and receive a partial refund of Rapid Rewards points.

We have contacted Southwest for further details about this offer and will update this story with any new information we receive.