Which of Southwest's New Fare Types Should You Purchase?

For a very long time, Southwest Airlines was synonymous with the phrase "Wanna Get Away," thanks to the memorable name given to its least expensive economy fares.

But the times they are a-changin'!

In 2025 and early 2026, all of the fare classes on Southwest got re-branded names as Southwest implemented a number of major changes, from checked bag fees to changes to Rapid Rewards earning and redemption to seat assignments (catch up with everything new with Southwest in 2025). And Southwest replaced Wanna Get Away fares with a new fare class - Basic.

New Fares Mean New Questions

More important than the names though is the fact that these fares come with a revised set of perks and restrictions. Southwest customers, myself included, face a big question every time they go to purchase airfare: what Southwest fare type should I buy?

The answer now depends on a variety of factors, including:

• your status on the airline,
• whether you are booking with points or cash,
• whether you need schedule flexibility,
• whether advance seat assignments are a necessity,
• and whether you hold a Southwest credit card (and which one).

In the past, I purchased the cheapest Wanna Get Away Fares 99% of the time. But I think a lot of travelers, especially families, will need to change that up a bit more in this new matrix.

This transitional period has been confusing and is still taking some time to get used to for all of us who had mastered the old system.

After digging into all of the fine print and flying Southwest a few dozen times since the new fares rolled out, I now know which fare types I buy for my traveling family. I want to help you get the most for your family's money as well, so this post is all about helping you break down your own decision.

Summary of the New Fare Types

What will Southwest's new fare types be? There are now four fare classes, roughly replacing what Southwest had before (from most expensive to least):

• Business Select >>> Choice Extra
• Anytime >>> Choice Preferred
• Wanna Get Away Plus >>> Choice
• Wanna Get Away >>> Basic

There are over a dozen differences between the fare types as Southwest's graphic above shows, but I'd argue that there are really four key features most travelers compare:

• Seat assignment: it is included in the fare and what type of seat?
• Checked bag: included in the fare or not?
• Points earned: what is the rebate earned on spending on the fare?
• Flexibility: can you change or refund the fare or bank a fare credit if you must cancel (and how long is the credit valid)?

Perks for Status & Credit Card Holders

Where this all starts to get really complicated is due to the fact that some Southwest passengers are entitled to extras like free bags or free seat assignments if they have Southwest status or have one of Southwest's co-branded credit cards.

So you might not need to pay for a higher fare class to get certain perks if you already are entitled to those perks some other way.

While most readers of this site probably don't fly enough to earn Southwest's A-List or A-List Preferred status, I'd wager that a lot of you probably hold a Southwest credit card.

The perks that card holders get depend on which card you hold, regardless of what fare you purchase, as follows:

Performance Business or Priority Cards

($299 or $229 annual fee cards)

• Free seat selection at booking (Preferred or Standard), if available. Free upgrade of seat selection to Extra Legroom within 48 hours of departure, if available.
• First checked bag free (1 per person)

Premier Business or Premier Cards

($149 annual fee cards)

• Free seat selection (Preferred or Standard) within 48 hours of departure, if available.
• First checked bag free (1 per person)

Plus Business or Plus Cards

($99 annual fee cards? Note: there currently is no Plus Business card available.)

• Free seat selection (Standard only) within 48 hours of departure, if available.
• First checked bag free (1 per person)

(Note: In late 2026, Southwest announced a new premium card offering that will debut in 2027. We don't know what the annual fee for this card will be and or all of the benefits it will confer, but we know that it will include access to Southwest's new Icon lounges currently under construction.)

These seating and checked bag perks above extend to up to 8 additional people flying with you on the same reservation (including anyone traveling as your companion with the Southwest Companion Pass). That's potentially a lot of savings.

How Much Can Credit Card Holders Save?

Now that we know how much seat assignments and checked bags actually cost a la carte, here's some back of the napkin (Southwest geek pun intended) math.

Southwest now charges $45 checked bag, we'll let's use that number for the value of a free checked bag.

Seat assignments vary in price based on route and travel dates, but I usually estimate standard seat costs at about $25-45. That's because you get a seat assignment included when you purchase a Choice fare and that's the current average cost difference in fare between Basic and Choice. Let's use the low end of $25 for this analysis just to make it fair.

For a family of 4 who wants seat assignments and to each check a bag, that means having one credit card holder in your family can save you over $280 each way in bag and seat fees on Southwest flights. The most expensive annual fee on the most premium Southwest card is $229 per year. A card pays for itself if you take a single one way flight in this scenario.

Which Fare Type to Buy?

So at long last, let's dive into what fare you should buy based on your travel needs and the perks you may already be entitled to thanks to a credit card.

Probably not Choice Extra or Choice Preferred

Most leisure family travelers will have no need (or very minimal need) for Southwest's Choice Extra (formerly Business Select) and Choice Preferred (formerly Anytime) fares. Their only main exclusive perk is full refundability so they are really meant for business travelers. (Choice Extra fares also include 2 checked bags but there are a lot of smarter ways to get bags for less.)

The only time I'd recommend a family buy them is if you really don't otherwise fly Southwest regularly and you might need to cancel a trip. In that case, even the 12 month fare credit on Choice fares could be insufficient. For example, if you are booking a flight 8 months in advance, and might need to cancel last minute, that would mean you'd only have 4 months to use the fare credit left. And if you don't fly Southwest regularly, you might not be able to use the credit in time.

I might also recommend booking these fares if you are booking very last minute. In that case, the fares might not be that much more expensive than the Basic and Choice fares, and you'd potentially earn back the small difference in price paid because of the much better Rapid Rewards earning potential of the more expensive fares. Plus, you'd get maximum flexibility.

Choice vs. Basic

Outside of those less common situations, the real choice in my mind for most travelers comes down to Choice vs. Basic.

I'm not a fan of basic economy on most US airlines for families. But after crunching the numbers and looking at the benefits on Southwest, I think a lot of travelers can continue to be able to purchase Basic fares instead of Choice fares a fair amount of the time—as long as they hold a credit card.

Why? Neither fare includes checked bags, but checked bags are already included for all card holders. And card holders of the more expensive two cards get free seat selection at booking. Those are the main perks most family and leisure travelers care about.

What might you miss out on though if you purchase Basic? You'll miss out on the extra points earning for paid flights (2x vs. 6x with Choice). And the flight will be less flexible if you need to cancel (6 months non-transferrable credit vs. 12 months transferrable credit).

If you pay for a flight with points, however, neither of these considerations matter. Flights purchased with points don't earn points anyway, and if you cancel a flight booked with points, those points just get redeposited (there's no flight credit with a time limit in play).

Since my family books most of our travel on Southwest with points and we hold one of Southwest's most expensive credit cards, I have been purchasing Basic fares nearly every time we book with Rapid Rewards points. We get seat assignments at booking and 1 free checked bag per person, and we can still cancel our plans and redeposit our points.

When we pay for fares in cash, it is a bit of a closer call. I consider booking Choice fares when we need more flexibility or are booking far in advance when our plans may change. Basic is safer for travel that is more firm (e.g., spring break, Thanksgiving when dates and times won't change).

For travelers who hold the four credit cards where a seat assignment is only given 48 hours in advance, the decision between Choice and Basic is a little less clear and depends on your risk aversion, ages of your kids, your need for flexibility, etc.

I made this decision tree to help you see the various pathways. Not high graphic design I know, and I'm not sure what it says about my sanity that I created this at all, but hopefully it helps! (You can download a full size PDF version here.)

Here's how I'd make the decision between Choice and Basic in several common situations:

• For all credit card holders, if you need flight flexibility because your schedule is unsure, pay with Rapid Rewards points. If you don't have points, purchase Choice fares for the extended flight credit (12 months vs. 6 months). You may even need to consider booking Choice Preferred for full refundability if you won't have a likely way to use the flight credit within the 12 month window.
• For holders of the 4 lower fee credit cards, if you are traveling at a peak time like the holidays, pay for the Choice fare over the Basic for guaranteed seat selection at booking, as there might not be any seats together or non-middle seats remaining at 48 hours in advance to select.
• For holders of the 4 lower fee credit cards, on shorter hop trips, consider taking your chances with Basic fares instead of Choice because the stakes aren't as high. Maybe you'll get your seats of choice for free at 48 hours out, but if not, your time in a middle seat will be mercifully short!
• For families with little ones who MUST sit together no matter what (even on short flights), get one of the more expensive two credit cards for guaranteed seat selection. If you already have one of the lower fee cards, upgrading to a more expensive one will be far less expensive than paying for a couple of Choice fares on a single flight. And if you aren't going to hold a Southwest credit card, you really need to book Choice instead of Basic to get seated together with your kids. (See my guide to Southwest seat assignments which explains how Southwest has been separating young kids from parents on Basic bookings with some regularity.)

Related: The Complete Guide to Flying Southwest with Kids

What do you think of the new Southwest fares? Have you decided which fare class is right for your specific situation?