Southwest's Week of WOW Sale Ends Sept 17: Book Now

If you fly Southwest with any regularity, the Dallas-based carrier is running one of its biggest sales of the year right now, and the window to lock in a fare is short. Southwest launched its Week of WOW promotion on September 14, and it closes Thursday, September 17, covering airfare, hotels, rental cars and vacation packages for travel that stretches from early fall into early spring. The headline offer is up to 40% off base fares on select nonstop routes, for travel between October 5, 2026, and March 3, 2027. That is a wide booking window, long enough to cover Thanksgiving-adjacent trips, winter getaways and even early spring break travel, though Southwest's own terms warn that seats, days and specific markets are limited and that blackout dates apply, so the deepest discounts will not be sitting on every date or every route. Bookings require a 21-day advance purchase, meaning the earliest you could actually fly on a sale fare booked this week is in early October, not this weekend. For Southwest-region travelers specifically, the route list Southwest is promoting is worth a close look, because Austin shows up twice: Austin to San Diego and Austin to San Jose are both called out among the nonstop routes carrying the discount, alongside Denver-San Diego, Nashville-Chicago Midway and Seattle-Nashville. That is a meaningful signal for AUS-based flyers weighing a California trip this fall or winter, since both California nonstops from Austin-Bergstrom are explicitly part of the sale rather than just generically eligible. If your Southwest flying tends to run through Dallas Love Field, DFW-adjacent airports, San Antonio or Houston Hobby instead, the promoted list does not name a route through those airports, but Southwest's fare sales typically apply more broadly than the handful of routes highlighted in the press release, so it is worth searching your specific city pair directly on southwest.com or the Southwest app rather than assuming the sale only touches the named markets. The rest of the promotion is aimed at travelers who bundle a flight with a hotel, a rental car or a full vacation package. Hotel bookings made between September 14 and 21 for stays through September 30, 2027 can earn 3,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points, or a discount worth the same amount, depending on how you choose to redeem. Rental car shoppers get up to 15% off Enterprise base rates on three-day-or-longer rentals, also booked by September 21, with pickup allowed through December 15, 2026, a detail that matters if you were hoping to use this sale for a spring break car rental next March, since that window falls outside the discount's pickup eligibility. Getaways by Southwest, the airline's vacation-package arm, is offering up to $500 off a five-night package for two travelers, bundled with two free checked bags. Here is what actually matters for how you should book this week. First, the airfare and vacation-package deadlines are the tightest: both close September 17, so if a specific Southwest-region trip has been sitting in your saved searches, this is the week to check it rather than let the sale expire unused. Second, the hotel and rental car windows run a few days longer, through September 21, which gives you slightly more room to compare prices before committing, but not much. Third, remember the 21-day advance-purchase rule before you get your hopes up about a same-month trip; sale fares booked today will not get you on a plane before roughly October 6, so this is a sale for planning ahead, not for last-minute travel. Fourth, because Southwest's own materials are explicit that blackout dates and limited inventory apply, do not assume every date across the five-and-a-half-month window is priced the same; check a few different travel dates before settling on one, since shifting a trip by even a few days can change whether the deepest discount is actually available. Finally, put this sale in context if you are choosing between Southwest and a competitor for a Southwest-region trip this fall or winter. Southwest still checks two bags free on every fare, has no change fees, and this particular sale stacks a fare discount on top of that baseline value, which is a real advantage over full-service carriers running comparable seasonal sales without the bag and change-fee perks. If you already had a trip in mind for the AUS-San Diego or AUS-San Jose routes, or any other city pair Southwest serves out of the region, spend the next two days pricing it out before the September 17 deadline closes the airfare and vacation-package portion of the sale for good. Sources FALL FOR SAVINGS: SOUTHWEST AIRLINES' WEEK OF WOW TRAVEL DEALS IS HERE - PR Newswire - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/from-fall-getaways-to-spring-breaks-southwest-airlines-week-of-wow-delivers-deals-on-travel-302877937.html Southwest Airlines Week of WOW: Up to 40% Off Fares - StockTitan - https://www.stocktitan.net/news/LUV/from-fall-getaways-to-spring-breaks-southwest-airlines-week-of-wow-o0mbwvnsgyvd.html Southwest Airlines launches sale with up to 40% off fares - Investing.com - https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/southwest-airlines-launches-sale-with-up-to-40-off-fares-93CH-4900154 NEWS: Southwest Airlines Announces Up to 40% Off Flights - AllEars.Net - https://allears.net/2026/09/14/southwest-airlines-announces-up-to-40-off-flights/