Does Southwest Offer Deals Around Thanksgiving?

Yes — Southwest runs sales during the Thanksgiving period, but almost none of them are good for flying on Thanksgiving itself. The discounts the airline sells in late November are overwhelmingly for January through March travel, and the holiday's own peak days are usually blacked out or fall outside the booking window entirely. That gap matters if you are shopping today, November 13, 2026, for a seat home on November 26.

Below is what Southwest is actually offering right now, why the holiday dates keep getting excluded, and what a Thanksgiving traveler can still do to cut the cost of the trip.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 13, 2026.

What Southwest is selling right now

Southwest's current promotion is a "Winter travel sale" with one-way fares starting at $69, or 4,600 Rapid Rewards points, in select markets. According to Southwest's offer page for the sale, the booking window runs November 12 through November 18, 2026, and purchases carry a 21-day advance-purchase requirement. That advance-purchase rule is the detail most holiday shoppers miss.

Book today and the earliest eligible travel date lands in December — well past Thanksgiving on November 26. The sale is live during Thanksgiving week, but it is not a Thanksgiving fare. Rapid Rewards is Southwest's free loyalty program, and points fares like the 4,600-point floor are priced in points instead of dollars.

The same advance-purchase and market restrictions apply, so the points option does not open up dates the cash fare excludes.

Why the holiday dates keep getting excluded

Southwest's recent sales follow a consistent shape: discount the quiet winter weeks, protect the days everyone already wants. The Rapid Rewards award sale that ran November 6 through 9, 2026 cut award base fares by up to 25% with no promo code, but its published terms blacked out November 28 and 29 — the two heaviest Thanksgiving return days — for continental U.S. travel.

The same terms blacked out December 26 through 28, January 2 and January 3, with wider Thanksgiving and December 17–January 5 restrictions on Hawaii, international, St. Thomas and San Juan routes. The sale before that one went further and simply started the travel window after the holiday.

Southwest's early-November promotion offered one-way fares of $59 to $129 for continental U.S. and interisland Hawaii flights, as reported by Boston.com on November 2, 2026, with travel limited to December 1, 2026 through March 3, 2027 and bookings closing November 5. Earlier in the fall, a 40%-off base-fare sale covered travel from November 9, 2026 through March 3, 2027 — but required booking by October 22.

The discount reached the holiday-adjacent window weeks in advance and then closed long before holiday shoppers started looking.

Is there a dedicated Thanksgiving sale page?

No. Southwest posts its current sales, promo codes and fare floors on its general flight deals hub, and there is no separate Thanksgiving landing page. Holiday shoppers are pointed at the same page as everyone else.

The practical effect is that "Thanksgiving deal" is a search term, not a product. Anything you find will be a general sale whose fine print happens to include or exclude late November, which is why the travel-date range and blackout list deserve more attention than the headline price. Checking a Southwest sale takes about a minute:

• Find the travel window — the dates you may actually fly, not the dates you may book.
• Find the booking window and any advance-purchase rule, which can push your earliest travel weeks out.
• Read the blackout dates, which commonly cover the days just after Thanksgiving and around New Year's.
• Confirm your route is in a "select markets" sale; fare floors rarely apply everywhere.

The deal that actually lands during Thanksgiving week

Southwest does promote during the holiday — it just sells January travel. Its Cyber Monday promotion in 2025 offered up to 50% off Basic and Choice base fares with promo code 50CYBER, bookable December 1 through 4, 2025, for travel starting January 6, 2026. That was a discount sold days after Thanksgiving for trips taken after the holidays were over.

So if you are flexible, Thanksgiving week is a good time to buy and a poor time to fly. Treat the week as the moment to lock in a winter trip rather than the moment to find a bargain seat home on Sunday night. A 2025 promo code does not carry forward, and Southwest has not published terms for a 2026 equivalent.

Watch the deals hub in the days after Thanksgiving rather than assuming the same code, discount or travel window returns.

The cost a sale fare no longer covers

Southwest's famous free-bag policy is gone, and that changes the math on any holiday fare. For bookings made on or after April 9, 2026, the first checked bag costs $45 and the second $55, as covered by AirlineGeeks. For a family of four checking one bag each on a round trip, that is $360 on top of the ticket.

Free checked bags are still available, but through status and fare class rather than a sale. Under Southwest's current baggage terms, A-List Preferred members and travelers on Business Select and Choice Extra fares get two free checked bags; A-List members and Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cardholders get one, and the card's bag benefit extends to companions on the same reservation. Those benefits are tied to a credit card, elite status, or a higher fare — none is a no-cost perk, and a card application involves a credit check and its own annual fee.

Compare the fee against your actual bag count before treating it as a saving.

What to do if you are flying November 26–30

Anyone shopping now for travel between November 26 and 30, 2026 sits outside every published Southwest discount window. Each 2026 sale either blacked out November 28 and 29 or started travel on December 1, and the live sale's 21-day advance-purchase rule rules out the holiday for new bookings. That leaves three realistic moves.

Book the holiday trip at the standard fare and stop waiting for a sale that the terms will not allow; shift travel into the discounted December–March window if your plans bend; or use the holiday week to buy a cheap January or February trip while the sales are running. One Southwest-specific advantage survives regardless of price: the airline does not charge change or cancellation fees, so a Thanksgiving booking made at full fare can be moved and the difference held as travel credit if a better option appears. Confirm the rules for your fare type at booking — Basic fares carry tighter terms than Choice or Business Select.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the current Southwest winter sale to fly home for Thanksgiving?

No. The sale carries a 21-day advance-purchase rule, so a booking made in mid-November cannot be used for November 26 travel.

Does Southwest ever discount the Thanksgiving travel days themselves?

Its 2026 sales did not. The award sale blacked out November 28 and 29 for continental U.S. travel, and the early-November fare sale started travel on December 1.

Is it worth waiting until Cyber Monday to book a Thanksgiving flight?

No — that promotion arrives after the holiday. Southwest's 2025 version was bookable December 1–4 for travel starting January 6, 2026.

Are checked bags still free on Southwest over the holidays?

Not by default. For bookings from April 9, 2026, the first checked bag is $45 and the second $55, with free bags limited to certain fares, A-List status, and Rapid Rewards cardholders.