How often do I check Southwest fares? If I have a flight booked, most of the time, it’s every day! Or, at a minimum, once a week on Tuesdays when there tend to be the best chance to find cheap Southwest flights.
Because I keep such a close eye on Southwest fares, I’ve gotten to know firsthand which ones are regularly cheap, and I’m going to tell you about the ones I see ALL the time.
You can almost count on them like clockwork!
If you can score cheap flights on Southwest AND you hold the Southwest Companion Pass, which lets one person fly FREE with you for up to TWO years, you get double the value out of this rock-bottom fare.
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Why You Need to Know What’s a Good Fare Price for a Destination
But first, I want to share with you the importance of knowing what a low fare price is for a destination you regularly fly to — or that is on your radar.

This is how couponers, one of whom I used to be, score such good deals. They track prices and KNOW what a good price is for a particular item. When that price rolls around, they make the purchase AND pair it with a coupon. That’s how they get rock bottom prices and sometimes even free goods.
So, it’s important for you to have an idea of what a low fare looks like for you between key destination pairs. That way, you’ll KNOW when there IS and ISN’T a good price available from Southwest when you’re ready to travel.
Because Southwest often has sales that really aren’t so great, this will help you know if your destination pair is truly on sale or not.
7 Consistently Cheap Southwest Flights

While flights and fares change, there are just some city pairs that seem to ALWAYS be cheap. Sometimes the fares are cheaper than others, but they are still always pretty low.
Here goes…
1. Cincinnati, Ohio, to Baltimore/Washington, D.C.

This route has gotten as low as $39, but is more typically $49-$69 during ordinary sales. But I almost ALWAYS see it super cheap.
This is hands-down THE cheapest city from which to fly to D.C. on Southwest!
So if you’re close to Ohio (like we are in Indianapolis) and want to visit the nation’s capital, consider making the drive to Cincinnati.
2. Atlanta to Nashville (and vice versa)

Prices for this route tend to hover around $49 at its lowest or more regularly between $57-$85.
Southwest has multiple non-stops daily from Nashville to Atlanta, as apparently this is a popular route!
Check out these 53+ Things to Do in Atlanta You Should Not Miss!
3. Louisville to Chicago

The fare for Southwest flights between Louisville to Chicago usually hangs between $69-$89.
So why not head to the Windy City for a big city getaway? Here are my tips for things to do in Chicago during the summer.
4. Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Cayman

At its lowest, this fare is about $59 and you’ll see it creep up to $79 at times.
We took advantage of this cheap flight one Spring Break, taking an inexpensive flight on Allegiant to get from Indianapolis to Ft. Lauderdale and then using ~2,200 points per flight per person (with one of my 4 family members flying free on my Southwest Companion Pass) to fly Southwest to Grand Cayman for a total of about 13,000 points and $260 per person.
[Here’s how we did it]
5. St. Louis to Atlanta

This is another one that is inevitably cheap.
Over time, we have seen some AMAZINGLY cheap fares out of St. Louis, like 700 points per way cheap.
Atlanta hovers around $69-$89 from St. Louis.
6. Anywhere in California to Anywhere Else in California 🙂

Southwest prices regularly go down to $39-$59 between California city pairs from nearly any one to any other one.
You can fly into and out of the below California airports on Southwest:
- Burbank
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Oakland
- Ontario
- Orange County
- Sacramento
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
We love to visit both San Diego and Santa Barbara in California. Here are our top recommended things to do in both of those destinations…
7. Tampa to Havana, Cuba
This one sometimes gets up to around $99, but typically hovers around $59 to $69.
If getting to Cuba is on your bucket list, get thyself to Tampa first!
To Sum It Up
There are certain city pairs that are regularly cheap on Southwest. They include…
- Columbus and Cincinnati to Washington, D.C.
- Atlanta to Nashville
- Louisville to Chicago
- Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Cayman
- St. Louis to Atlanta
- Anywhere in California to anywhere else in California
- Tampa to Havana
Which cheap Southwest flights have you found to be consistent?
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Please note, this card’s points DO NOT qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass but CAN be used to book FREE flights on Southwest.
See More…
- PODCAST: How to Get the Best Seat on a Southwest Flight!
- VIDEO: How to Get Cheap Southwest Flights?
- 5 Outstanding Southwest Airlines Destinations
- How to Contact Southwest Airlines
Author
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Lyn Mettler is a longtime travel writer for US News & World Report, USA Today 10Best and The TODAY Show who created Families Fly Free, a program that teaches families her simple system to use travel rewards to fly for free. She is one of the industry's foremost experts on collecting and using travel rewards with her expertise featured in major media outlets and on podcasts, television and radio.
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