Southwest Airlines Ending Popular Free Bag Policy

Southwest Airlines is considered one of the most popular budget airlines with their most popular perk being their free checked bag policy. For our readers that are traveling to the theme parks, often with children in tow, checked bags are a must for this type of travel.

Southwest Airlines has had the free bag policy since the airline started nearly 60 years ago and this policy has been a key part of their promotional materials with the common phrase “Bags Fly Free” advertised.

Unfortunately, it looks like those bags won’t be flying free much longer as Southwest Airlines is ending their popular free bag policy.

Southwest Free Bag Policy Ending Soon

Long Beach Airport

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Southwest Airlines announced today that they will begin charging for first and second checked bags. This new change will apply to flights booked on or after May 28, 2025. Their prior policy allowed customers to check their first and second bags for free which has always been a big part of the airline’s appeal.

Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and customers traveling on Business Select will still receive two free checked bags. For regular A-List Members, they will receive one free checked bag. Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers will receive a credit for one checked bag.

It’s not that easy to become an A-List Preferred Member to get those two free checked bags as you need to fly 40 qualifying one-way flights or earn 70,000 points in one calendar year. As for A-List Members, you need to fly 20 qualifying one-way flights or earn 35,000 tier qualifying points in one calendar year.

For all other passengers, the bag fees will apply. Southwest has not announced their fees yet for checked bags nor the full fine print of these perks for reward and credit card members.

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About Lindsay Brookshier

Lindsay has been recognized as a Disney expert since 2017 and has been featured by outlets including CNBC, SFGate, NerdWallet, and Visit Anaheim. She visits Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Orlando multiple times each year, giving her first hand insight into park operations, seasonal trends, crowd patterns, and touring strategies.

Her experience also extends to Disney Cruise Line, where she has sailed on every class of ship, visited both of Disney’s private islands, and participated in specialty sailings such as Marvel Day at Sea and Very MerryTime cruises. This depth of travel allows her to provide practical, data informed guidance across Disney Parks, Disney Cruise Line, Universal theme parks, and related destinations.

As Content Director of Mickey Visit, Lindsay oversees editorial strategy and daily content, leading a team of writers who produce timely news coverage and general planning content. She leads the development and analysis of Mickey Visit’s crowd calendars, applying expert insight into crowd behavior, seasonal trends, and park operations. Lindsay writes touring plans, authors in depth reviews, and offers expert analysis on Disney experiences, while also analyzing the best and worst days to visit. She serves as an expert on Disney discounts, tracking and evaluating ticket offers, hotel promotions, and seasonal deals. She comes from a lifelong Disney family, has been visiting Disneyland since the 1990s, and is even in the middle of planning a Disney Cruise Line wedding.

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