When arranging trips for your loved ones, each small aspect becomes crucial. My clan has typically chosen to fly with Southwest Airlines due to their accommodating luggage rules, affordable ticket prices, and the benefits linked to earning a Companion Pass. Nonetheless, changes in their policy direction recently have led us to question our steadfast commitment to them.
As the airline has implemented dynamic award pricing, baggage fees, and expiration dates on flight credits, the previously dependable benefits for big families such as ours are diminishing rapidly. This led us to reassess our travel preferences and eventually choose to switch to a different carrier that aligns more closely with our requirements.
Reserving Family Vacations Through Southwest Airlines
I am parent to 6 kids, and
we often book 8 tickets when we fly together
Although we’ve embarked on several international vacations together, much of our traveling has occurred domestically with Southwest Airlines. We found Southwest offered many advantages to us, such as:
- 2 complimentary inspected luggage items included with all flights
-
Inflight entertainment
and friendly staff - A decent route network
- Regular promotions offering tickets for as little as $49 one way (or just a handful of thousands of Rapid Rewards points).
- Southwest Companion Pass
Hot Tip:
On a family trip a few years ago, we had 17 pieces of luggage, including carry-ons and car seats. It would have cost hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars to bring our luggage on another carrier, but there was no additional charge with Southwest.
This doesn’t mean that our trip with Southwest was entirely positive. Traveling as a big family on Southwest had its share of drawbacks too, such as the
Southwest Airlines boarding process
And the absence of designated seating. Locating seats as a group has occasionally proven difficult, and
Southwest’s introduction of assigned seating could enhance the experience for families traveling together.
Recent Southwest Point Deductions Are Making Me Reevaluate My Approach
Although my family traditionally frequently chose Southwest for domestic flights within the U.S., recent devaluations by the airline have led me to rethink this habit. For instance, in March 2025, when we considered booking with them again,
severely downgraded its loyalty program and modified its operational processes
. Included among the modifications implemented were
bag charges,
flexible prize calculations, along with time-sensitive awards
flight credits.
The only positive change for family travel was the introduction of assigned seats. This has the potential to alleviate some of the anxiety many families have about sitting together. This isn’t quite as big of an issue for me now that my kids are older and I trust them to sit on their own if they have to, but seating stressed us out when our kids were younger.
It remains to be seen how much Southwest will charge for seat assignments.
Hot Tip:
Southwest’s recent changes mean that it will soon bear little resemblance to the Southwest you’ve grown accustomed to over the years. It may be smart to reconsider flying on Southwest and consider other airlines for domestic travel.
Dumping Southwest and Booking With American
Given the recent modifications by Southwest Airlines, I reassessed our domestic travel strategies to find a family-oriented carrier with extensive route coverage and reasonable prices. Among those I evaluated were several distinct airlines, including
Delta
,
Frontier
, and
United
but ultimately shifted most of our family trips to
American Airlines
.
I selected American because our local airport is,
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
doesn’t offer numerous direct flights with American Airlines. Nonetheless, together with its affiliate American Eagle, American operates routes from CVG to the majority of its destinations.
Major U.S. centers and key locations
,
Boston Logan Airport (BOS)
, and Cancun International Airport (CUN).
Although there might not be numerous direct flights departing from our local airport, American’s vast network (augmented by
its Oneworld partners
)
can take us virtually anywhere across the globe with merely one layover
.
American Airlines is the sole major carrier flying directly between CVG and Provo Airport (PVU). Since my son attends college in Provo, he can conveniently travel to and from his university with just one layover on American rather than having to take two buses and the light rail to reach an alternate airport.
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
.
In contrast to Frontier, United, and Delta, American has the least expensive tier for reward redemptions.
allows you to bring a carry-on and select your seat at booking for no additional charge
I’ve also discovered that American
AAdvantage miles
often provide exceptional value.
Achieving Excellent Benefits with American AAdvantage Miles
Let’s be honest — all the extra perks in the world won’t matter much if flights cost substantially more than other options. Luckily, I’ve discovered that American AAdvantage miles are extremely valuable.
We consider American Airlines AAdvantage miles as
1.4 cents apiece
However, I typically receive more than 3 cents in value for each mile when redeeming AAdvantage miles for domestic flights with American Airlines.
Sure, here’s an instance of a trip from CVG to
Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
A single journey plane ticket costs $214 and includes a layover at
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
.
The same flight costs
only 5,000 AAdvantage miles
along with government taxes totaling $5.60.
That equates to a value of 4.17 cents per point.
This isn’t an isolated case; typically, I manage to locate an American AAdvantage redemption for 7,500 miles or fewer. The precise cents per point fluctuates based on the monetary amount. Comparable trips with Southwest frequently require more than double the points.
Final Thoughts
I didn’t take the step of switching from Southwest to American Airlines lightly, but it turned out to be the best choice for my household. Although Southwest previously delivered a compelling blend of affordability and ease, recent alterations have made continuing loyalty more difficult to defend. In contrast, American Airlines’ broader route map, considerably superior reward rates, and advantageous AAdvantage system have ensured a much improved journey experience tailored to our domestic traveling requirements.
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