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There’s a lot to like about Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program. From flexible change and cancellation policies to no blackout dates on award tickets and an array of rewarding credit cards, many travelers value the simple, flexible nature of the program — as do TPG employees.

Now, the airline is offering an apparently new feature on select flights that can stretch your Rapid Rewards points even further.

If you use your points to book early morning flights (8 am or earlier) or evening flights (7 pm or later), you can save 20% off the standard award rate.

We first noticed this when searching for the 2025 opening flight from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY).

Even though both the 3:20 and 7:20 pm departures have the same cash price ($176.98), you’ll save 2,499 points by booking an evening flight through Rapid Rewards. This increases your redemption value from 1.37 cents per point to 1.71 cents per point – higher than TPG’s July 2024 valuation.

These award redemption savings were also available in other directions – including high-demand travel periods like Thanksgiving and one-stop itineraries.

This discount applies to both Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares, although not higher priced Anytime and Business Select tickets.

Unfortunately, this discount appears to be available on a very limited selection of flights. We searched dozens of routes in the US on various dates, and found only a handful:

• MCO to MSY and MSY to MCO
• MCO to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and BWI to MCO
• MCO to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and PIT to MCO
• Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) and VPS to BNA

However, many other routes outside the MCO did not feature discounts, including flights to Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in Missouri. over all.

It’s unclear whether the savings will become more widespread over time, but for now, it’s worth checking to see if there’s one available that matches your travel plans.

And Southwest makes it really easy to change award tickets when the price drops, so you can potentially change an existing trip to an early (or late) flight to enjoy a partial refund of Rapid Rewards points.

We’ve reached out to Southwest for more details about this offer, and we’ll be sure to update this story with any additional information we receive.

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