Southwest offering limited time promo, should you bite?

Airlines have suffered unprecedented losses in passenger traffic and revenue in the last couple of months. But there have been some glimmers of hope as we’ve seen some small upticks in air traffic interest recently.

Now, to attract more passengers Southwest Airlines is offering a new promotion where you can earn double the points when you fly with them.

You will need to register and you will only earn double the points on flights that you complete between May 12 and August 31. (Points never expire with Southwest in case you were wondering.)

This promotion comes at a time when Southwest is also offering another nationwide sale on airfare.

You can find one way prices as low as $49 to some locations. Just keep in mind that in order to take advantage of these super low fares, there will be restrictions like not being able to book on weekends. You can search for these super cheap tickets here.

The big elephant in the room question is whether or not you should feel comfortable completing a flight this summer.

It’s very tempting with these cheap airfares and now the ability to earn double the points with Southwest.

Southwest is one of the airlines utilizing enhanced sanitation techniques like electrostatic sprayers. And they are also taking additional measures like trying to implement social distancing on their planes. With other passengers and crew wearing masks, it would seem like many people would be more comfortable flying.

The CDC still “recommends you stay home as much as possible, especially if your trip is not essential.” It’s unclear when that recommendation against nonessential travel will change.

However, we know that according to the White House plans to re-open the country in phases, nonessential travel is something that is scheduled to resume in “Phase 2.”

Ultimately, my recommendation would be to not travel if you are someone at risk such as an elderly individual or someone with underlying health conditions. Also if you live with someone who is at risk, you are probably better off avoiding nonessential travel until things become a little bit more stable.

But if you are someone who is healthy and is willing to take extra steps like sanitizing your hands quite often (along with your luggage, etc.), then booking a trip for the summer is probably not unreasonable. You’ll definitely be taking a risk but at some point everyone in society will have to take a risk in order to get some semblance of normal back.