I got an email this morning about “awesome” Black Friday deals on Southwest Airlines for bookings made today only. However, upon further investigation it wasn’t a good deal for my travel plans and it may or may not be a good deal for yours.
40% off flights*
$100 off vacation packages and 40% off flights*
50% off hotels (limited choices)
35% off car rentals through Budget
1500 bonus points for signing up for Rapid Rewards frequent flier program
*Discounts are only good on travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 12/11/12 and 2/12/13.
Before you get too excited, keep reading…
I plugged in flights and a vacation package for Los Angeles to Las Vegas. There’s a lot of competition for that route so if the Black Friday Deals on Southwest are any good it could mean tremendous savings. I used dates of Tuesday, January 15 returning on Wednesday, January 16. One day is a pretty crummy vacation but in Vegas you can still have some fun in a short period of time. Besides nobody really would want to stay there an entire week unless you plan on coming back broke 🙂
So, are the Black Friday Deals on Southwest really a good deal?
Yes and No!
Airfare–Although the airfare was 40% cheaper on those days, Jet Blue is currently offering those prices every day, not just on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hotel–Circus Circus was $28 per room plus 150 Rapid Reward points on the Black Friday deal compared to $34 on Travelocity–it’s a deal but certainly not 50% off. (We got 4 points per dollar spend booking with our Chase Sapphire card through the Chase shopping portal.)
Car Rental–I checked for a rental in Chicago because we just made a non-refundable car rental booking yesterday so I was ready to be upset. However, the Black Friday deal was $63 per day with Budget for an economy car compared to $43 per day with Hertz through Hotwire. No Black Friday savings there!
Vacation Package–The Black Friday vacation package on Southwest Airlines for round trip LAX to Las Vegas with one night at Circus Circus was actually more expensive than booking everything separately through the Black Friday deals.
1500 Rapid Reward Sign Up Bonus–THIS IS A GOOD DEAL! If you aren’t a member of Rapid rewards sign up now just in case you may flight them in the future. I signed up last year with only a 150 point sign up bonus. So, sign up today!