If you’ve ever watched a Southwest Airlines commercial, you probably already know two of the biggest ways to save money on Southwest—bags fly free and no change fees.

Those benefits alone could save you hundreds of dollars. Especially when airlines are charging for everything—bags, drinks, seats, snacks, pillows and blankets (I could go on and on with this list…).

Here are three ways to save money on Southwest Airlines that you probably didn’t see in those commercials:

  1. Book Online – Southwest offers you the lowest fares on Southwest.com. Yes, it’s true. And if you call them, you’ll hear the greeting tell you lower fares are online. Sometimes they offer special promotions to make these fares even lower.
  2. Get Flight Credit if Fare Drops – How do you feel when you see the flight you booked for much less afterwards? Depending on where you bought the ticket, a check may be in the mail for the difference. But more than likely it’s not. 🙁 If you booked on Southwest, the good news is that you can change your flight (rebook on the lower priced ticket) and receive a flight credit for the fare difference to use for future travel.
  3. Change Flights Online – The best way to change your Southwest flight is online, because remember that’s where you find lower fares. My sister flew Southwest the last time she visited me and needed to change her flight. She called to change the ticket and was absolutely stunned to hear how much it would cost her. 😯 When I looked up the flight she wanted online, I found it for the same price she originally paid for the ticket. And in less than 2 minutes, I rebooked her on the later flight for no fare difference. So she got her flight changed for FREE.

For more tips on how to save on travel, check out my blog post Top 10 Ways to Save on Travel.

Do you have any other ways to save money on air travel? Please share them using comments.