A Guide to Southwest Flights to the Caribbean

If your travel plans include booking a Caribbean getaway on a budget, your choice of airline matters. Southwest flights to the Caribbean are worth a look if you’re interested in securing low fares, avoiding change fees and saving on baggage fees.

Southwest Airlines flies to a number of Caribbean destinations, including some very popular tourist spots. If you’re enrolled in the Rapid Rewards program, you can redeem your points to book flights and/or earn bonus points when you book your trip with a Southwest co-branded credit card.

Curious about how Southwest flights to the Caribbean work? Here’s a closer look at what you can expect.

The Caribbean islands feature a diverse mix of scenery and things to do, and Southwest makes it easy to explore all they have to offer.

When you fly Southwest to the Caribbean, you can book flights to:

• Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

• Havana, Cuba.

• Montego Bay, Jamaica.

• Nassau, The Bahamas.

• Oranjestad, Aruba.

• Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

• San Juan, Puerto Rico.

It’s helpful to know which airports Southwest flights to the Caribbean will take you through. If you want to fly direct to the islands, you’ll need to depart from one of these airports:

• Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI).

• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW).

• Denver International Airport (DEN).

• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

• Nashville International Airport (BNA).

• Orlando International Airport (MCO).

• St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL).

• Tampa International Airport (TPA).

• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU).

Say you wanted to fly to Aruba in May, but you live in Seattle. You couldn’t fly directly out of Seattle, but you could book a flight to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), then make a connecting flight from there. Doing so may mean factoring a layover into your travel plans, but that may be necessary if you’re not able to fly direct from your local airport.

When booking Southwest flights to the Caribbean, you’ll need to factor in flight operating schedules to make sure your chosen dates can be accommodated by checking the low-fare calendar for flight availability.

Southwest doesn’t always operate flights to individual Caribbean destinations daily — in fact, the availability for departure and return flights may differ significantly across locales and desired travel dates.

For example, say you wanted to schedule a winter getaway and fly round-trip from Atlanta (ATL) to Punta Cana (PUJ). A look at Southwest’s low fare calendar shows no available departure flights until mid-March. However, if you were to book the same trip from Atlanta to Punta Cana for May, you’d see that you could only fly out on a Saturday, but you could book your return flight for any day of the month.

Your departure destination and arrival location may also influence flight availability. For example, say you’re departing from Baltimore (BWI) and traveling to Aruba (AUA) in the month of May. A look at the low-fare calendar shows there are more flights to choose from compared to the Atlanta to Punta Cana options in May.

Southwest fares to the Caribbean can vary based on where you’re departing from, where you’re traveling to and your travel dates. You can use points or cash to book Southwest flights.

If we go back to the example of the Atlanta to Punta Cana flight mentioned earlier, you’ll see that it’s much cheaper to book flights in early May versus late May. Fast-forward to July and you’ll see fares peaking even higher.

That’s assuming you’re paying cash, but remember — you can also use points to book if you’re a Rapid Rewards member. The amount of points you’ll need again depends on your travel dates and destination.

For the Punta Cana trip, you’d need 7,800 points to book a departure flight at the beginning of May, but if you book around the first of July, you’d need 14,742 points instead.

Keep in mind that even when you book with points, the prices don’t include applicable taxes and fees. On the bright side, Southwest has a reputation for being fee-friendly. There are no change fees and your first and second checked bags fly free. But you’re still responsible for federal excise tax of 7.5%, a $4.10 federal segment fee, a $5.60 security fee per one-way trip and airport-assessed passenger facility charges.

If you’re interested in saving money on Southwest flights to the Caribbean, the right travel rewards card can help. Southwest offers several co-branded credit cards to help you rack up points toward free flights on purchases.

Card options include:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: Earn up to 80,000 points. Earn 50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: Earn up to 80,000 points. Earn 50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn up to 80,000 points. Earn 50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months.

Aside from earning points on Southwest purchases, each of these cards allows you to earn points on everything else you spend. When comparing cards, first decide whether a personal or business card is more appropriate. Then consider the annual fees and card benefits to help you choose the right one.

Southwest is a top-rated economy airline in the U.S. and the option to fly to the Caribbean may be appealing if you’re interested in low-cost flights or don’t mind foregoing business- or first-class amenities. You can visit eight Caribbean destinations when flying Southwest, and flights can be booked with cash or Rapid Rewards points. Joining the Rapid Rewards program and opening a Southwest Airlines credit card can help you earn points toward free Caribbean flights faster.

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those best for: