Seat Selection on Southwest Is Now Live — Here’s What It Costs and How to Save On Seats

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The implementation of Southwest Airlines’ planned major changes is well underway. For travel on or after January 27, 2026, bookings now include seat selection fees. With three categories of seats and multiple ways to waive those fees, the process can get a bit confusing.

In this post, we’ll break down who can avoid the fees, what seats cost if you choose to pay, and how to book and pick your seat. We’ll also look at some of the unanswered questions around how these perks will be implemented as January 27 gets closer.

Overview of Southwest’s Assigned Seating Policies

Southwest will divide its planes into three categories of seats. The airline is in the process of retrofitting its entire fleet, with all aircraft expected to have the new configurations by January. Seats will be designated as Standard, Preferred, or Extra Legroom, as outlined in the seat map below:

Credit: Southwest

Beyond the seat categories, there are several different times when you can select a seat: at booking, 48 hours before departure, or get one assigned automatically by Southwest. Your ability to choose a seat depends on the fare class you purchase, whether you have Southwest elite status, a Southwest credit card, or a combination of the three.

The first factor is fare class, which is fairly straightforward. The pricier the fare class, the better your seat selection benefit. Basic fares do not include seat selection and are assigned at check-in. Conversely, Choice Extra fares include access to Extra Legroom seats at booking.

If you do not have status or a Southwest credit card, your seat selection will depend entirely on the fare you choose or whether you decide to pay extra for a seat. We will cover those paid options next.

If you do have Southwest status or a credit card, your seat options expand and may affect your decision on which fare class to purchase. For example, if you have A-List status or carry the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees) or Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees), you could purchase a Basic fare and still select a Preferred seat at booking. While Basic fares include other restrictions, this benefit allows you to book the lowest fare and still select a seat without paying extra.

Credit: JT Genter/AwardWallet

What Does It Cost to Pick a Seat on Southwest?

If you do not have status or a Southwest credit card, or if you want to move into a higher seat category, there are a few things to consider. We will look at a couple of routes to compare both seat prices and fare differences as they relate to seat selection.

Example: Chicago (MDW) to Pittsburgh (PIT)

On a sample route from Chicago (MDW) to Pittsburgh (PIT), here's what pricing looks like:

• $133 or 8,000 points for Basic
• An additional $30 or 1,500 points for Choice (includes a standard seat at booking)
• An additional $90 or 5,000 points for Choice Preferred (includes a preferred seat at booking)
• An additional $140 or 16,500 points for Choice Extra (includes an extra legroom seat at booking)

Credit: Southwest

If you buy a Basic fare and decide to upgrade your seat later, here's what the options look like. Standard seats aren't available for purchase, but Preferred seats typically cost $25 to $28, while Extra Legroom seats range from $42 to $51.

Seat prices for Chicago to Pittsburgh. Credit: Southwest

Seat selection is just one difference between fare classes. Boarding position, refund-ability, expiration of flight credits, and how many Rapid Rewards points you earn also vary. Free checked bags are not included until the highest fare class, Choice Extra.

From a seat selection standpoint alone, it might make sense to book a Basic fare and purchase a seat separately. For this flight, you could pay $133 for a Basic fare and $42 to $51 for a Preferred seat, compared to $223 for the Choice Preferred fare that includes the same seat. Or, you could pay $30 more and lock in a Standard seat at booking with the Choice fare, instead of receiving a random seat at check-in.

The best approach likely depends on the value of the full bundle of fare benefits, so weigh all the differences before deciding.

Example: Orlando (MCO) to Los Angeles (LAX)

Now let’s look at a longer route from Orlando (MCO) to Los Angeles (LAX). On this flight, the fare differences are slightly higher — typically around $10 more at each tier — and the number of points required increases as well.

Orlando to Los Angeles. Credit: Southwest

The prices for seats are also higher on the longer flight. In this case, Southwest is allowing the purchase of some Standard seats with the Basic fare, whereas the previous flight did not. The seat costs are:

• Standard: $26 to $31
• Preferred: $36 to $41
• Extra Legroom: $78 to $91

Orlando to Los Angeles seat prices. Credit: Southwest

Here, it may make more sense to book a Choice fare that includes a Standard seat for $40 more, rather than paying $26 to $31 for the seat on its own. The Choice fare also comes with other benefits over Basic, including a better boarding position and a transferable flight credit if you cancel.

It's obvious that longer flights have wider price gaps between fare buckets and higher seat costs overall. Keep in mind that seats are priced per segment.

Best practices for connecting flights

So, for a connecting flight like Minneapolis (MSP) to New Orleans (MSY), you would need to purchase a seat for each segment if you want to select your spot in advance. In cases like this, paying for a higher fare class with seat selection included may be the better value.

Minneapolis to New Orleans seat prices. Credit: Southwest

The dynamic nature of seat pricing, along with the complex fare structure, makes a strong case for earning Southwest status or holding a Southwest credit card to avoid these fees. And that's undoubtedly what Southwest had in mind when it envisioned these policy changes.

Since the seat benefit that you get from your card or status extends to up to eight people on the same reservation, the savings can add up quickly if you fly Southwest often.

How to Book and Make Seat Selections on Southwest

The booking process for flights on or after January 27 is relatively straightforward. When you search for flights, you will now see a “View seats” link that shows available seat options on the flight. This view does not display seat prices, though.

Credit: Southwest

After selecting your flight and entering passenger information, you will be able to choose from the available seat options.

Purchasing a seat on Southwest. Credit: Southwest

On the final screen, you will see the total cost for any seat upgrades. Refund and exchange policies for seat purchases vary depending on the situation, so make sure to review the terms before confirming your purchase. You can find those details here.

Credit: Southwest

Seat selection with elite status or a co-branded credit card

If you have Southwest elite status or a co-branded credit card, the booking process remains the same, but your seat selection options will reflect your benefits. Once logged in, if you choose a Basic fare, a drop-down box will display the seating and other benefits associated with your status or card.

For example, as a Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees) cardholder, I am eligible to select a Preferred seat at booking.

Southwest credit card benefits. Credit: Southwest

When I reach the seat selection screen, I can choose a Preferred seat at no cost. Extra Legroom seats still require a fee. Only travelers booking Choice Extra fares or those with A-List Preferred status can select Extra Legroom seats for free at booking.

Preferred seat at no cost with credit card. Credit: Southwest

It's also worth noting that you do not need to use your Southwest credit card to pay for the booking in order to receive the benefit. Simply having the card is enough for the seating perks to apply.

Questions and Issues That Remain About Southwest’s New Seating Policies

There is a lot to digest here. Deciding which fare to purchase and when to buy a seat is subjective and should be evaluated on a flight-by-flight basis. In general, if seat selection is important to you, travelers without status or a Southwest credit card may want to consider booking at least a Choice fare.

Those with Rapid Rewards status or a co-branded credit card may be able to stick with Basic fares and use their benefits for seat selection, earlier boarding, and checked bag savings.

Another factor to weigh is whether you are paying with points or cash. One of the biggest drawbacks to Basic fares is that if you cancel, the flight credit is only valid for six months. That can be a significant downside when paying with cash. However, with award tickets, the points are simply redeposited into your account, so the restriction is much less of a concern here.

All that being said, with this roll out still comes some questions and confusion that we can try to address. Some answers we will not know until these changes go into effect in January.

Related: Southwest Airlines Checked Bag Fees: What You’ll Pay — and How to Avoid Them

Which account do you have to book from?

I was under the impression that credit card benefits were tied to the Rapid Rewards member who held the card. When logged into my own account, that was precisely the case. However, when I logged into another person’s account to use their miles and changed the passenger name to mine, the system did not recognize the card benefit of free seat selection.

The ability to use any Rapid Rewards member’s miles to book a flight for anyone is one of the best perks of the program. But if that means the benefits of the actual passenger do not carry over unless the booking is made from their own account, that is a big negative. Hopefully, this is just a temporary glitch that will be resolved.

What about Companion Pass holders?

Southwest has confirmed that Companion Pass holders will be able to extend their seating benefits to companions flying on the pass, even though the companion is on a separate reservation. The booking process is slightly different but still efficient. After the Companion Pass holder books their own flight, they can go into their reservation and click “Add Companion.”

Credit: Southwest

Once the companion's passenger details are confirmed, the system will direct you to the seat selection screen. At this point, the original member’s benefits will apply to the companion as well.

In the example below, a Southwest Performance Business Card cardholder is able to select Preferred or Standard seats for their companion at no additional cost. One thing to keep in mind is that the seat map does not indicate where the original passenger is seated. Only unavailable seats are marked, so you will need to remember or double-check your seat assignment to place your companion next to you.

Credit: Southwest

While the process is mostly straightforward, a few questions remain. If you add your companion immediately after booking, you will likely find an available seat nearby. But what happens if you add the companion later, especially closer to the flight date? The odds of sitting together may drop significantly. And if only Extra Legroom seats are left, will you need to pay for one in order to add your companion?

Additional concerns

There are other concerns as well. For Basic fares, will Southwest try to seat companions together during the check-in process if the primary traveler does not have status or a qualifying credit card? What happens if you booked paid seats, then decide to rebook because the fare dropped?

The current terms suggest that if you cancel, the seat fee becomes a flight credit but cannot be used again for new seat selections. So, if you cancel and rebook the companion’s reservation to get a lower fare, it seems you would need to pay for the seat again.

The Companion Pass is still one of the most valuable benefits in domestic travel, but with all these new seat selection rules, it's pretty clear that added complexity and frustration may be part of the process.

What about minors on a separate reservation?

There are many reasons why you may want to split passengers on multiple reservations. Perhaps there are only a limited number of tickets in a lower-priced fare bucket you want to grab. Maybe you want to buy some tickets with cash and some with points. We know that if you do this with adults that the cardmember's seating benefits will not confer to the other passengers on a separate reservation. Fine!

But when booking for minors (under 12 years old) Southwest requires you to “link” their reservation to a traveling adult (unless you are paying for an Unaccompanied Minor). It would stand to reason that this “linking” of a minor's reservation to an adult credit card holder would confer the seating benefits, but reports suggest that is not the case.

The need to have a single booking is a bummer for families that are looking to book creatively. Multiple reservation situations will likely require buying a higher fare class or playing the assigned-seat lottery — which brings us to our next question.

Credit: Karsten Winegeart/Unsplash

What will the 48-hour upgrade and assigned seat at check-in look like?

We know that certain status and credit cards allow for free upgrades to a better seat at 48 hours from departure, if available. This applies to the cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. We won't know exactly what that looks like till these go live in January.

But what is the process for choosing those seats? What if there aren't enough seats for everyone on your reservation, can you choose some? We do know it will probably be frantic at the 48-hour mark to grab upgraded seats, much like the chaotic check-in system to get boarding numbers that currently exists (for now).

Also, for those who choose Basic fares and elect to have seats chosen for you at check-in, it remains to be seen how smooth that process is. Will the system try to seat parties next to each other, or will they be scattered throughout the cabins? What about minors, will they be separated from parents? Stay tuned.

Bottom Line

Now that Southwest is shedding most of what differentiated itself as an airline, ancillary fees are here to stay. Passengers now have much more to consider when choosing which fare to purchase or whether or not to get a Southwest credit card. Choosing a seat or playing the seating lottery is one of those factors. This doesn't even consider bag fees, boarding position, and other changes Southwest is making.

What was once a pretty simple airline to book and fly has become a whole lot more complicated.

For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card (Rates & Fees)

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