Southwest Airlines Pickleball Travel

Southwest Airlines pickleball travel – when I think of pickleball airlines travel, I think of Stephanie Lane! With all that traveling, she knows how to get the best deal on flights to all the pickleball tournaments.

Over the 5+ years I’ve known her, on many occasions, we’ve stayed with the same host families and I would often witness her checking her phone to see if her Southwest flight was being offered cheaper – if so in a few minutes she’d rebook and “bank” the difference. Smart girl!

So, I asked if she’d share her airlines tips and how-to’s for other pickleball players – and we all know how nice she is, she agreed! Read, learn and save. And yes, Southwest you are welcome for the free publicity 🙂

Written by Stephanie Lane, Nashville, TN

If it weren’t for Southwest Airlines, I would not be able to follow my passion of playing competitive pickleball around the USA (and Canada & Mexico).  With pickleball exploding all over our great nation and beyond, there are tournaments popping up everywhere!  My 14 year old daughter and I enjoy playing these tourneys & meeting and mingling with the friends we have met along the tourney trail but that requires traveling beyond our home in Nashville.

Southwest Airlines is the airline of our choice!  One of the best benefits we have found by using Southwest Airlines is that they don’t punish you when your plans change!  No change fees.  So you never lose your money.  They allow you to bank it and reuse those funds when you are ready to fly again (up to one year after purchase date).  When checking out online, you use the same confirmation code from the original flight and those funds are applied and you only pay the difference in costs.

Another perk of using Southwest Airlines is booking early to lock in great rates.  The pickleball tourney calendar is published well in advance to allow for this.  However, if you see that the flight you’ve purchased has been lowered, Southwest Airlines will allow you to “change” your flight and rebook the same itinerary while crediting your account with the savings.  For example, you have booked a flight from Nashville to Salt Lake City for $203 but it’s now on sale for $173.  You can “manage” your reservation by “changing” your flight to match the exact day, time & flight number and Southwest will credit your account the $30 difference.  How awesome is that?

Southwest has cars & hotels too. Several companies are “rapid reward partners” which also earns points for using those companies.  By enrolling in the Southwest Rapid Rewards program, you can build up points by flying Southwest Airlines as well as using their Southwest Chase Visa credit card.  Earning points adds up and free flights are a nice touch when planning for more pickleball tourneys!

So as everyone knows, “Pickleball Rocks”…….and for us so does Southwest Airlines!