Summer deal alert: Round-trip flights to Vegas from California starting at $78

Southwest Airlines is offering some tempting fare prices to Las Vegas this summer. If you live on the West Coast or even in the Southwest, this is the time to start planning your summer vacation to the Vegas Strip. There is widespread availability for round-trip flights from various California cities for less than $100. If your travel schedule is rather flexible, you can find some routes for as low as $78.

Cities like Seattle and Salt Lake City even have routes that will cost you less than $200. And remember that Southwest gives you two free bags, so no worries about having to live out of a backpack.

The sale is for travel from May through November. And unlike most of these sales, there are a few routes on sale that include the July 4th holiday and Thanksgiving. Die-hard sports fans know that the long Thanksgiving holiday, with its loaded slate of NCAA and NFL football, is a fantastic weekend to be in Vegas.

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Thanks to Scott’s Cheap Flights for making us aware of this latest deal. Its basic membership is available for $49 per year. The Elite tier option is available for $199 per year, and that provides you with access to deals on premium economy, business-class and first-class tickets.

Deal basics

Airline: Southwest.
Routes: Fresno, California; Los Angeles; Oakland, California; Salt Lake City; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; and other cities to Las Vegas.
How to book: Book directly through the airline at Southwest.com. No code is needed.
Travel dates: Availability from May through November, with the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving included on some routes.

Related: How to use the Southwest Companion Pass

Sample flights

To book these fares, go to Southwest's website and start with the Low Fare Calendar page. Choose your departure city, set Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) as your destination, pick your preferred travel month and start searching for flights.

We found lots of great prices from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Vegas all summer. Midweek trips can be had for $98 round-trip ($97.96 to be exact). Note that the cheapest flights are typically the earliest so if you're not an early bird, it may be worth spending a few more bucks for a later flight.

This November itinerary from LA to Vegas costs $20 more, but still a nice discount.

I'm a major Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) fan so I wanted to see if a flight out of the best little airport in America would save a few bucks. It turns out it would: There were numerous itineraries in the fall from Burbank to Vegas under $120. We even found one round-trip in October for only $88.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Vegas in October can be booked for only $98.

Flights from San Diego International Airport (SAN) to the desert are also widely available for less than $100 round trip. We even found a few midweek itineraries for just $78.

Fares from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Vegas are under $200, although availability for this route was rather limited.

Related: Book this, not that: Las Vegas points hotels

Maximize your purchase

Pay with: The Platinum Card® from American Express for 5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), the Citi Prestige® Card for 5 points per dollar on airfare, the Citi Premier® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve for 3 points per dollar on air travel, the American Express® Gold Card for 3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card for 2 points per dollar on travel.

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.