Southwest Rapid Rewards: The Ultimate Guide

Southwest isn’t as old as some of the other major U.S. airlines, and it faced several obstacles and restrictions in its earlier days. Over the years, though, it’s grown to become one of the most well-known airlines throughout the United States.

Originally known as Air Southwest Co, the airline popped up in 1967 in the state of Texas. Initially, the airline only served a few destinations throughout the state. Its success eventually led to the desire to expand outside of Texas, but due to strict federal aviation restrictions, Southwest was not allowed to pursue its goal. However, by 1978, the winds of change were blowing, and finally the Airline Deregulation Act was implemented. In 1979, Southwest was officially permitted to begin flying outside of Texas.

Nowadays, Southwest serves over a hundred destinations. Most are within the United States, but Southwest also serves several international destinations within Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Where most airlines follow a more traditional hub-and-spoke model, Southwest uses a system based on a point-to-point model. So, instead of operating from hubs, Southwest has several “operating bases,” which include the following:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Austin (AUS)
• Baltimore (BWI)
• Chicago–Midway (MDW)
• Dallas–Love (DAL)
• Denver (DIA)
• Ft. Lauderdale (FLL)
• Houston–Hobby (HOU)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Oakland (OAK)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Phoenix–Sky Harbor (PHX)

Note that Southwest utilizes secondary airports in some cities—notably Chicago, Dallas and Houston—that are scarcely used by other major airlines.

Compared to many other loyalty programs, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are easy to earn, thanks to all the options available. The airline offers miles when you fly, use the shopping portal, apply for a co-branded credit card, transfer from partners and more.

In order to begin earning Rapid Rewards points, you’ll first need to sign up for a Rapid Rewards account. Registration is straightforward, only requires some basic personal information and takes just a minute or two.

Once signed up, you are ready to earn Rapid Rewards points. Let’s dig into all the ways you can earn these miles.

Flying Southwest

When you fly Southwest Airlines, you earn Rapid Rewards points based on a few factors. First is the price you pay for the ticket.

The second determiner is the type of fare, of which Southwest has four. Each fare earns at the following rates:

• Wanna Get Away: Earns 6 Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent. This is Southwest’s most basic fare and does not include any extra perks or benefits. If you need to cancel a Wanna Get Away fare, the refund will be added to your account and can be used as a future nontransferable flight credit.
• Wanna Get Away Plus: Earns 8 Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent. This is Southwest’s newest fare and offers transferable flight credits for flights you cancel, same-day standby and confirmed flight change benefits.
• Anytime: Earns 10 Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent. This midtier fare offers more flexibility than Wanna Get Away fares. Cancellations are credited to the original form of payment rather than as an airline credit. Perks include priority and express lane access and EarlyBird Check-In.
• Business Select: Earns 12 Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent. This is Southwest’s highest fare, which comes with the most perks. Benefits include priority boarding A1 to A15, use of the priority and express security lanes where available and free inflight internet. During flights, Business Select fares offer a complimentary premium drink of choice.

The member’s elite status level is the last factor for earning Rapid Rewards on flights. Elite status holders will get a bonus on their Rapid Rewards points earned from flying. Southwest has three levels of membership, each with a unique earning rate:

• Basic Member: No bonus
• A-List: 25% bonus
• A-List Preferred: 100% bonus

Earning Status

Some people find it surprising that Southwest offers elite status since it has historically been considered a low-cost carrier and doesn’t offer premium cabins. Southwest does, however, offer elite status, and it comes with perks that can help make the flying experience more convenient, less stressful and overall more lucrative.

You’ll need to qualify for elite status each year. Once achieved, you can keep your status for the remainder of that calendar year plus the following calendar year.

Southwest Airlines has two elite status levels, and each has its own qualifying requirements:

• A-List: 25 one-way qualifying flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points per year. Starting January 1, 2024, it will be easier to earn A-List status through flying as the flight requirement is dropping to 20 one-way qualifying flights.
• A-List Preferred: 50 segments or 70,000 qualifying points per year. A-List Preferred will also be easier to earn through flying beginning January 1, 2024, as you’ll only need to fly 40 one-way qualifying flights.

Tier-qualifying points are earned from revenue flights when booked directly through Southwest Airlines. Also, most Southwest Rapid Rewards co-branded credit cards (all except the Plus) earn 1,500 tier-qualifying points for every $10,000 in spend (1,500 TQPs for every $5,000 in spend starting in January 2024).

A-List status perks include priority check-in and boarding, same-day change and standby and a dedicated member phone line. A-List Preferred members also get free in-flight internet and, starting November 6, 2023, they’ll get up to two free premium drinks per flight.

Status Miles

Having elite status not only gives you special benefits, but it also allows you to earn Rapid Rewards points at an accelerated rate.

The lowest of Southwest’s two tiers, A-List, gives status members a 25% bonus on their Rapid Rewards points. Here’s an example of how many miles you can earn as an A-List member.

• If the base rate of a Business Select ticket costs $220, first, you would earn 12 Rapid Rewards points. As an A-List member, you would then earn an additional 25% bonus for a total of 15 Rapid Rewards per dollar spent, resulting in 3,300 Rapid Rewards points.

Members with A-List Preferred, Southwest’s top status, earn a 100% bonus on their Rapid Rewards points.

• If the base rate of an Anytime ticket costs $200, as an A-List member with a 100% bonus, you would earn 20 Rapid Rewards points per dollar for a total of 4,000 Rapid Rewards points.

Credit Card Spending

Earning Rapid Rewards through credit card spending can help supercharge your mileage balance. Southwest partners with Chase Bank to offer several co-branded credit cards.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 2 points per dollar on Southwest purchases, Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases, local transit and commuting, including rideshare and on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. All points earned count toward the Companion Pass.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases, 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming, 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. All points earned count toward the Companion Pass. $0 foreign transaction fees.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases, 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental purchases, 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. $75 Southwest travel credit each year. Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available. 25% back on in-flight drinks and Wi-Fi.
• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card: Earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Earn 4 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases, 3 points per dollar spent on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, 2 points per dollar spent on local transit, including rideshares, commuting, social media, search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services. Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Four upgraded boardings per year when available. Inflight Wi-Fi credits. Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® Fee Credit.

Application rules for Chase are strict. Chase implements an unpublished restriction known as 5/24, which means that if you have more than five credit card applications over the last two years, you will not be approved for a new card.

Additionally, you may only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time. Southwest business card rules state that the offer is available to anyone who does not currently hold the card and has not received a welcome bonus in the past 24 months.

Featured Partner Offer

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

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On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website

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4.3

Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards.

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Up to 4X Reward Rate

Earn 4 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel andRead More

Welcome Bonus

Earn 80,000 points

Annual Fee

$199

Regular APR

21.49% - 28.49% Variable

Credit Score

Excellent, Good (700 - 749)

Editorial Review

Frequent fliers on Southwest will have a hard time finding a better deal than the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. The massive welcome bonus will get you most of the way to that beautiful companion pass, and the ongoing rewards and perks are world-class. It’s well worth the hefty annual fee, and then some.

Pros & Cons

• No foreign transaction fee
• Earn A-list status faster
• Rich set of flight benefits

• High penalty APR
• Base rewards rate is only 1 point per $1 spent
• No intro APR offer

Card Details

• Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 9,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
• Earn 4X pts on Southwest® purchases.
• Earn 3X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
• Earn 2X points on rideshare.
• Earn 2X points on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, and phone services and 1X points on all other purchases.
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• Member FDIC

Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.

Transferring your points from transferable credit card partners to Southwest Rapid Rewards is somewhat limited, but there are a few options.

• Chase Ultimate Rewards®: 1:1
• Marriott Bonvoy: 3:1

You can also transfer points to Southwest from the following loyalty programs:

• Best Western: 5,000 Best Western Rewards to 1,200 Rapid Rewards point
• Choice Hotels: 6,000 Choice Points to 1,800 Rapid Rewards point
• World of Hyatt: 5,000 World of Hyatt Points to 2,400 Rapid Rewards. Receive a 6,000 Rapid Reward points bonus when you transfer 50,000 World of Hyatt points to your Rapid Rewards account for a total of 30,000 Rapid Rewards.

Shopping Portals

Members can earn extra miles when making online purchases via the Rapid Rewards shopping portal. And even better, Rapid Rewards earned from the Southwest shopping portal qualify towards the Companion Pass.

To begin earning points for shopping, you’ll need to log in using your Rapid Rewards credentials. Next, search for the merchants you would like to make a purchase with. Click on the retailer and select the Shop Now button. You’ll then be redirected to the merchant where you can shop as usual.

Buying Miles

Southwest members can purchase Rapid Rewards points. The maximum number of points you can buy each day is 60,000 Rapid Rewards.

Before buying Rapid Rewards points, there are several things to know. First, it’s essential to compare the cost of outright purchasing your ticket rather than first buying the miles. Generally, you won’t find great value when purchasing points, even with the frequent promotions that Southwest runs.

Additionally, because purchasing Rapid Rewards points is run through a third-party site called Points.com, you will not receive any travel-related bonus credit card spending. Finally, Rapid Rewards points purchased from Southwest do not count toward a Companion Pass or elite status.

On Southwest Flights

Southwest flies to over a hundred destinations, most of which are in the United States, but includes a few international destinations, as well. There is no award chart with Southwest. Instead, the award redemption rates are based on the cash price of a ticket. This means that you can redeem your Rapid Rewards for any Southwest flight with seat availability, and the mileage cost will reflect the ticket price.

Southwest rates don’t swing drastically one way or the other in how much value you can get per Rapid Rewards point. However, Southwest can offer highly competitive rates compared to other loyalty programs.

Southwest plans to add support for Cash + Points bookings in spring 2024, starting with as little as 1,000 points. The airline hasn’t announced a specific launch date for the feature yet, though, and it’s unclear what the points valuation will be for flights that are booked with a combination of points and cash.

On Partner Flights

Southwest does not partner with any other airlines, and therefore, you cannot earn status or miles with any other airline.

Baggage Fees

Paying for checked luggage is never fun, but this practice has become the standard of most airlines, Southwest being the exception. With Southwest, your first two checked bags are always free. Bags can weigh up to a maximum of 50 pounds each.

Change Fees

Another area that can quickly burn a hole in your pocket is flight change fees. Southwest has one of the most lenient change schedules available—you can change your flight for free up to 10 minutes before your scheduled departure. If your flight is scheduled to leave at 8 a.m., you can still cancel or change your flight up until 7:50 a.m. that same day.

Sweet Spots

Because of the nature of Southwest’s award ticket pricing, sweet spots are based more on luck and timing rather than features of the program. There are a few ways to ensure you get the best redemptions offered when using Rapid Rewards to book a flight.

First, you’ll want to focus your search on Southwest’s low-fare calendar, which is also its Wanna Get Away fares. Wanna Get Away fares have more restrictive terms and fewer perks, but the sacrifice can be worth the savings.

Being flexible about departure times or plane changes will help you take advantage of Southwest’s lowest rates. The following chart shows flights from Nashville, Tennessee (BNA) to Orlando, Florida (MCO). The far right column shows the Wanna Get Away fares. You can see that fares might vary greatly depending on the departure time and route desirability. Note that non-stop flights aren’t necessarily more expensive.

Lastly, if you often fly with others, you’ll want to look into the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass. This is one of the best ways to turn any flight into a sweet spot.

Companion Pass

The Companion Pass is among the most valuable perks for many in the award travel sphere. It allows the Companion Pass holder to bring along one companion of their choice for almost free (taxes and fees still apply) on any Southwest flight.

A Companion Pass is good for the remainder of the year you qualify plus the entire following year. This means that if you play your cards right, you can have the Companion Pass for nearly two years. For example, if you meet the qualifications in January of year A, you will have the pass for the remainder of year A and the entirety of year B. Try to avoid earning your Companion Pass late in the year if you want to maximize its usage.

To earn the Companion Pass, you will need to either take 100 qualifying segments or accumulate 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year.

There are some exclusions when earning Rapid Rewards. For example, Rapid Rewards points transferred from a partner like Chase Ultimate Rewards do not count towards your Companion Pass qualification. Additionally, purchased Rapid Rewards points do not count.

If you would like to see your progress toward your Companion Pass, log in to Southwest and click on “My Account.”

Expiration

Rapid Rewards points never expire. As long as your account is open and in good standing, you don’t have to worry about your Rapid Rewards points disappearing.

Infant Fees

Children under two years old but at least 14 days old may fly as a lap infant free of charge. This applies to both domestic and international flights. For international flights, you may be required to pay taxes and fees.

Family Pooling

There is no free points pooling option with Southwest Rapid Rewards. Members can transfer their Rapid Rewards to another member. However there are steep fees to do so.

Although members cannot pool Rapid Rewards, they can book flights for other members from their account with no additional fees or charges.

Car Rentals

You can earn Rapid Rewards each time you rent a car at the following partners:

• Alamo: Earn 600 Rapid Rewards points at participating Alamo locations worldwide when you request Rapid Rewards Points at the time of your rental.
• Avis: Earn 600 Rapid Rewards points at participating Avis airport locations when you request Rapid Rewards Points at the time of the rental.
• Budget: Earn 600 Rapid Rewards points at participating Budget airport locations.
• Dollar Car Rental: Earn 600 Rapid Rewards points at participating Dollar locations.
• Hertz: Earn 600 Rapid Reward points with every qualifying rental from Hertz.
• National: Earn 600 Rapid Reward points with every qualifying rental from National.
• Payless: ​​Earn 600 Rapid Rewards points at participating Payless airport locations.
• Thrifty: Earn 600 Rapid Rewards points per car rental at participating worldwide Thrifty locations.

Rapid Rewards Dining

Earning Rapid Rewards while eating is another easy way to earn bonus Rapid Rewards points. The Rapid Rewards dining program offers members Rapid Rewards when they participate in the dining program and eat at participating restaurants.

You’ll need to sign up first. Once registered, you can search for eligible restaurants in your area.

As part of the process, you’ll need to connect a credit card to your dining account. When you go to a participating restaurant, make sure to use that card in order to earn the dining rewards bonus. Most any credit card will work. It doesn’t have to be a Southwest credit card.

Southwest Airlines isn’t the airline for everyone, but for those looking for an easy, no-fuss way to travel, this airline is unbeatable. You won’t experience luxury by any means, but the value and convenience of Southwest is appealing to many. Rapid Rewards points are as easy to use as the airline is to fly.