Bilt Rewards Adds Southwest Airlines as a Points Transfer Partner

If you’ve been following Bilt lately, you’ve probably noticed the company has been making plenty of moves. From adding Japan Airlines as a transfer partner to rolling out student housing payments and letting members cover rent with any credit card, Bilt has been grabbing headlines nonstop.

Now, there’s yet another update — this time tied to its latest transfer partner: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Here’s what you need to know about how it works, how it compares to Bilt’s other partners, and whether transferring your Bilt Points to Southwest makes sense.

Bilt Rewards Points Now Transfer to Southwest Rapid Rewards

Before today, Southwest Rapid Rewards had just a single transfer partner: Chase Ultimate Rewards. Most U.S. airlines tend to pick just 1 flexible point currency and stick with it (looking at you, Delta and Alaska Airlines).

Thus, it’s interesting that Southwest has joined forces with Bilt Rewards. What’s even more interesting is that Bilt is seeking such a partnership. As a company built by loyalty program enthusiasts, Bilt has consistently sought out the most valuable transfer partners with which to build a relationship.

Southwest, unfortunately, isn’t one of those.

Still, program members will be able to transfer Bilt points to Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 1 Bilt point becomes one Southwest point. This matches Chase’s transfer ratio and is in keeping with Bilt’s other airline partners.

This becomes Bilt’s 19th transfer partner, and Bilt’s transfer partner list includes fan favorites like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and World of Hyatt. Here are all of Bilt’s transfer partners:

Is It Worth It?

transferring Bilt points over to Southwest Airlines can make sense for some people. In fact, this may be a large portion of Bilt users: casual points people for whom earning a few points is a bonus and saving a couple hundred dollars on a flight is a big deal.

If that’s your jam, this partnership is good news.

For the rest of us, it’s middling at best.

Even without all of Southwest’s recent negative press (such as eliminating free checked bags and changing its seating policy), the value you’ll get when redeeming Southwest points has always been pretty mediocre.

This is because Southwest pegs the cost of its flights in points directly to its cost in cash. This means there’s never really a way to “maximize” your rewards. The more expensive your flight, the more points you’ll need to redeem — end of story.

You can see this in the way that we value points: Southwest Rapid Rewards are at 1.3 cents each, while competitors (and fellow transfer partners) such as Alaska Airlines are 1.6 cents each.

You can also see it in how we value Bilt Rewards, which ring in at 1.8 cents per point. Should you trade a Bilt point worth 1.8 cents for a Southwest point worth 1.3 cents? Probably not.

Maximizing Your Bilt Rewards

To get the best value from your Bilt points, choose a transfer partner that’s more valuable than Southwest Rapid Rewards. Let me show you what that means.

Here’s a look at a one-way flight from San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) on Southwest:

And here’s its cost in points:

In this example, you’re getting 1.34 cents per point in value for your rewards, as you’re saving $33.40 by using 2,500 points.

But here’s an example of a one-night stay at the Hyatt Place Los Cabos:

And here’s its cost in points:

In this case, you’re redeeming your Hyatt points for 5.5 cents each.

Remember that Bilt points transfer over to both Southwest and Hyatt at the same ratio (1:1 transfers), which means you’re going to be spending either 2,500 points to get $33.40 off a flight booking or 3,500 points to save $193.60 on a hotel stay.

Which makes more sense to you?

Final Thoughts

Bilt Rewards is adding Southwest Rapid Rewards as a transfer partner. To be certain, transferring points to Southwest can make sense for some users.

For most people, it’s not a great idea. Instead, stick with Bilt’s other, more valuable partners.