Bilt Rewards Adds Southwest Airlines as a Points Transfer Partner

If you’ve been keeping up with Bilt news, you probably know it’s been a busy week for the company. With the upcoming addition of JAL as a transfer partner, plus the inclusion of student housing and the ability to pay your rent with any credit card, Bilt has certainly been spending a lot of time in the headlines.

But here we are again with another announcement from Bilt — and this time it involves its newest transfer partner: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Let’s take a look at how it’s going to work, Bill’s other transfer partners, and whether it’s worth it to transfer your Bilt Points to Southwest.

Bilt Rewards Points Now Transfer to Southwest Rapid Rewards

Until now, Southwest Rapid Rewards has had just a single transfer partner: Chase Ultimate Rewards. This is in keeping with most U.S. airlines, which tend to pick just one flexible point currency and stick with it (looking at you, Delta and Alaska Airlines).

Thus, it’s interesting that Southwest has opted to join 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 … isn’t one of those.

Still, those who are interested will be able to transfer their Bilt points over to Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 1 Bilt point becomes one Southwest point. This is on par with Chase’s transfer ratio and in keeping with Bilt’s other airline partners.

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

Is It Worth It?

There are going to be some people for whom transferring Bilt points over to Southwest Airlines makes sense. We can even argue that 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 really get the best use out of your Bilt points, you’ll want to choose a transfer partner that’s more valuable than Southwest Rapid Rewards. What do we mean by that?

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.

Now remember, 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. While there may be some casual users for whom transferring points to Southwest makes sense, for most people, it’s not a great idea. Instead, stick with Bilt’s other, more valuable partners.