You Can Now Buy Southwest Elite Status — But Is It Worth It?

Southwest is selling its elite qualifying points to targeted travelers, which could potentially help you earn A-List status with the airline.

However, this promotion is only available through December 30, 2024. In this post, we’ll dive into the details you need to know and assess whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

Southwest Selling Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) — What To Know

Southwest Airlines‘ latest promotion allows Rapid Rewards members to buy up to 35,000 tier qualifying points (TQPs) to qualify for status through December 31, 2025. In previous versions of this promotion, travelers were only eligible for purchasing TQPs if they had earned at least 3,000 TQPs already. Thus, this offer may be targeted.

Here’s how much it will cost you to purchase the TQPs needed for A-List status:

• 1,000 TQPs: $175
• 2,500 TQPs: $350
• 5,000 TQPs: $650
• 7,500 TQPs: $875
• 10,000 TQPs: $999
• 15,000 TQPs: $1,199
• 20,000 TQPs: $1,350
• 25,000 TQPs: $1,499
• 35,000 TQPs: $2,190

If you didn’t receive an email from Southwest directly, you can check your eligibilty via Southwest’s landing page for this offer here. As you can see above, buying TQPs isn’t cheap. That said, if you’re just a few thousand TQPs on earning Southwest elite status, this promotion could potentially be worth it for you.

If you purchase the maximum amount — 35,000 TQPs — you will be granted A-List, the lower level of Southwest’s elite status. Benefits include priority boarding and check-in, 25% bonus points on Southwest flights, free same-day standby, and a dedicated customer service line.

However, it remains to be seen how useful this level of elite status will be going forward. Southwest has announced major changes for 2025, including assigned seating. Once the Southwest boarding process changes happen, this would largely eliminate the need for priority boarding, which is a key benefit of A-List status.

Unfortunately, you can’t buy enough TQPs to reach A-List Preferred status through this offer alone. That requires you to accrue 70,000 TQPs, but this promotion only lets you buy a maximum of 35,000.

Final Thoughts

This status buy-up promotion will largely be a pass for most Southwest flyers — especially amid questions about the major boarding process changes that are soon coming to the airline. Priority boarding for you and all travelers on the same reservation has long been the main draw of A-List, so the elite status perks are no longer as valuable.

If you’re interested, be sure to take advantage before December 30.