Southwest Hides Reduced Rewards Points Earning in Update

Updated: October 16, 2026, 10:59am CDT

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Southwest Slashes Points Earning for Rapid Rewards Elites
Final Thoughts

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There’s frustrating news if you’re focused on earning points from Southwest, in what In has been a bumper week for the airline.

When the program revamp launches in January 2027, Rapid Rewards elite members will no longer earn bonus points on Southwest flights.

Let’s dig into the details.

Southwest Slashes Points Earning for Rapid Rewards Elites

Despite the program’s name, earning rewards will become less rapid for Southwest‘s elite status holders starting in January 2027.

Under the current Rapid Rewards rules, A-List Preferred and A-List status holders get bonus points at the following rates when taking Southwest flights:

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	Basic Fare	Choice Fare	Choice Preferred Fare	Choice Extra
Base	2x points per $1	6x points per $1	10x points per $1	14x points per $1
A-List	2.5x points per $1	7.5x points per $1	12.5x points per $1	17.5x points per $1
A-List Preferred	4x points per $1	12x points per $1	20x points per $1	28x points per $1

When the program’s huge update, announced this week, launches in January, the old elite status names will disappear, along with their associated rates for earning bonus points.

The new elite status names are Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Regardless of their shiny new status level, members will earn a flat-rate bonus of points per $1 spent on Southwest flights. Here are the new earning rates, per fare type:

Basic fare: 2x points per $1
Choice fare: 6x points per $1
Choice Preferred fare: 8x points per $1
Choice Extra fare: 10x points per $1

This marks a significant devaluation for A-List Preferred members, who will earn just 10x points rather than 28x points when booking a Choice Extra fare from January on.

Southwest didn’t highlight this reduction in its press releases. Instead, the information can only be found under the “How many points will I earn on each fare beginning in 2027” question in the FAQ section about the program changes.

Bottom Line:

Huge loyalty program overhauls often mean devaluations for members, regardless of how the airline spins it, and Southwest’s 2027 Rapid Rewards update is no exception. Among the most disappointing updates for Southwest loyalists are the airline slashing how many bonus points they earn and changing how they get Companion Passes.

Final Thoughts

Southwest announced major changes to its loyalty program to much fanfare. But, as is often the case with loyalty program updates, they don’t all always favor its members, such as Southwest reducing the bonus points you earn when booking Southwest flights.