How To Use the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal to Earn More Points
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Earning extra points and miles for something you’re already planning to spend money on is a pretty great concept. Luckily for you, it’s also pretty easily done!
This article tells you exactly what you need to know about using Southwest’s shopping portal. Don’t worry, it’s a piece of cake!
Table of contents
Table of Contents
How To Log in & Basics of Using Program
You can view the bonus points offered for spending at various retailers without logging in, but you will need to log in to actually earn them.
Logging in is simple; just use the same information you would use to log in to your regular Southwest frequent flyer account.
Once you are logged in to the Southwest airlines store, you simply need to search for your desired retailer to see the number of bonus points they’re offering for your purchases!
Let’s say you are interested in reward shopping at Gap.com. At the time of writing, we searched for Gap and found an offer of 3 extra Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent on Gap.com purchases.
To earn the bonus, just click “Shop Now” to be redirected to the retailer website to complete your transaction. Then complete your purchase from the window that opens. Beyond that, there’s nothing more you need to do in order to earn the bonus!
Special Shopping Offers
Southwest offers bonus points for spending different amounts of money through their store at various times throughout the year.
You should definitely keep an eye out for Southwest’s special shopping bonuses. Here is an example of a past offer that might come up again:
- Holiday 2018 Bonus: Spend $150 and earn 500 bonus points; spend $500 and earn 1,000 bonus points; spend $1,000 and earn 3,000 bonus points.
The holiday shopping season is a great time to earn lots of rewards for purchases you would be making already!
If you want to keep track of bonuses being offered by other shopping portals (including the Rapid Rewards portal), use CashBack Monitor to easily keep track of 45 different portals in one spot.
Example Retailers
The number of points earned for shopping at various retailers changes regularly. At the time of writing, here are some of the better deals offered through the Southwest Airlines store.
- LifeLock: 10 pts/$1
- MagazineLine: 15 pts/$1
- Personal Creations: 9 pts/$1
- 1800 Flowers: 7 pts/$1
- Bareminerals: 6 pts/$1
- …and many more!
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Shopping Button
The shopping button from Southwest’s Rapid Rewards shopping program allows you to earn miles shopping online directly on the retailer’s website.
So you don’t have to click through from the shopping portal itself. All you have to do is download the free browser extension for Chrome and you’ll start getting alerts when browsing on retailer’s websites that participate in the program.
You will also see offers in your search results so this can help make quick decisions on which retailer to buy from. It’s win win really!
Using Credit Cards To Earn Extra Points
Even though you’ll be earning extra points through the reward shopping portal, it makes sense to multiply this bonus by also using a card that will give you a good reward for the spending you’re doing.
If your sole focus is to earn Southwest points, you should choose cards that earn them directly or cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, which you can transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio.
Also, consider whether the retailer you’re shopping with falls into a bonus category on any of your cards, and then choose your card accordingly.
Below we list the applicable credit cards to help you get the most rewards while using the online store!
Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® - This is our favorite beginners travel rewards card which currently has a limited time offer of 80,000 point bonus (highest ever) after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 2x points per $1 on travel and dining worldwide, eligible delivery services, take out and dining out, 5x points per $1 on Lyft rides, a 12-month subscription for DoorDash DashPass, other travel benefits such as excellent travel insurance coverage and no foreign transaction fees. The sign up bonus is worth $1,000 in travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals etc) when you redeem your points through Chase's travel portal, which works like Expedia. The bonus alone could get you multiple round-trip flights or hotel stays. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® - This premium card will get you access to 1,200+ airport lounges. as well as a number of other card benefits. The current sign up bonus is 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll also get a $300 travel credit per year which wipes away a big chunk of the $550 annual fee. |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® - A fantastic, no annual fee card that earns you a $200 bonus after you spend $500 in your first 3 months. Earn 5% cash-back on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash-back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases, but you won't get any travel benefits with this card. |
Recommended Chase Cards (Business)
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - this is our #1 recommended business card and right now comes with a 100,000 sign up bonus after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This bonus is worth $1,250 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel purchases (flights, hotels etc). Pay your cell phone bill with this card to receive up to $600 in cell phone insurance coverage per year; as well as a number of other benefits. Earn 3x on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year, plus 1x on all other purchases — with no limit to the amount you can earn. All for an annual fee of $95. |
| Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card - earn $500 bonus cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This no annual fee business card earns up to 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year, plus 2% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary. |
| Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card - earn unlimited 1.5% cash back rewards on every purchase made for your business. Earn $500 bonus cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. There's no annual fee. |
Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards
| Southwest Card | Information |
|---|---|
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card Apply Now (at Chase's secure site) |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card Apply Now (at Chase's secure site) |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Apply Now (at Chase's secure site) |
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Hot Tip: Check out the benefits of the best Southwest credit cards! We’ve also got a piece with plenty of tips for earning loads of Southwest points without even flying!
Final Thoughts
Utilizing the Southwest shopping center is an easy way to earn an extra point or more per dollar spent on most of the shopping you’re going to do online anyway. You may also want to try using their dining program to really maximize the rewards.
Better yet, if you haven’t signed up for the shopping portal in the past, it is possible to earn bonus points simply for signing up at various times throughout the year. Gather up all your new rewards and use them for flights on Southwest!
What about returns for items purchased through southwest shopping portal. Do they get deducted?
Hi,
Yes, if you return something your points will most likely be deducted from your account.
Southwest says you don’t get Companion Pass credit for “partner bonus points”. Is this only apply to spend bonus like the one you showed above “Holiday 2018 Bonus: Spend $150 and earn 500 bonus points”? Or does this exclusion also apply to “Extra Points” on the shopping portal, like the Gap example you show that says “Was 1 point/$1. Now earn 3 points/$1”? If those are excluded “partner bonus points”, does that mean only 1 point/$1 will count towards Companion Pass?
Hi Tom,
Yes, only base points from Rapid Rewards partners count towards the Companion Pass. So any bonus points or “extra points” won’t count towards the CP.