How To Use the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal to Earn More Points

- UPDATED: May 23, 2019

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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

How To Log in & Basics of Using Program
Special Shopping Offers
Example Retailers
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Shopping Button
Using Credit Cards To Earn Extra Points
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

How To Log in & Basics of Using Program
Special Shopping Offers
Example Retailers
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Shopping Button
Using Credit Cards To Earn Extra Points
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards
Final Thoughts

How To Log in & Basics of Using Program

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal Homepage — When you navigate to the Southwest shopping portal, you’ll see options to log in or create a Southwest account.

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.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal Login — Enter your regular Southwest login information to log in to the Rapid Rewards Shopping portal.

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!

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal Example Retailer — At the time of writing, you could earn 3 bonus points per dollar on Gap.com purchases. Click “Shop Now” and you’ll be taken to the retailer website. Image courtesy of rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com.

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 Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal Example Retailers 2 — Just a few more examples of stores available through the Southwest shopping portal. Image courtesy of rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com.

Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Shopping Button

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal Shopping Button — You won’t miss out any Rapid Reward miles with the shopping button. mage courtesy of rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com.

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® Card - This is our favorite beginners travel rewards card which has a 60,000 point bonus (highest ever) after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

This sign up bonus is worth $750 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® - Consider this premium card if you want to get into a lot of airport lounges. 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 $450 annual fee.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® - A simple, no annual fee card that earns you a $150 bonus after you spend $500 in your first 3 months. Easy earning at 1.5% on all purchases. Just know that you won't get any travel benefits or the ability to earn bonus points with this card.

Recommended Chase Cards (Business)

Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card - This is our #1 recommended business card and comes with a whopping 80,000 sign up bonus after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This bonus is worth $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel purchases (flights, hotels etc). Also, if you pay for your cell phone bill with this card, you can get up to $600 in cell phone insurance coverage per year.

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. In addition, get up to 5% cash back on a range of business expenses such as office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone services. This is one of the best no annual fee business cards.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards

Southwest Card	Information
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card	Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. 7,500 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary. $75 Southwest® travel credit each year. 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available. Annual fee: $149
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card	Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases. 6,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary. No foreign transaction fees. Annual fee: $99
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card	Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases. 3,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary. Annual fee: $69

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!

FAQ

What are Southwest Rapid Rewards points?

These are the points you can earn and redeem through Southwest’s frequent flyer program.

How many points can I earn through Southwest’s shopping portal?

The number of points you can earn through Southwest’s shopping portal depends on how much you spend at participating retailers. Typically you can earn an extra 1 or 2 per dollar spent, but occasionally bonuses reach much higher amounts.

Do I need to submit my receipt in order to earn points?

No, as long as you click through the portal and complete your purchase, your points should track automatically. If you don’t see points within 4-6 weeks of your purchase, you may have to contact Southwest.

Can my spouse earn points on my account?

As long as your spouse or family member clicks through the shopping portal while you are logged into your account and makes a purchase, the points will credit to your account.

Is there a limit to the number of points I can earn?

No, there isn’t a limit to the number of rewards you can earn.

Do the points earned through the shopping portal count toward the Southwest Companion Pass?

Great news – yes! The points earned through Southwest’s shopping portal do count toward your Southwest Companion Pass. Unfortunately, any bonus earned through special spending offers will not.

How long does it take for Rapid Rewards Shopping points to post?

Reward points will be posted to your Rapid Rewards Shopping account usually with 5 days of your purchase and in your Rapid Rewards account within 6-8 weeks.