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While Southwest started as a budget airline, today it’s one of the largest U.S. airlines. Southwest has continued to expand its offerings with flights to Hawaii and several popular international destinations, including Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Despite difficulties at the end of 2022 that resulted in an operational meltdown, Southwest remains a favorite airline for many travelers due to its customer-friendly policies, such as free checked bags and no change fees.
Rapid Rewards is the airline’s loyalty program that allows passengers to earn and use points for flights.
Visit the Southwest website and click Create account to join for free.
You can sign in to your Rapid Rewards account on the Southwest.com homepage. You’ll need your account number or username and password.
After logging in, click on My Account to see a summary of your trips, points, promotions, and progress toward elite status.
Rapid Rewards points don’t expire if your account is open and in good standing.
There are 2 levels of Southwest Airlines elite status — A-List and A-List Preferred. The Southwest Companion Pass isn’t technically an elite status, as having the pass doesn’t come with any elite benefits, but it offers huge perks when flying on Southwest Airlines.
Southwest A-List status is earned after flying 20 qualifying one-way flights or earning 35,000 tier-qualifying points in a calendar year.
Tier qualifying points are only earned in 2 ways — through paid Southwest flights or credit card spending. You can earn 1,500 TQP per $5,000 spent on select Southwest credit cards
A-List status comes with the following benefits:
Southwest A-List Preferred status is earned after flying 40 qualifying one-way flights or earning 70,000 tier-qualifying points in a calendar year. It comes with all of the benefits of A-List status plus these additional perks:
The Southwest Companion Pass is considered one of the best deals in travel. It essentially lets you fly 2-for-1 for up to 2 years.
To earn the Companion Pass, you’ll need to fly 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year or earn 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year.
Companion Pass qualifying points include credit card welcome bonuses plus points earned from revenue flights, Southwest credit card spending, partner hotel and car rentals, Rapid Rewards dining, and Rapid Rewards shopping.
After earning the Companion Pass, you can add a companion to any Southwest ticket for the rest of the calendar year in which you earn the pass plus the entire following calendar year. All you need to do is pay the taxes and fees for the companion, which are $5.60 for a domestic one-way flight (taxes and fees are higher on international flights).
One of the most significant benefits of A-List and A-List Preferred status is priority boarding. Southwest’s boarding process differs from other airlines because there are no assigned seats. Instead, you’re assigned a boarding position based on a few factors, including when you check in and your status level.
Having Southwest elite status removes the need to check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time and more or less guarantees you’ll be able to get seats with your traveling companions — and won’t get stuck in a middle seat.
If you generally pay for EarlyBird Check-In or value not having to worry about your boarding position, Southwest’s elite status can be very valuable.
There are many ways to earn Rapid Rewards points.
You earn Rapid Rewards points for Southwest flights based on your fare type and price, excluding taxes and fees:
Travelers with A-List status earn additional bonus points.
You can earn Rapid Rewards points by booking travel through select travel partners.
Southwest has a variety of ways to earn Rapid Rewards points without flying, including shopping, dining, home, and specialty partners that can help you earn more Rapid Rewards points.
Southwest offers 5 co-branded credit cards:
You can also earn Rapid Rewards points through Ultimate Rewards credit cards since Chase and Southwest are 1:1 transfer partners.
You need at least 1 premium travel rewards card (marked **) to transfer to Southwest. As long as you have 1 eligible transfer card, you can consolidate all your Ultimate Rewards points to that card to then transfer them to Southwest (or any of Chase’s other partners).
You can use several credit cards to earn Rapid Rewards points directly or through points transfers.
You can earn Rapid Rewards directly with any of the 5 Southwest co-branded Chase cards. First, let’s take a look at the 3 consumer cards available.
Terms Apply / Rates & Fees
This card focuses on the Southwest traveler with anniversary points, travel credit, upgrades, and money back on inflight purchases.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is the most premium personal Southwest card offering from Chase. When you peel back the curtain, it is easy to see why.
Not only does the card offer multiple bonus categories to help you earn more Southwest Rapid Rewards points, but it is also loaded with benefits that are sure to offer quite a bit of value to Southwest flyers.
Here is a full overview of the card to help you decide if it is a good fit for your wallet.
Earn Southwest points on every purchase, plus anniversary points, Tier Qualifying Points, and points toward the Companion Pass!
Another week, another flight. Flying weekly can get tiring, but you know that every flight gets you closer to taking some great vacations with your significant other or your favorite travel buddy.
To save money on the flights, you like to use Southwest Airlines.
So why not get the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card to help you earn extra Rapid Rewards points?
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis card makes it easy to earn unlimited points and qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass.
If you spend a lot of time in the air, it’s important to get a great deal on your plane tickets.
Southwest Airlines can help you get those deals.
One way to save is by using the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card. This card helps you earn points for all your spending, and earning more reward points is always a good thing for a busy traveler!
Additionally, there are 2 Southwest business cards:
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesSouthwest frequent flyers will love the upgraded boarding positions, inflight Wi-Fi credits, and bonus points on each cardmember anniversary.
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is a phenomenal option for business owners who are Southwest frequent flyers. It helps you earn more points on all of your business expenses, offers upgraded boarding certificates and Wi-Fi credits, and helps you reach higher levels of Southwest elite status.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesBusiness owners who fly Southwest often can earn extra points for all of their spending and add employee cards at no additional cost.
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is designed for business owners who regularly fly with Southwest and want a card that helps them earn more points while providing benefits such as 25% back on inflight purchases and EarlyBird Check-In certificates.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Southwest Airlines at a 1:1 ratio. That means you can take advantage of the numerous bonus categories on Chase Ultimate Rewards cards to earn lots of points, which can be instantly transferred to Southwest.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesA fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.
Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesA top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns 3x points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.
If you’re looking for an all-around excellent travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best options out there.
The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to keep you covered whether you’re at home or on the road.
Don’t forget the $300 annual travel credit which really helps to reduce the annual fee!
Business Owner? Check out our article on the best Chase business cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points.
Southwest awards are only available on Southwest flights and are revenue-based, so the price in points will be based on the cash cost. Finding awards is straightforward. Search on Southwest.com, and if a flight is available to book in cash, it will also be available to book using points.
You can easily toggle back and forth between the points and cash costs of any flight. The dollar amount shown under the points price is the taxes and fees.
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