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!
How To Log in & Basics of Using Program
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.
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!
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!
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
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!
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)
If you’re a business owner, consider a Chase business credit cards that offers rewards.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards
Hot Tip: Check out the benefits of the best Southwest credit cards in our guide. We’ve also got a piece with plenty of tips for earning lots 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!
