Southwest Rapid Rewards

What is Rapid Rewards?

Rapid Rewards is the loyalty program of Southwest Airlines – one of the largest carriers in the United States. Southwest offers services to an ever-expanding list of destinations throughout North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean.

Southwest Airlines Destinations

United States

For a complete listing of Southwest Airlines destinations in the United States, visit the Southwest Airlines official site.

Caribbean

Mexico

Central America

Earning Rapid Rewards Points

Earning Points with Flights

The easiest way to earn Rapid Rewards points is by booking flights with Southwest Airlines. The number of points a Rapid Rewards members earns when flying with Southwest depends on the fare they purchase, as well as their current Rapid Rewards tier.

Earning Points Based on Fare

Rapid Rewards members earn the following points when purchasing the following Southwest fares:

Earning Based on Rapid Rewards Status Tier

Rapid Rewards points are also gained based on a traveler’s status within the Rapid Rewards program. The following tiers earn the following points for their fares:

Earning with Southwest Partners

Rapid Rewards members can also earn points when they spend money with Southwest Airlines partners, including:

Credit Cards

An easy way to earn additional Rapid Rewards points is through a Southwest Airlines credit card. Issued through Chase Bank, these Visa cards offer excellent introductory bonus offers when a spending limit is achieved in a set time (usually either in 3 months of opening an account or within the first year), as well as the opportunity to earn additional points of top of the points earned through the methods mentioned above.

For businesses, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card offer up to 60,000 and 80,000 bonus points respectively, while for regular traveler, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offer 40,000 bonus points for an initial spend.

Beyond the points-earning potential and initial rewards, these cards also offer a variety of other perks to cardholders – check out our Southwest reviews, or our United States Carriers page for more information.

Transferring Rewards from Other Programs

Members of other rewards programs may be able to transfer their rewards club points to the Rapid Rewards program. Diners Club members can transfer their points to Rapid Rewards at a lower rate, with a minimum transfer of 6,700 points to 5,000 Rapid Reward points. Chase Ultimate Rewards members can also transfer their rewards points to Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

Redeeming Rapid Rewards Points

There are several redemption options for Rapid Rewards points:

Flights with Southwest Airlines

The easiest way to use points is through flight bookings with Southwest Airlines. To use points for flights, members need to book their flight at Southwest.com and choose to pay with points.

Flights with Southwest Airlines Partners

While Southwest does fly to several locations outside the United States (as noted previously), the geographical limitations of Southwest Airlines’ reach don’t mean you can’t use your Rapid Rewards points to get to your dream destination. Points may also be used for flights with over 50 carriers worldwide, traveling to a wide swathe of destinations.

Hotels

Rapid Rewards points are also redeemable towards hotel stays with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Best Western, Radisson, Choice, Hyatt, Marriott, MGM, and SPG. To book hotel stays using Rapid Rewards points, members must book through the Southwest travel portal.

Rental Cars

Points may also be applied to rental car bookings made through the travel portal. Southwest rental car partners include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, Payless, and Thrifty.

Other Ways to Redeem Points

Southwest points are also redeemable for gift cards or purchases made through the Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal.

Rapid Rewards Status Levels

Rapid Rewards Mosaic is Southwest Airlines’ frequent flyer elite tier. It is also Southwest Airlines’ only tier of frequent flyer perks.

Basic

Basic is the entry-level tier of Rapid Rewards membership and offers no perks beyond the ability to earn a higher rate of points for purchases, as detailed above in the earning points section.

A-List

A-List is the next membership tier, offering increased points-earning potential and perks.

Achieving A-List Status

To reach A-List status, a Rapid Rewards member must earn 35,000 points within a calendar year, or make 25 qualifying one-way flights in the same period.

A-List Perks

A-List Preferred

A-List Preferred is the elite tier of the Southwest Rapid Rewards program, offering the top-level of earnings and perks for members.

Achieving A-List Preferred Status

To achieve A-List Preferred status, a Rapid Rewards member must earn 70,000 points within a calendar year or make 50 qualifying one-way flights in the same period.

A-List Preferred Perks

Southwest Companion Pass

One of the biggest reasons that frequent flyers love the Rapid Rewards program so much is the Southwest Companion Pass. The Companion Pass allows a companion to fly with a traveler for just the cost of taxes and fee.

The Companion Pass is highly coveted and only achievable by making Southwest a regular part of your commute. To earn a pass, members must make at least 100 qualifying one-way trips with Southwest in a calendar year – no mean feat. The only other way to earn this pass is by accumulating 110,000 points.

The easiest way to achieve this lofty goal is through the sign-up bonuses with many of the Southwest Airlines credit cards. The following airline rewards cards are available for Southwest Rapid Rewards: