#8 Among Airlines
Point Value
1.30 ¢
Hobby Score
7.0
Southwest airlines carries the most passengers in North America.
The quickest and most efficient way to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points is to fly on Southwest or open and spend on one of their co-branded credit cards. There are other ways to earn Southwest points, but they are not efficient ways of building points.
When you pay for flights on Southwest, you earn points based on the fare you book and whether you hold status with the airline.
Fare class:
Status:
Southwest offers five co-branded credit cards you can use to earn Rapid Rewards points. There are three personal cards and two business cards. Each card comes with different signup bonuses, perks, and annual fees.
Southwest has historically offered elevated welcome bonuses a few times per year and occasionally includes its popular Companion Pass as part of the offer (often in February or March). Be on the lookout for these if you want Rapid Rewards points or the Companion Pass. Note that the Companion Pass earned through a signup bonus is usually only valid for the remainder of the calendar year, while earning it the traditional way gives you the rest of the year and the full following year.
Southwest Airlines is not part of an airline alliance, but they have recently partnered with Icelandair. Rapid Rewards members can earn points on an itinerary booked through Icelandair that includes a Southwest-operated segment. Southwest also announced a partnership with China Airlines beginning in 2026. We’ll share more details as they are announced.
The following bonuses are helpful for award flights or working toward status, but we don’t recommend putting significant extra spend on these cards for that purpose alone.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business
Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business
Special Offers Related to Southwest Rapid Rewards. Click the arrow to see more.
Right now the Southwest rapid rewards Plus card is offering a companion pass as part of the sign up bonus. Get 30,000 points + a companion pass if you spend $4000 in 3 months.
- Activation is now open for Chase Freedom & Chase Freedom Flex Cardholders, for Q1 running 1/01/2023 - 3/31/2023.
- Discover has released it's Cash Back calendar for quarterly categories.
- Southwest is offering an extension for expiring Companion Passes or refund flights that experienced disrupted holiday travel from 12/24/22 - 1/2/23.
Southwest is offering a nice sign up bonus of 75,000 bonus points on 3 of their personal cards right now after spending $3000 in 3 months:
1. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus - $99 annual fee.
2. Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier - $99 annual fee.
3. Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority - $149 annual fee.
Get 1 of the 3 Personal cards that Chase offers for Southwest Airlines and start building up for that 2023 companion pass:
1. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus - 75,000 Points after spending $3000 in 3 months - $69/annual fee.
2. Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier - 75,000 Points after spending $3000 in 3 months - $99/annual fee.
3. Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority - 75,000 Points after spending $3000 in 3 months - $149/annual fee.
These offers are ending 12/5/22.
The best way to redeem your Rapid Rewards points is to use them for Southwest flights. The process is simple. Enter your flight details and click “Show fare in points” to see redemption options. If you forget to click it on the search page, you can toggle between cash and points on the results page. You can also view results by week or by month.
Fare classes:
Southwest has four different fare classes:
Basic:
Choice:
Choice Preferred:
Choice Extra:
Note: Starting January 27, 2026, Southwest will move to assigned seating for all customers. The boarding process will change significantly, and Southwest has not yet announced what will happen to Early Bird Check-In. We will update this page as soon as new information is released.
A Note on Sweet Spots
Southwest is unique, and the nature of its rewards program makes it difficult to find traditional sweet spots like you can with other airlines. Southwest does not have an award chart, and since they only recently started partnering with other airlines, there is no partner award chart either. Rapid Rewards redemptions are directly tied to the cash price of the ticket, which is dynamically priced.
There are pros and cons to this system. There are no classic sweet spot redemptions, but there is consistency. And there are still a good deal of high value redemptions you can find with consistency. With Southwest, you’re generally going to get between 1.1 and 1.5 cents per point on your award bookings.
The Companion Pass is the most talked about perk of flying Southwest. If you earn the Companion Pass, one person can fly with you for free (they only pay taxes and fees) on all your Southwest flights.
You can earn the Companion Pass in one of two ways in a calendar year:
Once you complete either requirement, you earn the Companion Pass for the rest of that year and the entire following calendar year.
The easiest way to earn the Companion Pass is by hitting the signup bonuses on one personal and one business Southwest credit card. If you time it well and earn it in January or February, the pass can be good for nearly two full calendar years.
Like most airlines, Southwest has its own hotel booking engine, and like most, this is not the best use of your points. You’ll get much better value by using Rapid Rewards to book flights. The same advice applies to car rentals. You can book them through Southwest with points, but the value is not great.
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
Southwest regularly runs sales throughout the year. If you book a Choice ticket or higher, and the flight goes on sale or the fare drops, you can book at the lower price. You will get the difference in points as a credit
Southwest has done away with no baggage fees. In early 2026, it will move to assigned seating. They haven’t announced all the details yet of how this will work, so check back for information as announcements are made
Southwest releases flights about 6-7 months in advance, while most other airlines release theirs ~11 months out. If you are looking for flights far out, they might not be available yet.
We have historically ranked Southwest as one of the top airline loyalty programs because it’s very user friendly. Points are easy to earn and redeem, with award flights tied to cash prices. While you won’t get the same sweet-spot, outsized value redemptions as with other airlines, there’s something to be said for consistency, which Southwest offers. There are no blackout dates, no complicated award charts, and no partner searches. Cancellations and changes are easy to make and don’t come with extra fees. The simplicity makes it a favorite for many travelers.
But the things that made Southwest unique, like free checked bags and open seating, are being phased out. Free checked bags ended in May, 2025, and you free seating ends for all flights departing after January 27, 2026. Whether this means Southwest will become just like every other airline remains to be seen, but it’s certainly trending that way. The popular Companion Pass is rumored to remain, though changes are likely. One historical weakness of the airline is its limited international service outside Mexico and the Caribbean, but that may shift with new partnerships with Icelandair and China Airlines. We still like Southwest and recommend it for certain travelers, but the way these upcoming changes are implemented will shape our future recommendation of the airline and its loyalty program.
Southwest offers two tiers of elite status: A-List and A-List Preferred. The Companion Pass can feel like another level of status, but the Pass is the only benefit you receive (a big one, though).
Southwest has an easy-to-understand path to elite status. Points can be earned from Qualifying Flights, which are flights operated by Southwest Airlines and paid for entirely with cash, Southwest vouchers, gift cards, flight credits, or cash+points (only the cash portion counts when you use cash+points). The following are excluded from earning:
Tier qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through Southwest and from spending on a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card:
Here are the two elite status levels, what it takes to reach each, and the benefits you'll receive.
As long as your Rapid Rewards loyalty account remains open, your points are safe. Any points you earn from a credit card go directly into your Rapid Rewards account, so canceling a card won’t affect your points balance. Since there’s no fee to be a Rapid Rewards member, there’s no reason to ever close your account.
