Does It Cost Money To Transfer Points On Southwest

For people who like low fares and hate fees, Southwest Airlines is one of the best airlines out there — and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Program is one of the best loyalty programs to take advantage of all of its benefits. It's free to join the Southwest Rapid Rewards program — and you should, as it's the only way for you to earn points every time you fly Southwest (which you can turn around and use for future flights). And since points don't expire, even if you only fly Southwest every few years, you'll still eventually rack up enough points to be worth something.

Southwest Airlines is considered the biggest "low-cost" carrier in the U.S. in terms of passengers served. In 2018, the Dallas-based airline carried over 163 million passengers — surpassing the individual tallies of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. It serves about 100 destinations in the U.S. and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean — all with a dedicated fleet of Boeing 737s. The airline has a major presence in such cities as Chicago, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Denver and Dallas. With a huge footprint, it's relatively easy to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points, and to turn around and redeem those Southwest rewards for future travel.

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The Southwest Rapid Rewards program has something for everyone. With customer-friendly policies — including two free checked bags up to 50 pounds each on every flight and group boarding — Southwest is our favorite loyalty program for families. It's also great if you fly frequently with just one other friend, as you could earn the beloved Companion Pass which entails BOGO tickets (aside from taxes and fees). And with no change fees, it's also great if you're someone who changes plans last-minute and wants that flexibility.

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How much Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth

Based on our most recent analysis, NerdWallet values Southwest Rapid Rewards points at 1.4 cents apiece. To determine the value of reward miles, we compared cash prices and reward redemptions for economy roundtrip routes across several destinations and dates. We divided the cost of the cash ticket by the cost of the reward ticket to determine a "cent per point" value for each flight, then averaged this value across several flights and dates. Read more about how we arrived at these figures.

This is, therefore, a baseline value for Southwest points, based on real-world data collected from hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.4 cents or more in value from your Southwest points.

To determine the value of your miles for specific flights, divide the cash value of the ticket (less any applicable taxes/fees if you redeem miles) by the number of miles required for the flight. So if the ticket would cost either $100, or 15,000 miles + $10 in taxes/fees, the math would be as follows:

($100 – $10) / 15,000 = 0.006, or 0.6 cent per mile.

How to earn Rapid Rewards points

Instead of rewarding traditional airline "miles," Rapid Rewards operates on a points system. You can earn points several ways: by flying on Southwest, by shopping and dining with partners, or with a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card. Southwest is also a transfer partner of the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program.

As of October 2019, Southwest Rapid Rewards points do not expire. However, if you opt to close your account, the points in your account will be terminated.

Earning Rapid Rewards points when you fly

The number of points you earn for a flight depends on the price of the ticket, the type of fare you're buying, and your status level within the Rapid Rewards program. All fares include two free checked bags up to 50 pounds each, no change fees and reusable funds for up to 12 months if you cancel your flight or fully refundable flights depending on the type of fare booked.

Status level	Status bonus	Points earned per $1 spent, by fare class
Basic	None	• Business Select: 12 . • Anytime: 10 . • Wanna Get Away: 6 .
A-List	25%	• Business Select: 15 . • Anytime: 12.5 . • Wanna Get Away: 7.5 .
A-List Preferred	100%	• Business Select: 24 . • Anytime: 20 . • Wanna Get Away: 12 .

Wanna Get Away: The cheapest fares are aptly named "Wanna Get Away." These fares have no additional benefits from those listed above and earn 6 Rapid Rewards points for every $1 spent in base airfare.
Anytime: Anytime fares are a little more flexible than Wanna Get Away fares, because canceled trips can be refunded to the original form of payment or used toward another flight for up to 12 months. Flyers also earn 10 Rapid Rewards points for every $1 spent on base airfare.
Business Select: For travelers who want the Southwest "luxury" experience, Business Select fares are the most expensive but offer the most benefits. In addition to the previously mentioned benefits and the flexible cancellation policies of the Anytime fare, Business Select passengers can use the priority security lane at the airport (where available) after checking in. At the gate, Business Selects are guaranteed to be among the first 15 people to board. And in the air, these passengers also get one free complimentary premium drink of their choice. Business Select customers also earn the most Rapid Rewards, earning 12 points per $1 spent on base airfare.

Southwest doesn't have any airline partners and isn't a member of an airline alliance, so you can't earn Rapid Rewards points on other airlines.

However, you can use points to book hotels, cruises, rental cars or travel to Hawaii and around the world aboard over 50 airlines through the Southwest More Rewards platform — but given the low redemption value, we don't generally recommend it.

Earning Rapid Rewards points with a credit card

Southwest offers five co-branded credit cards through Chase: three consumer credit cards and two business cards.

A NerdWallet favorite is the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card . It offers 2 points per $1 spent with Southwest Airlines and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else. It comes with a sign-up bonus that can get you part of the way toward earning the coveted Southwest Companion Pass: Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. The annual fee is $99 . The card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. And each year, cardholders get a 6,000-point anniversary bonus. Other Southwest credit card options may work better for you depending on the features you're looking for.

» JUMP AHEAD to credit cards that earn Rapid Rewards points

Earning Rapid Rewards points through partners

Southwest has a robust list of non-airline partnerships , allowing you to earn points for your other spending, whether it's rental cars, hotels, or even a box of fancy pears from Harry & David.

Hotels: You can earn Rapid Rewards points at some hotel chains. At most hotels, you earn 1 point per $1 spent, but it's possible to earn more depending on where you stay. See partner hotels here .
Shopping and dining: Earn points at more than 800 retailers through the Rapid Rewards Shopping. Meanwhile, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining program allows you to earn up to 3 points per $1 spent at participating restaurants, plus bonus points for submitting restaurant reviews. Both are excellent ways to earn (and double-dip) points earning, especially if that's spending you're doing anyway.
Gas at Marathon gas stations: Rapid Rewards members can earn 1 point for every gallon of Marathon fuel they purchase, plus additional points on select in-store purchases and other specified achievements through the MakeItCount program. To earn, members must sign up ahead of time and select Rapid Rewards as their earning partner.
Switching electricity providers: Members in some states can also earn a sign-up bonus and ongoing bonuses when they switch their power service to NRG Home or Reliant. Check the Rapid Rewards website to see if your home is eligible.
Taking surveys: Participate in market research and earn points when you share your opinion via the e-Rewards and e-Miles platforms.

Buying additional Rapid Rewards points

Generally, you can buy Rapid Rewards points at a rate of 2.75 to 3 cents each, but it's not advisable. NerdWallet values Rapid Rewards points at an average of 1.4 cents each, so buying points at these prices is not likely to be a good option.

Transferring credit card points to Rapid Rewards

Two credit card rewards programs offer the opportunity to transfer points to Rapid Rewards: Diners Club and Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Diners Club cardholders can convert Diners Club Rewards points to Rapid Rewards points at a rate of 1,500 Diners Club points to 1,200 Rapid Rewards points.

If you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® from a Chase Sapphire® Card , you can also convert those points to Ultimate Rewards® at a one-to-one rate. You must transfer a minimum of 1,000 points.

You can also transfer points from rental car and hotel programs to Rapid Rewards, though — unless you don't anticipate using those points in their original form — the exchange rate is pretty bad, so we don't typically recommend this.

How to redeem Rapid Rewards points

Anyone who is a Rapid Rewards member can redeem points on Southwest's website for flights. To book flights on Southwest, go to the booking tool on Southwest's website, enter your travel information and choose the option to see the fare in points rather than dollars. If any fare classes are sold out for a given flight, that will be indicated in the results. While all fare options are available, prices in points are directly tied to their cash price. On Wanna Get Away fares, we value Rapid Rewards at an average of 1.4 cents each, but the value for your flights could be lower or higher than that.

But if you hold a Southwest credit card, you'll also have access to the More Rewards program , where you can redeem your Rapid Rewards points for hotel stays, rental cars, gift cards and more. Rapid Rewards points are also redeemable for international flights on other airlines, even though Southwest doesn't have any airline partnerships.

But here's the thing: spending Rapid Rewards points on anything other than actual Southwest flights is, in most cases, not the best use of your points. We ran the numbers on dozens of redemptions in the More Rewards portal. Using our airline miles valuations , which peg a Rapid Rewards point at 1.4 cents, we found that, on average, items are marked up by more than 100%.

International flights: Rapid Rewards points may also be used to book international flights to destinations Southwest doesn't fly to on over 50 carriers. To find which routes and airlines are available, visit the Southwest Rapid Rewards website and explore rewards. When using your miles for international flights on other airlines, expect to get a value of around 1 cent per point for flights, which is a lower value than you get using points for Southwest flights.
Hotels: Although they can't be transferred to hotel partners, you can use Southwest Rapid Rewards points to book a hotel award night through the Southwest travel portal.
Rental cars: Rapid Rewards points can be used on rental cars. By using Southwest's travel portal, you can reserve and pay for a rental car using their Rapid Rewards balance.
Merchandise and gift cards: Finally, as with many different rewards programs, you can use your points for merchandise and gift cards. As with other frequent flyer programs, the value of such redemptions is poor: Expect to get a value of 0.6 cent per point.

Good redemption options

Southwest Wanna Get Away flights: The best possible way to use points is toward Wanna Get Away fares aboard Southwest, which is the lowest of the Southwest fare classes. That's because — when using points toward flights — Rapid Rewards points' value is directly correlated with how much the flight costs in actual dollars. On average, when you use your points toward Wanna Get Away airfare, expect to get a value of 1.4 cents per point.
International flights: Southwest is primarily known for its flights within the contiguous United States and Hawaii. But don't overlook its international flights to destinations in Central America and the Caribbean .

Bad redemption options

Merchandise: Even if you can't use Rapid Rewards points for flights, don't use them for gift cards or merchandise. Rapid Rewards Credit Card holders have access to a shopping portal called Southwest's More Rewards , where you can spend your points on items that aren't Southwest flights (like designer handbags, baby strollers and gift cards), plus non-Southwest travel including international flights and hotels. But these tend to be a terrible deal.When we searched for gift card rewards, values were as low as 0.6 cent per point — roughly one-third of the value of using points for the average flight. This makes getting gift cards and other items from a merchandise store a very bad use of points.
Hotels: Although you could use Rapid Rewards points for hotel nights, the value you'd get from your rewards will be low. When we searched for hotels, values were as low as 0.8 cent per point.

Rapid Rewards elite status tiers

You can sign up for the Rapid Rewards loyalty program for free, which allows you to earn points toward Southwest elite status and award flights. At the A-List and A-List Preferred tiers, you earn more points and can enjoy some additional perks.

Rapid Rewards tiers and benefits

	A-List	A-List Preferred
Points bonus	25% more points on each flight	100% more points on each flight
Airport benefits	• Priority check-in. • Priority boarding. • Access to "Fly By" expedited security lanes at select airports. • Free same-day standby through airport customer service agents	• Priority check-in. • Priority boarding. • Access to "Fly By" expedited security lanes at select airports. • Free same-day standby through airport customer service agents.
Additional perks	• Dedicated A-List customer service phone line.	• Free in-flight WiFi. • Dedicated A-List Preferred customer service phone line.

How to earn Rapid Rewards elite status

To attain A-List or A-List Preferred status, you must fly a certain number of "qualifying one-way flights" or earn a certain number of "tier qualifying points" in a calendar year. You gain elite status as soon as you earn it, and it's good through the next calendar year.

A qualifying one-way flight is defined as a trip from origin to destination, including any connections. So if you're flying from Los Angeles to Chicago Midway Airport, it counts as a single one-way flight regardless of whether the flight is nonstop or you have to change planes.
Tier qualifying points are counted differently from Rapid Rewards points. Although you can obtain Rapid Rewards points in all sorts of ways (as described above), there are only two ways to earn tier qualifying points: 1. Purchasing tickets for Southwest flights. 2. Using the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card or the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card . With either card, you earn 1,500 tier qualifying points for each $10,000 spent, up to 15,000 tier qualifying points per year.

How much is Rapid Rewards elite status worth?

We performed a comprehensive analysis of airline elite status programs to determine the value of each tier, including Southwest's A-List and A-List Preferred status. To arrive at these dollar figures, we made many assumptions about how each status was used. Check the methodology in the link above for a more detailed breakdown.

NerdWallet estimates that A-List status is worth $123, and A-List Preferred status is worth $984. Why so low compared to other airline program elite status programs? In a word: Upgrades. Other airline programs offer complimentary first-class and premium-class upgrades to members, while A-List status only grants early boarding. All of the estimated value from both status tiers comes from the bonus Rapids Rewards Points they accrue.

Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most valuable and sought-after perks of any frequent flyer program. The pass allows a guest to fly with you nearly for free (you'll both have to pay taxes and security fees starting from $5.60 one way) from the time you earn it through the next calendar year. To earn the pass, you must either fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Qualifying points for Companion Pass include points earned from buying Southwest tickets, points earned with Southwest credit cards and base points earned from select Rapid Rewards partners.

Credit cards that earn Rapid Rewards points

$149 annual fee.
7,500 anniversary points each year.
Earn 3x points on Southwest purchases.
Earn 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshares.
Earn 2x points on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming.
$75 Southwest travel credit each year.
4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
No foreign transaction fees.
1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

6,000 anniversary points each year.
Earn 3x points on Southwest purchases.
Earn 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
Earn 2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year.
All points earned count towards Companion Pass.
No foreign transaction fees.

Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, now enjoy more benefits and more ways to earn.
3,000 anniversary points each year.
Earn 2x points on Southwest® purchases.
Earn 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
Earn 2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year.
Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
All points earned count towards Companion Pass.

Earn 4x points spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
Earn 3x points spent on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners.
Earn 2x points spent on rideshares, social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services.
1x point for all other purchases.
9,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
$199 annual fee.
4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
Inflight Wi-Fi Credits.
Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check Fee Credit.

3x points spent on Southwest® purchases.
2x points spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases.
2x points spent on rideshares.
1x point spent on all other purchases.
Two EarlyBird Check-Ins each year.
Earn unlimited tier qualifying points towards A-List status.
$99 annual fee.

Frequently asked questions

How does the Southwest Rapid Rewards program work?

The Southwest Rapid Rewards program enables members to earn Rapid Rewards points by flying with Southwest Airlines, spending money on partner brands — which include World of Hyatt, Alamo, Avis and Hertz — or spending money on a Southwest credit card . You can then redeem those rewards for hotel stays, rental cars, exclusive experiences, international flights and gift cards. It's free to enroll in the Southwest Rapid Rewards program.

How do I use Southwest Rapid Rewards points?

The best way to use Southwest Rapid Rewards points is typically toward Southwest flights. To book airfare on points, search for your flight as usual on Southwest's site, but select the button to search in points rather than dollars. From there, select the flight you want, go through the usual checkout process and points will be deducted from your online account.

Do Southwest Rapid Rewards points expire?

Southwest Rapid Rewards points do not expire; however, if you close your account completely, you'll also lose the points tied to that account.

How many Southwest Rapid Rewards points do you need for a free flight?

Generally speaking, you need about 3,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points to book a flight that otherwise has a $49 cash fare. NerdWallet values one point at 1.4 cents , so that figure can help you estimate how many points you might need for a free flight. Simply divide the cost of your ticket in cash by that figure to get a ballpark estimate of how many points you would need for a free flight.

How much is 15,000 Southwest points worth?

Based on NerdWallet's valuation of one point at 1.4 cents , 15,000 Southwest points is worth about $210. However, remember that points are made-up currencies and their value can vary based on how you redeem them (flights tend to be a good value, while physical goods like magazines tend to be a terrible value ).

Is Southwest Rapid Rewards worth it?

It's free to enroll in Southwest Rapid Rewards (you'll just need to hand over your email address). As long as you intend to fly on Southwest a few times in your life, it's usually worth signing up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards. You'll collect points for your flights that you can then use to book free flights in the future. Throw in Southwest's best-in-class 1.4 cents point valuation (plus the fact that point don't expire) and the Southwest Rapid Rewards program is one of the best airline rewards programs out there.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what's important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021 , including those best for: