Southwest Rapid Rewards Program Review

Rapid Rewards Review Summary

The Southwest Rapid Rewards program is the 6th best frequent flyer program for 2026, according to WalletHub’s review. Some of the best features of Southwest Rapid Rewards are points worth an average of 1.21 cents apiece that do not expire, numerous ways to earn points, and up to 100% bonus points on bookings.

Below is a detailed look at the Rapid Rewards program, including how points are earned and redeemed and the number of destinations it serves. You can also see how the program compares with other well-known frequent flyer programs.

Rapid Rewards Review Scorecard

Rapid Rewards Review Snapshot

1. Earning Policies
2. Rewards Value
3. Redemption Policies
4. Destination Coverage
5. Status Levels
6. Other Features
7. Rapid Rewards Credit Cards
8. Tips for Rapid Rewards Members
9. Rapid Rewards vs. Popular Competitors
10. Methodology

How to Earn Rapid Rewards Points

WalletHub Rating for "Earning Policies": 87% (13.00 / 15 points)

Rapid Rewards members get points every time they make a purchase through Southwest or one of its partners. Below, you can learn all about what types of transactions award points and how many they offer.

Transactions That Earn Rapid Rewards Points

• 6 - 12 Rapid Rewards points per $1 spent: Southwest flights
• 1 - 4 Rapid Rewards points per $1 spent: Purchases on a Southwest credit card
• 0.5 - 3 Rapid Rewards points per $1 spent: Dining at participating restaurants (varies by location)
• 600 Rapid Rewards points per stay: Stays at hotel partners including Marriott, Choice, Best Western, Hyatt, MGM and Radisson
• 600 Rapid Rewards points per rental: Car rentals with partners including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, Payless and Thrifty
• 3 Rapid Reward points per $1 spent: 1,000 – 2,000 bonus points for club case purchases and 3 points per $1 spent on non-club purchases at Laithwaites
• 2 Rapid Reward Points per $1 spent: 10,000 bonus points for being an active NRG Home customer for two months and unlimited 2 points per $1 spent on energy bill
• 15,000 Rapid Rewards points after signup: Enrollment bonus after signup and 500 additional points each month for the next 24 months at Reliant
• 1,500 Rapid Rewards points per year: Bonus for an Emergency Assistance+ membership (offers medical assistance, emergency cash advances and help replacing lost documents while traveling)

In addition, Southwest may provide special deals on its website from time to time that give you more points than usual on a booking or charge fewer than usual on a reward flight.

Other Key Things to Know About Earning Rapid Rewards Points

Earning limitations: Southwest does not specify a maximum number of points you can earn per ticket.

Retroactive flight credit for members: Rapid Rewards members can get credited for points from any Southwest flight taken in the past 12 months if their frequent flyer number was not on the reservation (as long as they were a member at the time).

Retroactive flight credit for non-members: New Rapid Rewards members can get points for flights taken up to 12 months before they became a member.

How Much Are Rapid Rewards Points Worth?

WalletHub Rating for "Rewards Value": 65%  (13.07 / 20 points)

Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.21 cents each, on average, according to WalletHub’s research. That means you need about 30,579 points to get a free flight, based on the average domestic fare of $370.

Below, you can check out how many Southwest Rapid Rewards points you’ll need for some popular round-trip routes, on average.

• New York to Los Angeles: 48,277 points (or $584.15)
• Los Angeles to Washington DC: 40,818 points (or $493.90)
• Los Angeles to Cancun: 76,945 points (or $931.03)

How to Redeem Rapid Rewards Points

WalletHub Rating for "Redemption Policies": 62% (12.40 / 20 points)

More Key Things to Know About Redeeming Rapid Rewards Points

• There are no booking blackout dates.
• You can book a flight with points up to 239 days before departure.
• There is no short-notice booking fee.
• Southwest does not allow stopovers on reward flights.
• There is no award-ticket redeposit/cancellation fee.

Where Can Rapid Rewards Points Take You?

WalletHub Rating for "Destination Coverage": 17% (4.18 / 25 points)

Southwest flies to 106 U.S. destinations and 16 international destinations. In addition, Southwest has 6 partner airlines, which collectively visit 56 U.S. destinations and 581 international destinations.

You can’t directly transfer miles from the loyalty programs of these partners to Rapid Rewards or vice versa. For example, you can’t turn Southwest points into Icelandair points. However, you can earn Southwest points by taking flights with Icelandair.

Rapid Rewards Status Levels

WalletHub Rating for "Status Levels": 46% (4.13 / 9 points)

The Southwest Rapid Rewards program is free to join, but you won’t get any benefits from it – other than the ability to earn points at the program’s base rate and a free checked bag – until you qualify for one of the two higher status tiers. You can earn your way to a higher tier through either the number of flights you take or the number of points you earn. The higher your Rapid Rewards status level is, the more perks you will get when flying with Southwest and the more you will save when you fly.

Below, you can see exactly what you’ll need to do to achieve and maintain each Rapid Rewards status level, along with the benefits that come with it.

Rapid Rewards Status Level & Perks

Members must satisfy a given status level’s qualifying requirements between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 to reach or maintain that status level and enjoy its benefits. Once you earn any Rapid Rewards status level, you will keep it for the rest of the current calendar year and all of the next calendar year.

In light of the above information, Rapid Rewards' scores for this section are as follows:

Ease of achieving elite status: 60% (1.81 / 3 points)

• According to our study, the cost of achieving elite status with Southwest Airlines is $15,917.

Valuable membership perks: 39% (2.33 / 6 points)

• Based on light and average spending profiles, new members can expect to receive free in-flight wi-fi as a valuable perk. Heavy travelers could expect to qualify for: Free checked baggage, preferred seating, priority check-in/security/boarding and free in-flight wi-fi.

Other Features of the Rapid Rewards Program

WalletHub Rating for "Other Features": 64% (7 / 11 points) The "Other Features" component of this Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program review focused on four sub-categories. Below, you can see how many points Rapid Rewards earned in each category, along with the corresponding WalletHub Rating.

Other Key Features

• Points never expire.
• You can transfer points between accounts for a fee.
• Buying points costs more than they’re worth, as there’s a 148% markup.

Rapid Rewards Credit Cards

Opinions and ratings are our own. This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Some offers are from WalletHub partners.

Applying for a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card is worth considering if you have good credit or better and fly with Southwest at least a few times per year. There are multiple Southwest credit cards available, and you can see a comparison of them below.

Rapid Rewards Credit Card Offers Compared

8 Tips for Rapid Rewards Members

1. The best way to redeem Rapid Rewards points is for Southwest flights. Points are worth 1.21 cents apiece that way.
2. Pool or transfer points if it makes sense. Rapid Rewards allows members to pool their points together for easier redemption, but there is a fee.
3. Avoid buying Rapid Rewards points, if possible. Rapid Rewards points cost more to purchase than they are worth when redeemed, on average. However, it could be worth buying a small number if it puts you over the top for a free flight.
4. Take advantage of status perks.One of the biggest reasons that airline rewards programs are worth joining is that their status levels tend to provide a wealth of benefits, such as bonus miles, priority boarding and free in-flight WiFi. Make sure you take advantage of everything Southwest Rapid Rewards offers.
5. Consider applying for a Rapid Rewards credit card. The best Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card could save the average person more than $1,600 over the first two years of use, according to WalletHub’s calculations.
6. Try the Island Approach with your credit cards. Rapid Rewards credit cards offer competitive rewards on Southwest flights, but different credit cards may provide better terms on other types of transactions. Using a collection of cards for specialized purposes can enable you to get the best deal on everything you buy.
7. Make sure to read Southwest reviews & Rapid Rewards FAQs. Learning from experts and fellow travelers will help you pick up some helpful tips as well as avoid tricks and pitfalls.
8. Compare your flight options if you’re not wedded to Rapid Rewards. Southwest is not the only airline with a rewarding loyalty program. You can see how Rapid Rewards compares to a couple of popular alternatives below. You can also check out WalletHub’s rankings of the Best Frequent Flyer Programs to learn more.

Rapid Rewards vs. SkyMiles vs. AAdvantage

Rapid Rewards Review Methodology

Overall program rankings are based on the same methodology as WalletHub’s annual study on the Best Frequent Flyer Programs. Editor’s ratings reflect the sum of each rewards program’s scores across the study’s 6 major categories – earning policies, rewards value, redemption policies, destination coverage, status levels and other features – adjusted to a 5-point scale, to create a representative distribution of ratings.

WalletHub calculated Southwest Rapid Rewards point values by comparing flight rates between U.S. cities and popular travel destinations – both domestic and international – to the number of points needed to book a flight. We applied the process to round-trip flights from Friday to Monday for each destination’s high and shoulder tourist seasons.