Southwest devalues Rapid Rewards points by 6%

Southwest has always been one of the most customer friendly airlines in the US, but last night they did something that most would consider to be the opposite of customer friendly.

They rolled out a devaluation without any advanced notice.

Southwest Rapid Rewards will now be worth about 6% less than what they were before. Unlike the changes in 2018 that only decreased the value of Wanna Get Away fares, this appears to apply to every class of airfare that Southwest offers: Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select.

Southwest does not utilize an award chart and instead they price the flights based on “dynamic pricing.” This means that the price of an award tracks pretty closely to the cash price of a flight.

That is still going to be the case going forward but the general value that you might get with each point will be dropping from 78 points per dollar to 83 points per dollar.

I said general because the exact value that you get from Southwest redemptions really does change with the price of your ticket. Cheaper tickets can offer you pretty high value such as around 1.7 cents per point while other more expensive tickets may fall around 1.3 cents per point.

Because this devaluation is so minimal, I would still expect to get around those rates on redemptions.

Despite the devaluation, Southwest Rapid Rewards is still a great program with a lot of value to offer. They offer you two free checked bags, make it very easy to rebook awards whenever the prices drop, and the value of the Companion Pass (which can be easily earned with credit cards) is unrivaled.

The devaluation itself is no surprise and we are probably going to see a lot of these occur over the next 12 months.

Many people continued to earn lots of points and miles through the pandemic even though travel had virtually stopped. This means there will be a surplus of points out there and so I would just be prepared for more of these devaluations going forward.

Because it seems like programs are becoming bolder about not providing notice, my advice would be to be very careful about transferring points over to frequent flyer programs until you can quickly book your flights/hotels.

H/T: TPG

Southwest Rapid Rewards Value Guide [2021]

Southwest Airlines is one of the most cost-efficient ways to get around the US and even to several international locations.

But how much are Southwest Rapid Rewards really worth and are there ways to get more value by choosing certain types of tickets over others?

In the article, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the value of Southwest Rapid Rewards.

I’ll present you valuations based on recent research that looked at over 70 data points so you’ll have concrete figures to base your decisions on.

How much are Southwest Rapid Rewards worth?

Based on over 70 data points, Southwest Rapid Rewards are worth 1.46 cents per point.

Broken down by class, here are the averages we arrived at after analyzing the data points:

  • Wanna Get Away: 1.63
  • Anytime: 1.37
  • Business Select: 1.37

If you’re not familiar, Wanna-Get-Away fares are the cheapest type of fare you can purchase. Your ticket is nonrefundable but you can always get issued travel funds if you need to cancel your flight.

Anytime fares are the middle-tier fare and they allow you to receive a full refund so long as you cancel with enough time.

And finally, Business Select tickets are the most expensive type and they come with additional perks which include things like:

Because you earn so many Rapid Rewards, booking these tickets often allows you to achieve elite status with Southwest much quicker.

How to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards

It is extremely easy to build up a large balance of Southwest Rapid Rewards if you play your cards right. That’s because there are multiple personal and business credit cards for Southwest.

Here is a rundown of the different cards you can choose from.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Card

  • $99 Annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 6,000 anniversary points
  • Earn 1,500 Tier-Qualifying Points for every $10,000 in purchases, up to 15,000 Tier-Qualifying Points each calendar year

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Card

  • $69 Annual fee
  • 3,000 anniversary points

Southwest Airlines Priority Card

  • Bonus spending:
    • 2X Rapid Rewards on Southwest purchases
    • 2X Rapid Rewards on hotel and car rental partner purchases.
    • 1X Rapid Rewards on all other purchases
  • $75 Southwest annual travel credit
  • 7,500 anniversary points each year
  • Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
  • 20% back on in-flight drinks, WiFi, messaging, and movies
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Earn tier qualifying points towards A-list Status
  • $149 annual fee applied to your first billing statement

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card

  • $99 Annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 6,000 anniversary points
  • Earn 1,500 Tier-Qualifying Points for every $10,000 in purchases, up to 15,000 Tier-Qualifying Points each calendar year

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card

  • $199 Annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 9,000 anniversary points
  • 4 upgrades per year
  • in-flight wifi credits
  • Earn 1,500 Tier-Qualifying Points for every $10,000 in purchases, up to 15,000 Tier-Qualifying Points each calendar year
  • Best sign-up bonus ever: 80,000 Rapid Rewards
  • Full review here

The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Business Card was discontinued in prior years.

The welcome bonuses for these cards changes all the time so the key is to wait until you come across a great welcome bonus. Typically, I would generally wait to find a bonus on a Southwest card at 50,000 miles or higher.

One of the biggest considerations when seeking out these credit cards is whether or not you want to pursue the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.

The Companion Pass will allow an individual to fly for free with you for up to two calendar years.

They can fly for free with you when you are paying cash for your ticket or when using points so it’s an extremely valuable travel perk that’s also very flexible.

Typically, you would want to time up your application so that you are earning the welcome bonuses at the beginning of the year.

So be on the lookout for when these cards are offering great bonuses at the end of the calendar year so that you can maximize the time that you and a companion can fly for free.

Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!

Getting the most value

Because Southwest utilizes dynamic pricing that is tied to the revenue of the ticket, you don’t really have opportunities to get outsized value like you do with other programs.

For example, a Delta mile might be worth 1.62 cents per mile with standard redemptions but if you were to utilize your miles for a business class flight from the US to the UK, you could get over 10 cents per mile in value!

That is a very dramatic difference but that is not the case with Southwest. Instead, the value is not going to fluctuate nearly as much.

With that said, you can tell based on the data that we supplied that the best value comes from Wanna Get Away fares.

We even found a redemption worth 1.9 cents per point flying Dallas (DAL) to New York (LGA) and 1.8 cents per point flying Punta Cana (PUJ) to Baltimore (BWI).

So if you are primarily concerned with optimizing the value of your Rapid Rewards consider booking those fares.

Related: 28 Tips for Flying Southwest Airlines

Data points

We always make sure that we back up our valuation claims with hard data so we analyzed over 70 data points involving Rapid Rewards redemptions in the US and abroad.

We did different redemptions for Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select.

You can check out all of the cash price and award prices that we found below. We also have a chart that breaks down the cents per point per route.

US

Dallas (DAL) to Las Vegas (LAS)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $121
  • Award price: 7,733
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $578
  • Award price: 40,893
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $610
  • Award price: 43,215
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Tucson (TUS) to Chicago (MDW)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $132
  • Award price: 8,532
  • Cents per point: 1.5

Anytime

  • Cash price: $649
  • Award price: 46,045
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $681
  • Award price: 48,366
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Phoenix (PHX) to Orlando (MCO)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $143
  • Award price: 9,330
  • Cents per point: 1.5

Anytime

  • Cash price: $612
  • Award price: 43,360
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $644
  • Award price: 45,682
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Salt Lake City (SLC) to Nashville (BNA)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $141
  • Award price: 8,546
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $633
  • Award price: 44,230
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $663
  • Award price: 46,407
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Albuquerque (ABQ) to Baltimore (BWI)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $143
  • Award price: 9,330
  • Cents per point: 1.5

Anytime

  • Cash price: $676
  • Award price: 48,003
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $707
  • Award price: 50,253
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Austin (AUS) to Indianapolis (IND)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $110
  • Award price: 6,935
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $471
  • Award price: 33,129
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $495
  • Award price: 34,870
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Birmingham (BHM) to Denver (DEN)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $102
  • Award price: 6,355
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $555
  • Award price: 39,224
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $585
  • Award price: 41,401
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Boise (BOI) to San Diego (SAN)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $69
  • Award price: 3,961
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $444
  • Award price: 31,170
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $465
  • Award price: 32,693
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Cleveland (CLE) to Houston (HOU)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $126
  • Award price: 7,748
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $643
  • Award price: 45,246
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $673
  • Award price: 47,423
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Colorado Springs (COS) to Chicago (MDW)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $89
  • Award price: 5,412
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $466
  • Award price: 32,766
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $492
  • Award price: 34,653
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Dallas (DAL) to New York (LGA)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $56
  • Award price: 3,018
  • Cents per point: 1.9

Anytime

  • Cash price: $592
  • Award price: 41,908
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $627
  • Award price: 44,448
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Des Moines (DSM) to Phoenix (PHX)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $130
  • Award price: 7,748
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $524
  • Award price: 36,322
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $548
  • Award price: 38,063
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Hartford (BDL) to Tampa (TPA)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $121
  • Award price: 7,733
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $557
  • Award price: 39,369
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $589
  • Award price: 41,691
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Columbus (CMH) to Las Vegas (LAS)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $152
  • Award price: 9,345
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $675
  • Award price: 47,278
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $705
  • Award price: 49,455
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Washington (DCA) to New Orleans (MSY)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $110
  • Award price: 6,935
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $564
  • Award price: 39,877
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $589
  • Award price: 41,691
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Hawaii

Honolulu (HNL) to Oakland (OAK)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $99
  • Award price: 5,848
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $624
  • Award price: 46,782
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Business Select

  • Cash price: $652
  • Award price: 48,965
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Honolulu (HNL) to San Diego (SAN)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $99
  • Award price: 5,849
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $624
  • Award price: 46,786
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Business Select

  • Cash price: $652
  • Award price: 48,970
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Kahului (OGG) to Sacramento (SMF)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $99
  • Award price: 5,848
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $624
  • Award price: 46,782
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Business Select

  • Cash price: $652
  • Award price: 48,965
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Kona (KOA) to San Jose (SJC)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $99
  • Award price: 5,848
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $624
  • Award price: 46,782
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Business Select

  • Cash price: $652
  • Award price: 48,965
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Honolulu (HNL) to Long Beach (LGB)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $99
  • Award price: 5,849
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $624
  • Award price: 46,786
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Business Select

  • Cash price: $652
  • Award price: 48,970
  • Cents per point: 1.3

International

Aruba (AUA) to Baltimore (BWI)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $207
  • Award price: 9,204 + $69.45
  • Cents per point: 1.5

Anytime

  • Cash price: $522
  • Award price: 33,774 + $69.45
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Business Select

  • Cash price: $550
  • Award price: 35,958 + $69.45
  • Cents per point: 1.3

Cancun (CUN) to Columbus (CMH)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $190
  • Award price: 8,190 + $56.38
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Anytime

  • Cash price: $562
  • Award price: 36,114 + $56.38
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $591
  • Award price: 38,298 + $56.38
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Montego Bay (MBJ) to St. Louis (STL)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $209
  • Award price: 6,552 + $96.99
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $578
  • Award price: 35,334 + $96.99
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $606
  • Award price: 37,518 + $96.99
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Los Cabos (SJD) to Austin (AUS)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $200
  • Award price: 7,410 + $76.66
  • Cents per point: 1.7

Anytime

  • Cash price: $567
  • Award price: 34,944 + $76.66
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Business Select

  • Cash price: $596
  • Award price: 37,128 + $76.66
  • Cents per point: 1.4

Punta Cana (PUJ) to Baltimore (BWI)

Wanna Get Away

  • Cash price: $191
  • Award price: 6,786 + $68.25
  • Cents per point: 1.8

Anytime

  • Cash price: $587
  • Award price: 32,994 + $68.25
  • Cents per point: 1.6

Business Select

  • Cash price: $620
  • Award price: 35,178 + $68.25
  • Cents per point: 1.6
RouteWanna Get AwayAnytimeBusiness Select
Dallas (DAL) to Las Vegas (LAS)1.61.41.4
Tucson (TUS) to Chicago (MDW)1.51.41.4
Phoenix (PHX) to Orlando (MCO)1.51.41.4
Salt Lake City (SLC) to Nashville (BNA)1.71.41.4
Albuquerque (ABQ) to Baltimore (BWI)1.51.41.4
Austin (AUS) to Indianapolis (IND)1.61.41.4
Birmingham (BHM) to Denver (DEN)1.61.41.4
Boise (BOI) to San Diego (SAN)1.71.41.4
Cleveland (CLE) to Houston (HOU)1.61.41.4
Colorado Springs (COS) to Chicago (MDW)1.61.41.4
Dallas (DAL) to New York (LGA)1.91.41.4
Des Moines (DSM) to Phoenix (PHX)1.71.41.4
Hartford (BDL) to Tampa (TPA)1.61.41.4
Columbus (CMH) to Las Vegas (LAS)1.61.41.4
Washington (DCA) to New Orleans (MSY)1.61.41.4
Honolulu (HNL) to Oakland (OAK)1.71.31.3
Honolulu (HNL) to San Diego (SAN)1.71.31.3
Kahului (OGG) to Sacramento (SMF)1.71.31.3
Kona (KOA) to San Jose (SJC)1.71.31.3
Honolulu (HNL) to Long Beach (LGB)1.71.31.3
Aruba (AUA) to Baltimore (BWI)1.51.31.3
Cancun (CUN) to Columbus (CMH)1.61.41.4
Montego Bay (MBJ) to St. Louis (STL)1.71.41.4
Los Cabos (SJD) to Austin (AUS)1.71.41.4
Punta Cana (PUJ) to Baltimore (BWI)1.81.61.6
1.631.371.37

Southwest Rapid Rewards FAQ

What type of Southwest ticket offers the best value for your Rapid Rewards?

Wanna Get Away fares offer the most value for your Rapid Rewards at 1.63 cents per mile. In some outlier cases, you might be able to get as much is 1.9 cents per mile.

What credit cards can I get Rapid Rewards with?

– Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Card
– Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Card
– Southwest Airlines Priority Card
– Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card
– Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card

How much are 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards worth?

Based on the research we did that looked at over 70 data points, 50,000 points used toward flights would be worth $815.

How much are 80,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards worth?

Based on the research we did that looked at over 70 data points, 80,000 points used toward flights would be worth $1,304.

How many Southwest Rapid Rewards are needed for a free flight?

The amount of Southwest Rapid Rewards needed for a free flight will depend on the route and the type of ticket purchased. Check out the data points above for over 70 different prices.

Can I redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards for cash?

No, but if you are a Southwest credit card member you can redeem your points for various items such as gift cards. You will get much less value when redeeming for gift cards (such as .6 or .5 cents per point).

Final word

Typically, Southwest Rapid Rewards offers you a pretty consistent amount of value right around 1.46 cents per point. You can get the most value by using your points to fly Wanna Get Away fares and in some limited cases you might get value up to 1.9 cents per point!

Should I Buy Southwest Points? (Rapid Rewards) [2019]

A lot of people wonder whether or not they should purchase Southwest Rapid Rewards. In this article, I’ll walk you through some factors to consider and talk about why that might or might not be a good deal. I’ll also show you how you can purchase Southwest points and also initiate transfers to other people.

Should I buy Southwest points?

Generally, buying Southwest points does not offer you a great value proposition but there are some instances where you might consider purchasing them. Below, I’ll talk about when it might make sense to purchase Southwest Rapid Rewards.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

How much are Rapid Rewards worth?

Before ever purchasing any type of miles or points it makes sense to figure out how much are those miles or points worth.

The value of Southwest Rapid Rewards are tied to the price of the airfare based on the following rates:

  • Business Select: 78 points per dollar
  • Anytime: 78 points per dollar
  • Wanna Get Away: 76-78 points per dollar

Those rates are based on the base fares so you can actually get a bit more value from your points when you factor in all of the fees and taxes. I generally find that I get about 1.4 to 1.6 cents per point when I redeem my Rapid Rewards for flights (factoring in the fees).

Here are a few examples I pulled up for redemptions:

  • HOU -> MDW: $148 or 9,700 points (1.47 cents per point)
  • HOU -> LAX: $150 or 9,796 points (1.48 cents per point)
  • FLL -> LAX: $153 or 9,433 points (1.56 cents per point)
  • OAK -> LAX: $65 or 3,677 points (1.63 cents per point)

With that said, it’s possible that the value for your redemptions could be lower or higher than that range but I think that estimating the value of Rapid Rewards at about 1.4 to 1.6 cents per point is a safe bet in many cases.

So now you can proceed with a baseline value in mind when choosing to purchase Rapid Rewards.

How much do Rapid Rewards cost?

Rapid Rewards are usually set at an established price. They will cost 3 cents per point at the lowest level of 2,000 points but once you get at 10,000 Rapid Rewards and beyond, they will cost you 2.75 cents per point.

  • 2,000 points for $60 = 3 cents per point
  • 10,000 points for $275 = 2.75 cents per point
  • 20,000 points for $550 = 2.75 cents per point
  • 30,000 points for $825 = 2.75 cents per point
  • 40,000 points for $1,100 = 2.75 cents per point

As you can tell, these prices are substantially higher than the value attached to Southwest points in most cases. Thus, you won’t be getting a good deal when you purchase Rapid Rewards in many cases. So unless you just need to top-off a Rapid Rewards balance, I don’t think that this is usually that great of a deal.

Just pay cash?

You always want to consider how many Rapid Rewards you’ll be earning if you just paid cash for the airfare.

Let’s use one of the examples shown above to see how this would work out:

  • HOU -> MDW: $148 or 9,700 points (1.47 cents per point)

In this example, let’s say you already had 5,700 Rapid Rewards in your Southwest account and just needed 4,000 Rapid Rewards to make the booking for 9,700 total points so you purchased 4,000 Rapid Rewards for $120.

Well, the price of the ticket is only $148 and so you if you just paid $28 extra you’d get to keep your 5,700 Rapid Rewards and you’d also earn 888 Rapid Rewards since Wanna Get Away fares earn you 6 points per dollar spent (6 x 148 = 888).

So that leaves two scenarios:

  • Spend $148, book your ticket, and have 6,588 Rapid Rewards left in your pocket
  • Spend $125, book your ticket, and have no Rapid Rewards left in your pocket

The second scenario also involves purchasing 4,000 Rapid Rewards for 3 cents per point and then redeeming for half of that amount so I would not be attracted to that option.

So you always want to think about the efficiency of just paying cash for a ticket versus purchasing points.

Credit card spend points

You also have to factor in the amount of points you will learn from credit card spend. When you purchase Southwest points they are processed by Points.com and so you are not typically going to earn bonus points such as those for travel with your credit card.

However, if you are purchasing airfare from Southwest you can earn as much as 5X with certain cards like the Amex Platinum. In the above example if you had used the American Express Platinum Card you would have earned 740 Membership Rewards on the $148 airfare. At a valuation of 1.8 cents per point that would be like getting $13 back.

So again purchasing points in that situation would have been considerably less lucrative than just paying cash for the airfare.

Promos

The cheapest time to purchase Southwest Rapid Rewards is whenever they are running a promotion.

Southwest is known to offer promotional offers for purchasing their points. For example, you might be able to receive a 30% or a 40% bonus when purchasing Southwest Rapid Rewards. In these cases, it can make a bit more sense to purchase points but they still are not usually the best deals that you can come across.

Here are some price examples from a recent 30% bonus offer from Southwest:

  • 3,000 Points: $63.00 (reg. $90.00)
  • 4,000 Points: $84.00 (reg. $120.00)
  • 5,000 Points: $96.25 (reg. $137.50)
  • 10,000 Points: $192.50 (reg. $275.00)
  • 15,000 Points: $288.75 (reg. $412.50)
  • 20,000 Points: $385.00 (reg. $550.00)
  • 25,000 Points: $481.25 (reg. $687.50)
  • 30,000 Points: $577.50 (reg. $825.00)
  • 40,000 Points: $770.00 (reg. $1,100.00)
  • 50,000 Points: $962.50 (reg. $1,375.00)

How to buy Southwest points

To purchase Southwest points you can go to the Southwest webpage here.

After you click on “Buy Points,” you’ll be able to select the number of Rapid Rewards that you want to purchase and then you’ll be prompted to input your credit card details.

Transferring Southwest Rapid Rewards Cost

You can also transfer Southwest Rapid Rewards to others. However, you cannot do this for free.

Southwest will charge you 1 cent per point to make a transfer.

So if you want to transfer 2,000 Rapid Rewards, it will cost you $20. Simply follow this link and then fill in the information, including the recipients name and Rapid Rewards number and you can initiate the transfer process.

If there is an ongoing promotion you might be able to take advantage of that promotion as well so that could be a cheap way to transfer your points to someone else.

Since transferring is so expensive I would just recommend you to make a booking for someone else using your points. 

Gifting Rapid Rewards

If you want to gift someone Southwest Rapid Rewards, it’s going to cost you the same amount as purchasing them outright and any ongoing promotions might apply to your situation as well.

Here are some of the gifting rates for your reference:

  • 2,000 points for $60 = 3 cents per point
  • 10,000 points for $275 = 2.75 cents per point
  • 20,000 points for $550 = 2.75 cents per point
  • 30,000 points for $825 = 2.75 cents per point
  • 40,000 points for $1,100 = 2.75 cents per point

Donating Rapid Rewards

Finally, you can also donate your Rapid Rewards and it will not cost you anything to donate them.

Here are some of the charities that you can donate to:

  • All Hands Volunteers
  • American Red Cross
  • Dream Foundation
  • Honor Flight Network
  • Make-A-Wish
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities
  • Student Conservation Association
  • Team Rubicon
  • The Mission Continues

Things to know

Minimum thresholds for promos

If purchasing for a promo, there may be a minimum points threshold that needs to met. For example, the terms might state: “A minimum 3,000 points purchase threshold must be met on a per transaction basis in order to qualify for the discount.”

Blocks of 1,000

Points must be purchased in blocks of 1,000 and a daily maximum of 60,000 points can be purchased by a Member with no annual maximum.

No refunds

Transactions are non-refundable and non-reversible, so make sure that you know what you’re doing when you decide to purchase points.

No A-List or Companion Pass

Purchased/gifted/transferred points do not count towards A-List, A-List Preferred, or Companion Pass qualification. This is a big one as some might expect to meet those elite levels or obtain the Companion Pass with purchase points but that’s just not possible with Southwest.

Processing time

Southwest states to “allow 72 hours for points to post to the applicable Rapid Rewards account.” This means that if you’re in a time crunch purchasing points for a last minute flight might not work out.

Can you purchase points with travel funds?

No, you cannot purchase Southwest Rapid Rewards with travel funds or with vouchers. Those need to be used exclusively for the cost of airfare and not for buying points. If you want to learn more about travel funds then you can click here.

Final word

Purchasing Southwest Rapid Rewards is often not the best idea because you’re purchasing points at a price that’s twice as high as the amount of value you might be getting from them. However, if you need to top-off your points or if you’re able to jump on a good promo, it might not be the worst idea ever. I’d still recommend that you just consider paying cash for the airfare though since you’ll earn Rapid Rewards and probably earn more points with a solid travel rewards credit cards.

Southwest Cards Offering 2X on Dining

[Offers contained within this article may no longer be available]

Per Reddit, it seems that both Southwest cards (the Plus and the Premier) are offering 2X on dining from July 15, 2015 to September 30, 2016. It looks like the offers are arriving via email. This is an okay offer but there are definitely some things to consider first before jumping using your Southwest cards for dining.  

A good reminder

This offer serves as a good reminder to always consider your alternatives before jumping on a promotional offer. For example, there are many cards that already offer 2X on dining, one of those being the Chase Sapphire Preferred which earns Ultimate Rewards that transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. Whenever I have a choice to earn the same amount of points with a single airline or a reward program that can transfer points to that airline in addition to many others, I always go with the program that offers flexible transferability just in case I have a different need later on down the line. 

So why would you jump on this offer?

As others have pointed out on Reddit, it’s an easy way to earn Rapid Rewards that will count towards the Southwest Companion Pass. If you transfer points from Ultimate Rewards directly to Southwest, those points will not count towards qualifying you for the Companion Pass.

So if you just needed a couple of hundred points it might make sense to use this promotion to help you get to your goal a bit quicker. However, you can’t forget about using hotel points to earn the Companion Pass. As that article points out you could use Hyatt to transfer: 

  • 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for 2,400 Rapid Rewards Points (retain 48%) or
  • 50,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for 24,000 Rapid Rewards Points and receive a bonus of 6,000 additional Rapid Rewards Points for a total of 30,000 Rapid Rewards Points (retain 60%).

Hyatt, of course, is a partner of Ultimate Rewards, which means that if you have a Freedom card right now you could be earning 5X on dining, and then transfer those points to Hyatt. Whether you transferred 5,000 Hyatt points or 50,000 you would be netting more than 2 Rapid Rewards, which means that you’d be able to maximize your earning toward the Companion Pass.

However, the problem is that the minimum you can transfer is 5,000 Hyatt Points. That means you’d have to spend $1,000 on dining with the Freedom to meet the minimum transfer threshold for Hyatt to Southwest. If you don’t think you’ll be spending that much, you can always purchase up to 55,000 Hyatt points in a calendar year (in increments of 1,000).

So, in the end, if you needed 2,400 or more Rapid Rewards you could use a combination of purchased Hyatt points and transferred Ultimate Rewards earned via the Freedom to meet your needs for the Companion Pass. 

H/T: Reddit

 

 

How Much Are Rapid Rewards and The Companion Pass Worth?

The first thing to remember about valuing points is that there are very few times when valuations are absolute. The value of points for any given reward program usually depends on how, when, and where the individual will be redeeming those points. So I’m going to explain how I value Southwest Rapid Rewards and how much value they bring to me with the Southwest Companion Pass.

Southwest Airlines at LAX
Photo by James A. Castañeda

The starting point

I first figure out my future redemptions. I start with those flights that I’m certain to redeem and then factor in others that I’m planning on redeeming sometime in the near future. I think figuring out the redemption for 3-4 potential flights should be sufficient, but you could always play around with more numbers. 

It’s important to remember to be realistic when doing this.

You might be tempted to “plan” for those super cheap flights that depart very early in the morning or arrive very late at night but when push comes to shove are you really going to book those? Or how about layovers, are you willing to deal with those? The other thing to think about is your availability, can you really take off on all those four day weekends or book those mid-week flights?

Personally, I have three things going for me that have made it easier for me to realistically plan on booking flights that have less desirable departures, arrivals, and lay-overs. These might be helpful things for you to consider when planning future flights. 

1) Willingness to fly early or late

I don’t have problems with flying late or early, mostly because I live about 15-20 minutes from the airport so departing early or arriving a little later in the evening isn’t much of a problem. Obviously, relocating your home isn’t an option for most, but just consider how truly open you are to arriving at the airport at 4:45am or touching down at 9:55pm on a Sunday. Just because those fares are the cheapest doesn’t mean you’ll actually go for them when it comes time to book. 

2) Lounge access

I have lounge access through the American Express Platinum Card and Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card so lay overs don’t bother me much and I kind of look forward to experiencing  new lounges when possible. I’ve since found that being open to lay-overs now makes travel planning much less of a headache — don’t underestimate the convenience of a nice airport lounge!

UNITED CLUB LOUNGE IAH
United Club Lounge in Houston

3) Flexible work schedule

Third, and most importantly,  I have the luxury of having a pretty flexible work schedule so I can take off just about whenever I want so it does make things easier.

Now, I still have to remember to be realistic about taking mid-week flights and not eating up too much time on lay overs, but being realistic about these have helped me make accurate estimations on what future flights I’ll actually take on future trips.

Finding the average points redemption from Houston

Below are four trips that I’m likely to take within the next 12 months on Southwest and their corresponding rates. You can see their actual cash price, their Rapid Rewards price, and then what the redemption rates comes out to.  

Houston Skyline
Southwest has many direct flights out of Houston (HOU)

HOU to OAK (Oakland)

  • $404 round trip
  • 24,468 Rapid Rewards + $11.20 in fees

$404 – $11.20 = $392.80

$392.80 / 24,468 = 1.6 cents per point.

IMG_2447
San Francisco

HOU to MBJ (Jamaica)

  • $404.76 roundtrip
  • 17,500 Rapid Rewards + $114.66 in fees

$404.76  – $114.66 = $290.10

$290.10 / 17,500 = 1.6 cents per point.

Jamaica - Waiting customers for fishing !
Photo by Leonidas Konstantinidis

HOU to MDW (Chicago)

  • $332.95 roundtrip
  • 21,584 Rapid Rewards + $11.20 in fees

$332.95 – $11.20 = $321.75

$321.75 / 21,584 = 1.4 cents per point 

Summer in Chicago
Photo by Antony Caldaroni

HOU to CUN (Cancun)

  • $459.70 roundtrip
  • 24,998  Rapid Rewards +$74.10 in fees

$459.70 – $74.10 = $385.60

$385.60 / 24,998 = 1.5 cents per point

Cancun Strand Luftbild
Photo by f. ermert

So the redemption rates for the four trips are as follows:

  • 1.6
  • 1.6
  • 1.4
  • 1.5

That brings the overall redemption rate average to 1.525 cents per point. This is pretty standard for Southwest but keep in mind that your average redemption rate for Southwest flights could be a little higher or lower.

How much is the Southwest Companion Pass worth?

In obtaining the Southwest companion pass I have  accumulated a little over 110,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards.  That means I can value the pass at $1,677.5 since 110,000 X .01525 = $1,677.5.

However, since Brad and I fly together on every flight we ever redeem that value is instantly doubled since he flies for free. So that’s $3,355 worth of value at 3 cents per point.

And just to play it conservatively, I’ll deduct the two annual fees I have to pay of $99, so the grand total of value of the Southwest Companion Pass for me is $3,157 as a value of 3 cents per point for Rapid Rewards. 

Getting that dollar amount of travel for free is great but with Southwest it’s more about the quantity of experiences. Being able to travel to Cancun, Jamaica, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, and still another destination yet to be determined is amazing and I’d take those multitude of experiences over one first class redemption worth $3,000 in travel almost any day.

 Cover Photo by Pieter van Marion