18 Ways to Earn Southwest Rapid Rewards Points

Southwest Airlines has long been a traveler favorite for its fare sales, its lack of change and cancellation fees, and its two-free-checked-bags policy. And while you often can book a Southwest flight for less than the competition, using rewards points to get a flight almost free is even better. But to use those rewards points, you'll first need to earn them.

Happily, earning Southwest points is fairly easy and the airline offers plenty of opportunities to do so through activities such as spending on Southwest credit cards, traveling with Southwest partners, dining and shopping.

The one shortcoming: Southwest does not participate in an airline alliance, so you won't be able to use Southwest points for bookings on other airlines. That said, Southwest has a significant domestic presence, including flights to Hawaii, and Southwest also flies to the Caribbean.

So with that, here are more than a dozen ways to earn points for Southwest’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program.

1. Fly Southwest

Unsurprisingly, the most straightforward way to earn Southwest points is by actually flying with the airline. Points earned depend on the fare type and the flight cost (taxes don't earn points). The more you spend and the higher the class of service, the more points you earn:

• Wanna Get Away fares: 2 points per $1 spent.

• Wanna Get Away Plus fares: 6 points per $1 spent.

• Anytime fares: 10 points per $1 spent.

• Business Select fares: 14 points per $1 spent.

2. Hold Southwest elite status

Holding Southwest elite status is about more than just priority boarding (though boarding early to ensure you have first pick of the seats has its perks). Your points earning rate increases as you achieve elite status with Southwest. A-List members will earn a 25% bonus, while A-List Preferred elites will earn a 100% bonus.

Below is a breakdown of Southwest Rapid Rewards point earnings by fare and elite level.

3. Spend on Southwest credit cards

The fastest way to rack up lots of Rapid Rewards points in a short amount of time is by earning the welcome offer on a Southwest credit card.

Although welcome offers vary, more robust bonuses are usually available for only a short period of time. So if you see an exceptional offer you’d like to jump on, it's better to apply sooner than later.

Here are the current offers on Southwest consumer credit cards:

Note that all Southwest credit cards are issued by Chase and are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule, which is an unwritten rule where Chase limits the number of credit cards for which you can be approved to five within a two-year period.

» Learn more: What is the best Southwest credit card offer?

Here are the current offers on Southwest business credit cards:

If you own a business, you may qualify for a Southwest business credit card, which can sometimes be even more rewarding than a consumer credit card.

Earning the welcome bonus puts you well on your way to getting the Companion Pass, which you'll get after accumulating 135,000 qualifying points (credit card welcome offers count) or flying 100 qualifying one-way flights. This essentially allows you to bring a companion along with you for just the price of taxes and fees (which are typically $5.60 each way for flights within the U.S.).

» Learn more: Can you have two Southwest credit cards?

4. Refer a friend to a Southwest credit card

If you have a Southwest card, perhaps you can convince a friend to get one. Chase’s refer-a-friend promotion can earn you up to 100,000 points per calendar year. You'll earn 20,000 Rapid Rewards points per referral when you refer a friend to apply for any Southwest credit card and they are approved.

» Learn more: How to refer a friend and get more Southwest points

5. Direct spending toward Southwest credit card bonus categories

In addition to earning Southwest points when you swipe your credit card on Southwest purchases, you can also pick up bonus points on purchases in specific categories.

• The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card earns 4 points per $1 on Southwest purchases and 2 points per $1 on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services.

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card earns 2 points per $1 on Southwest purchases, hotels and car rentals, plus transit.

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card earn 3 points per $1 on Southwest purchases and 2 points on car rentals, hotels, internet, transit and select streaming. 

6. Transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards®

A great way to add to your Rapid Rewards points balance is by transferring them from Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, where 1 Chase point equals 1 Southwest point, and the process is fairly straightforward.

You will need a credit card from Chase that earns Ultimate Rewards® points and allows transfers to travel partners, such as these cards:

Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to Southwest is particularly valuable for cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card because Chase points are worth just 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel on that card.

But since NerdWallet values 1 Southwest point at 1.3 cents each, you may be able to squeeze more value out of points by transferring Chase points to Southwest versus using your Chase points to book a Southwest flight directly on the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal.

Note that since Chase points are worth a minimum value of 1.5 cents each for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card, this isn't always the best move if you hold that card.

» Learn more: When to use credit card points and when to transfer them to airlines

How to transfer points from Chase to Southwest

When you’re ready to transfer points from Chase to Southwest (and you hold one of the above cards), log in to your Chase account and head over to the Chase Ultimate Rewards® page. From the menu at the top, select "Transfer points to partners."

Then select "Southwest" and type in your Rapid Rewards number. This step will link your Southwest and Chase accounts to allow for future transfers. Once your accounts are linked, you are ready to complete the points transfer. Points are transferred at a 1:1 ratio and must be transferred in increments of 1,000. Most transfers are instantaneous.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

7. Rent cars with Southwest car rental partners

If you have a road trip coming up, you may want to check out Southwest’s car rental partners that allow you to earn Rapid Rewards points on rental cars.

Points earned vary by company, and some throw in additional discounts. On Southwest's portal, select the company you’d like to book with to see the earn rate. When making a reservation, make sure to include any relevant discount codes.

8. Visit restaurants through Rapid Rewards Dining

Foodies will love earning points through Rapid Rewards Dining, which allows you to earn Rapid Rewards points for dining at participating bars, restaurants and clubs. To start earning points, sign up for a Rapid Rewards Dining account and add a debit or credit card to your profile. Even if you don’t have a Southwest co-branded credit card, you can still earn rewards.

Whenever you visit a participating bar, club or restaurant, use the card in your profile and the points will post to your account automatically.

9. Earn Southwest points while eating and drinking

Rapid Rewards Dining is the best way to earn points for eating, but it's not the only way. Southwest has a few other food and beverage partners.

Transfer points from Diners Club

Diners Club cardholders who don’t need their Club Rewards points can transfer them to Southwest. For every 1,500 Club Rewards points transferred, you will receive 1,200 Rapid Rewards points. Keep in mind that this isn’t the best transfer ratio, so you may want to consider other potential uses of Diners Club points before doing a transfer.

Buy wine with Laithwaites

Want to purchase wine online and earn points while you’re at it? Southwest makes it easy to do so through its partnership with Laithwaites. Earn up to 2,000 Rapid Rewards points when you purchase an introductory case of wine. Each future purchase of a case will net you 1,000 Rapid Rewards points.

Order gourmet gifts from Harry & David

Each order of $29.99 or more from Harry & David, a supplier of premium food and gifts, will earn 1,000 Rapid Rewards points. Include promo code SW44 when placing an order so the points post to your account.

Get meal kits delivered from Home Chef

Southwest Rapid Rewards members can earn 1,200 bonus points on each of their first five boxes from Home Chef. Plus you get 10% off your first order.

10. Shop online through Rapid Rewards Shopping

Many airlines offer online shopping portals, and they're an easy way to earn extra points or miles by online purchases you'd make anyway.

Popular online retailers tend to show up on these portals. When you use these portals, you'll still make the purchase on the merchant's actual website. There's just one extra step: You’ll navigate to that site only after logging in to the Southwest shopping portal and clicking a link that sends you to the retailer. That click enables the retailer to talk to Southwest and ensure you get your points. Here's how it works:

Use the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping site

First, you will need to log in to the shopping portal with your Rapid Rewards username and password that you use to sign in to your Southwest account.

Upon logging in, you will see a list of participating stores along with their earn rates. Click on the store where you’d like to shop. Once you finish your purchase, the transaction will be recorded and the points should post to your account shortly.

Get the Southwest button browser add-on

The Rapid Rewards shopping portal also offers the option to install a shopping button if you have the Google Chrome browser.

Once the button is installed, each time you visit an online merchant that participates in Rapid Rewards Shopping, you will get a notification in the top right of your browser informing you of the earn rate. The button eliminates the need to visit the shopping portal each time you want to buy something online.

11. Spend money with Southwest's other retail partners

Outside of the shopping portal, Southwest has a few other partners from which you might find yourself buying stuff.

You can earn Rapid Rewards points when you sign up with one of Southwest’s three energy supplier partners (NRG Home, Reliant or Energy Plus). Although the offers may sound appealing, read the fine print of each policy. These independent energy suppliers often offer electricity at variable rates, which can introduce unwanted volatility into your monthly bill.

12. Take online surveys with e-Rewards and Rewards for Opinions

We're not going to pretend like this is a fast way to earn points for award flights, but it's mindless and easy. If you like taking surveys, Southwest has teamed up with e-Rewards and Rewards for Opinions, both of which provide Rapid Rewards points for filling out surveys.

13. Book packages with Southwest Vacations

Southwest Vacations lets you earn Rapid Rewards points on the flight portion of a vacation package. These packages may include other trip elements like a hotel stay, rental car or activities.

14. Sign up with Emergency Assistance Plus (EA+)

Emergency Assistance Plus (EA+) provides 24-hour emergency medical care when you're traveling. This program’s coverage can go beyond typical travel insurance and includes medical assistance, medical evacuation, transportation home and assistance for companions. The annual cost starts at $179. Upon signing up, you can earn 1,400 Rapid Rewards points per year.

15. Move your Marriott Bonvoy points to Southwest

Although many hotel programs allow you to convert hotel points to airline miles, the conversion ratios are usually weak and not worth it; still, this is one way to accumulate Southwest points.

The Marriott Bonvoy program allows you to transfer your points to Southwest at a 3:1 ratio. In addition, for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred, you receive a 5,000-point Rapid Rewards bonus.

So if you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points (which NerdWallet values at about $540) to Rapid Rewards, you will receive 25,000 Rapid Rewards points (which NerdWallet values at only about $375).

Your Bonvoy points lose value in the conversion, so we don't usually recommend this option, unless you're certain you have no plans to stay at a Marriott property anytime soon or you just need a few more points to top off a Southwest flight booking.

If you're seeking a quick way to earn Bonvoy points, consider one of the following Marriott Bonvoy credit cards:

» Learn more: Which Marriott Bonvoy credit card should I choose?

16. Sign up for a Hyatt credit card and transfer points to Southwest

Hyatt is another hotel that offers a points transfer option to Southwest — and it's another means of accumulating Southwest points that we don't encourage.

You can convert 5,000 Hyatt points into 2,400 Rapid Rewards points, which is almost a 2:1 ratio. When you exchange 50,000 Hyatt points, you will receive a bonus of 6,000 Rapid Rewards points, for a total of 30,000 Rapid Rewards points.

There is currently one Hyatt credit card available to consumers:

World of Hyatt Credit Card (annual fee: $95): Earn 30,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first three months from account opening. Plus, get up to 30,000 more bonus points by earning 2 bonus points per $1 spent in the first six months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 bonus point, up to $15,000 spent.

You can earn 9 points per $1 for Hyatt stays and 2 points per $1 at restaurants as well as on plane tickets purchased directly from airlines, local transit and commuting, and gym memberships. All other purchases earn 1 point per $1.

17. Leverage other hotel partnerships

There are various other ways to accumulate Rapid Rewards points by staying at hotels. Although not as lucrative as the ratios from Marriott or Hyatt, there are additional hotel partners that allow you to convert their points into Rapid Rewards points.

If you have some extra hotel points lying around that aren’t enough for a free night award, consider converting them to Southwest points.

Transfer hotel points

To transfer points, head over to the Southwest hotel partner page and select the hotel you’re looking to transfer the points from to confirm details and procedures. Then log in to your account on the hotel’s website and look for the option to convert your hotel points to Rapid Rewards points.

Earn Southwest points for stays

You can earn Rapid Rewards points instead of hotel points for your stays. You usually can't earn both hotel points and Rapid Rewards points with these partners, so you will need to make a choice.

Book accommodations in the Southwest Hotels portal

You can also earn Rapid Rewards points when you book a hotel through Southwest’s hotel portal, which lets you earn 1 point per $1 spent.

There are a few situations when booking your hotel through the Southwest hotel portal could be a good idea:

• You’d like to earn Southwest points and hotel points for your stay.

• The hotel you’d like to stay at isn’t a hotel partner from the list in the previous section.

• The hotel you’d like to stay at is a hotel partner, but the points earned from your stay when booked through Southwest Hotels exceed the points you would earn based on the hotel partner chart above.

Southwest also offers bonus points at some properties that it designates as Rapid Rewards Points Plus properties. You can do a sample search to see if the hotel you’re considering offers a better rate through Southwest Hotels.

Book stays via Rocketmiles

You can also earn Rapid Rewards points by booking hotels with Rocketmiles. This booking site allows you to earn up to 10,000 points per night depending on the hotel. Typically, the pricier the hotel, the more points you can earn for your stay.

Occasionally, the price of a stay on Rocketmiles can be more expensive than with other online travel agencies. This is possibly due to the premium you’re gaining for picking up a lot of points. Make sure to shop around when you book a hotel so you get the best balance of points earned and money spent.

18. Purchase Rapid Rewards points

This method ought to be your last resort given how expensive point purchases usually are. With Southwest, it only makes sense to purchase Rapid Rewards points if you need to top off your account to book an award seat — but you'll want to consider all the other points-earning options first.

There are occasionally promotions that offer points at a discount, though, so if you do want to purchase points, keep an eye out for those.

» Learn more: When a miles or points purchase makes sense

There are many easy ways to earn Southwest points

Southwest offers many redemptions to over 100 destinations across the U.S., as well as to 10 countries in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico. There are a lot of easy ways to earn Rapid Rewards points, and if you integrate some of those mentioned above into your everyday spending patterns, you could be on your way to an award ticket faster than you think.

The information related to the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.