17 Ways to Earn Southwest Rapid Rewards Points

It's easy to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points, 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. Here are 17 ways to rack up points.

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:

• Basic fares (formerly Wanna Get Away): 2 points per $1 spent.

• Choice fares (formerly Wanna Get Away Plus): 6 points per $1 spent.

• Choice Preferred fares (formerly Anytime): 10 points per $1 spent.

• Choice Extra fares (formerly Business Select): 14 points per $1 spent.

2. Hold Southwest elite status

Holding Southwest elite status is about more than just priority boarding, free checked bags and priority seat assignments. 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.

Note that all Southwest credit cards are issued by Chase and are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule, which means you generally won’t be approved if you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards — from any issuer — within the past 24 months.

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

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. 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:

Since NerdWallet values 1 Southwest point at 1.3 cents each, transferring your Chase points to Southwest could be a decent use of them.

» 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

6. Transfer points from Bilt Rewards

Another option is to pay your rent using the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card. You can then transfer those points to Southwest Rapid Rewards. Bilt Rewards transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio.

Even if you don’t have the Bilt credit card, you can link another credit or debit card to the Bilt Rewards program to earn on your rent payments.

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.

Most partners offer 600 Rapid Rewards points on qualifying reservations, 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

Rapid Rewards Dining 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

Southwest partners with Laithwaites, an online wine store. You can earn up to 2,000 Rapid Rewards points when you purchase your first 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.

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 through 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 use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web browsers.

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 two energy supplier partners (NRG Home or Reliant). 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.

Buying flowers via 1-800-Flowers using code RR22 (minimum purchase $29.99) also yields bonus points.

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 travel help. This program’s coverage can go beyond typical travel insurance and includes coordinating medical assistance, medical evacuation, transportation home and assistance for companions. The annual cost starts at $209. You can earn 1,500 Rapid Rewards points upon signing up, and for each year you renew your membership.

15. Earn Southwest points for stays

At certain hotel brands, 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'll need to make a choice.

16. 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 at least 500 points per reservation (often more).

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.

You can do a sample search to see if the hotel you’re considering offers a better rate through Southwest Hotels.

17. 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.

Lower-value ways to earn Southwest points

In some cases, these options will make sense. But usually, it's best to avoid these moves.

Move your Marriott Bonvoy points to Southwest

Moving Bonvoy points to Southwest isn't a high-value option, so we don't usually recommend it. Still, it's a way to get Southwest points — and potentially a good choice if you have a lot of Bonvoy points you can't use.

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 to Rapid Rewards, you will receive 25,000 Rapid Rewards points.

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

Move Hyatt 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.

It's not a good trade, though. Based on our valuation, 50,000 Hyatt points are worth about $900 (1.8 cents each). We value Southwest points at 1.3 cents each, making 30,000 points worth $390.

Transfer other hotel points

Other hotel points also transfer to Southwest, although the ratios are even worse.

But if you still want to transfer points despite the poor return, you can head over to the Southwest hotel partner page and select the hotel you’re looking to transfer the points from to confirm details. 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.

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