How to Claim Missing Southwest Miles

Southwest Rapid Rewards has ardent fans and supporters, but don’t let missing points slip through the cracks. Always remember to save your boarding pass and ticket receipt until points posts to your account — and it’s always wise to check your account a week after any flight to be sure the points posted properly.
These steps are important for overall point accrual, as well as for your ability to earn Southwest A-List status (after 25 qualifying one-way flights or 35,000 tier-qualifying points in one calendar year).
Request missing Rapid Rewards credit
If you are not sure whether your Rapid Rewards number is in the reservation, you can always check by retrieving your reservation — or add it after booking via the Add Rapid Rewards Number page.

Start by logging into your account and navigating to the My Account section. From there, the Manage Account tab will take you to the Request Past Points page.
There, you can request points for flights within the past 12 months by entering the record locator or confirmation number for your trip. It can take as many as five days for the points to post.
The record locator will be on your ticket receipt or boarding pass. Phone agents will not be able to easily find this information for a past reservation, so it’s best practice to keep track of these documents until points have posted.
The bottom line
If you’re not a member of Rapid Rewards, you can always sign up and request retroactive credit for past flights. Southwest is among the more generous airlines when it comes to requesting missing credit even before you joined, as you can accrue points for flights taken 12 months before joining.
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:
Airline miles and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
Flat-rate rewards with no annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Premium travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice: Find the best travel credit card for you Your guide to booking award flights on Southwest Airlines