Southwest Rapid Rewards is the simplest major airline program in the U.S., and also the one with the best perk in domestic travel. Points are tied to the fare, so a reward flight costs fewer points when the fare goes on sale. Then there's the Companion Pass, which lets someone fly with you for taxes and fees.
Southwest announced on October 15, 2026 that the program changes on January 1, 2027: A-List and A-List Preferred become Silver and Gold, a new Platinum tier arrives, and the Companion Pass is earned a new way. This guide covers how Rapid Rewards works from end to end, and it labels what applies through December 31, 2026 and what starts January 1, 2027. Every program and card figure comes from Southwest's and Chase's own pages, read on October 15, 2026. Our 2027 overhaul article has the announcement in full.
How You Earn Points on Southwest Flights
Southwest pays points per dollar of base fare, and the rate depends on the fare you buy. Through December 31, 2026, Southwest's own estimator shows 2 points per dollar on Basic, 6 on Choice, 10 on Choice Preferred and 14 on Choice Extra. On January 1, 2027, Choice Preferred drops to 8 and Choice Extra to 10, according to Southwest's Rapid Rewards 2027 help page, while Basic stays at 2 and Choice at 6.
That spread is the first thing I'd internalize. A Basic fare is cheap for a reason, and one of the reasons is that it barely moves your balance.
Status multiplies it. Through 2026, A-List members get a 25% earning bonus on every qualifying flight and A-List Preferred members get 100%. From January 1, 2027, Silver members get 40%, Gold members 60% and Platinum members 120%, and members who earn A-List Preferred for 2027 keep the 100% bonus through December 31, 2027. Cash + Points bookings earn on the portion of the base fare you pay in cash. Reward flights, Companion Pass travel and charter flights don't earn points.
Earning Without Flying
Southwest lists several ways to earn on the ground: a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card from Chase, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Debit Card, Getaways by Southwest vacation bookings, and partners for hotels, rental cars, shopping, dining, home and energy.
You can also move points in. Southwest's own transfer page names Bilt, and our Southwest transfer partners guide covers how each program works and what doesn't transfer.
Buying points is the last resort. Southwest sells them in blocks of 500, or 1,000 during a points sale, with a 2,000-point minimum on your first purchase and a daily combined maximum of 60,000. Southwest is explicit that purchased, gifted and transferred points don't count toward tier status or the Companion Pass.
How Redemption Works
Southwest sets the points price of a reward flight by the fare. In its words, "When fares go on sale, so do the points needed for redeeming a reward flight." It advertises no blackout dates, and Rapid Rewards points don't expire, which is part of our case for why Southwest can still be your airline of choice. If you're booking Thanksgiving or Christmas when other programs have no award seats, our guide to holiday travel with points when award seats disappear covers the workarounds.
To book, log in, search with fares shown in points, pick the flight and check out. Cash + Points lets you mix points with cash on the same booking. Points also cover gift cards, merchandise, hotels and experiences through Southwest's More Rewards catalog, and Southwest cardmembers can use Pay Yourself Back to redeem for a statement credit against the annual fee or other eligible transactions.
Redemption is expanding in 2026 and 2027. Southwest says you can redeem points for rental cars through cars.southwest.com beginning in November 2026, that points will work with Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad Airways beginning in spring 2027, and that later in 2027 you'll be able to use points for seat selection, Extra Legroom and Preferred seats included.
Because the price follows the fare, the way to get more from your points is the same as getting a cheap ticket: book when fares are low. Our Southwest Rapid Rewards program page shows what we measured points to be worth across ten routes. On board, Southwest's inflight coffee is now Peet's, a small perk covered in our Peet's on Southwest note.
Status in 2026 and 2027: A-List Becomes Silver and Gold
Southwest has two status tiers through December 31, 2026, and status earned on 2026 activity moves to Silver or Gold on January 1. A-List takes 20 qualifying one-way flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points (TQPs). You get Group 1 boarding, a Preferred or Standard seat at booking when available, your first checked bag free and a second for $35, same-day standby, a 25% earning bonus, Priority and Express Lane access and priority phone support.
A-List Preferred takes 40 qualifying one-way flights or 70,000 TQPs. You board before Group 1, can pick an Extra Legroom, Preferred or Standard seat at booking when available, check two bags free, earn a 100% bonus and get up to two premium drinks per leg on select flights of 251 miles or more.
On January 1, 2027, TQPs reset and Southwest moves to three tiers, each earned with TQPs or qualifying one-way flights:
- Silver (replaces A-List): 35,000 TQPs or 25 flights. You pick a Preferred or Standard seat at booking at no cost when available, can upgrade to an Extra Legroom seat within 48 hours of departure, board with Group 1, check one bag free and earn a 40% bonus on qualifying flights.
- Gold (replaces A-List Preferred): 65,000 TQPs or 50 flights. You pick any seat at booking when available, Extra Legroom included, board before Group 1, check up to two bags free, earn a 60% bonus and get two premium drinks per flight.
- Platinum (new): 140,000 TQPs or 100 flights. You get unlimited Companion Pass trips, any seat at booking when available, boarding before Gold members, up to three free checked bags, a 120% bonus and two premium drinks per flight.
If you earn A-List or A-List Preferred for 2027 on 2026 activity, Southwest moves you to Silver or Gold automatically on January 1. Southwest also adds two Milestone Rewards on the way up. At 20,000 TQPs or 15 flights, you choose 2,000 Rapid Rewards points or two Preferred Seat Certificates, and at 95,000 TQPs or 75 flights you get three Companion Pass trips. Activity from 2026 doesn't count toward them.
Through 2026, TQPs come from revenue flights booked with Southwest and from spending on certain Chase cards. The Premier card earns 1,500 TQPs per $5,000 in purchases a year and the Priority earns 2,500. From January 1, 2027, every Rapid Rewards credit card, the Plus included, earns one TQP per $1 with no cap.
The Companion Pass
Through 2026, you earn the Companion Pass by flying 100 qualifying one-way flights or earning 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points in a calendar year. It lasts for the rest of the year you earn it plus the following full calendar year. Your companion flies free of airline charges whenever you buy or redeem a flight, paying only taxes and fees from $5.60 one way, and you can change your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.
What counts toward the 135,000: revenue flights booked through Southwest, points earned on Southwest credit and debit cards, and base points from Rapid Rewards partners. Southwest cardmembers also get one boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year, one per member, and the debit card adds a 7,500-point boost of its own.
What doesn't count is the part people miss. Southwest's terms exclude purchased points, points transferred between members, points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, Getaways by Southwest bookings, enrollment points, tier bonus points, flight bonus points and partner bonus points, except the bonuses on Southwest's Chase cards. Card points also count only in the calendar year they post to your account, and a purchase after your December statement date posts in January. Southwest says all Companion Pass qualification activity must post by the end of 2026.
On January 1, 2027, Companion Pass qualifying points retire and the pass is earned the way status is. At 95,000 TQPs or 75 flights you get three Companion Pass trips, each usable one way or round trip, and at Platinum (140,000 TQPs or 100 flights) the trips become unlimited. You still get one companion at a time and three changes a year. If you earn a Companion Pass in 2026 under today's rules, you keep unlimited trips through December 31, 2027, and promotions you've already registered for will be honored.
The bigger change is what stops counting. From January 1, new cardmember welcome bonuses, referral bonuses, anniversary points, bonus points from spend (such as 2x on gas) and partner spend still earn points but earn no TQPs. Southwest makes one exception: if you're approved for a Rapid Rewards credit card on or before December 2, 2026 and meet the welcome bonus requirements, those points can still count as Companion Pass qualifying points, even if you finish the spend in early 2027.
Timing was the whole game under the 2026 rules. Our Companion Pass timing guide explains why qualifying early in a year got you close to two years of companion flights, and our Companion Pass strategy guide lays out the card plan for 2026.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards
Chase issues three personal and two business Southwest cards. All three personal cards give the cardmember and up to 8 passengers on the same reservation a free first checked bag and Group 5 boarding, and through 2026 each gives a 10,000-point Companion Pass boost every year. Companion Pass qualifying points retire after 2026. Separately, in 2027 cardmembers get a one-time boost of 10,000 TQPs after reaching 130,000 TQPs, which can help you qualify for Platinum. Here's how the cards differ, from Chase's card pages:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus, $99 annual fee. 2 points per $1 on Southwest purchases, 2 points at gas stations and grocery stores on the first $5,000 in combined purchases each anniversary year, 1 point elsewhere. You get 3,000 anniversary points and a Standard seat within 48 hours of departure when available. Chase's new cardmember offer on October 15, 2026: 50,000 points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Apply for the Plus.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier, $149 annual fee. 3 points per $1 on Southwest, 2 points at grocery stores and restaurants on the first $8,000 in combined purchases each anniversary year, 1 point elsewhere. You get 6,000 anniversary points, a Preferred seat within 48 hours of departure when available, and 1,500 TQPs per $5,000 spent through 2026. The offer: 55,000 points after $1,500 in the first 3 months. Apply for the Premier.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority, $229 annual fee. 4 points per $1 on Southwest, 2 points at gas stations and restaurants, 1 point elsewhere. You get 7,500 anniversary points, a Preferred seat at booking and unlimited Extra Legroom upgrades within 48 hours of departure (both when available), and 2,500 TQPs per $5,000 spent through 2026. The offer: 60,000 points after $2,000 in the first 3 months. Apply for the Priority.
From January 1, 2027, all three earn one TQP per $1. On the business side, the Premier Business costs $149 a year and the Performance Business $299. Southwest also says a new premium Chase card with access to its Icon Lounges launches in 2027, which our lounge announcement article covers. Our Southwest credit card comparison puts the current five side by side, and our guide to holding multiple airline credit cards covers where a Southwest card fits next to cards from other carriers. If you're weighing any airline co-brand against a flexible-points card, our guide to whether airline credit cards are worth it covers the break-even.
Where I'd Start
If you fly Southwest a few times a year, the Premier is the one I'd pick for most people: 3x on Southwest, 6,000 anniversary points and, from January 1, a TQP for every dollar, for $149. If you want a welcome bonus to count toward a Companion Pass when the spend finishes in early 2027, Southwest's cutoff is approval on or before December 2, 2026. After that, the route is TQPs and flights: 95,000 TQPs or 75 flights for three trips, Platinum for unlimited.
Buy Choice fares or better when the price gap is small, because Basic earns 2 points per dollar against 6 on Choice. Keep transferred points for paying for flights, since they don't count toward status or the Companion Pass. And book reward flights when fares drop, because that's when the points price drops too, and our guide to booking on Southwest schedule release day covers when to book and when to wait.
Updated October 19, 2026: added a link to our Peet's coffee note.
