If you’re a frequent business traveler chances are you’ve been loyal to the same legacy carrier for a while. After all, most frequent business travelers are creatures of habit. Most frequent business travelers enjoy flying with the same airlines, staying at the same hotels, and renting cars from the same rental agencies. After all, through years of business travel you probably have a pretty good understanding of what you like and what you don’t. Unfortunately, times have changed and you might not be making the best choice when it comes to your choice of airline loyalty program. I find this especially true if nearly all of your business travel is domestic.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Introduction
Southwest Airlines offers one of the most simple airline loyalty programs I’ve ever seen. Members earn points on each flight and can then use those points to purchase rewards flights in the future. Members earn points only based on the number of dollars spent and fare class purchased rather than the complex formula of price paid, miles flown, and fare class purchased. Elite members earn more points per dollar spent and all members earn more points per higher fare class purchased. The entire program is incredibly simple and easy to understand. Additionally, members can also earn Rapid Rewards points through co-branded credit card sign-up bonuses and everyday spending.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards currently has two (three) elite status levels. The first level, A-List, is the easiest to earn, yet still offers a few valuable benefits. A-List Preferred is the next level of elite status and offers many benefits frequent business travelers couldn’t live without. Additionally, Southwest also offers a special level of elite status, but doesn’t necessarily advertise it as such. I’m of course referring to the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass which is arguably the best airline benefit around.
Earning Rapid Rewards Points
When traveling with Southwest Airlines, Rapid Rewards members earn points based on the price paid and fare class purchased. Southwest offers three types of fares.
- Wanna Get Away fares are the least expensive and most restrictive fares offered by Southwest. Rapid Rewards members earn 6 points per dollar spent when purchasing Wanna Get Away Fares.
- Anytime fares are more flexible, but also more expensive. Southwest Rapid Rewards members earn 10 points per dollar spent when purchasing Anytime fares.
- Business Select fares are flexible and fully refundable which offer frequent travelers the most options when flying with Southwest Airlines. Rapid Rewards members earn 12 points per dollar spent on Business Select fares.
A complete listing of Southwest Airlines fare rules are found here.
Southwest Rapid Rewards members can also earn points through Southwest Airlines co-branded credit cards from Chase. Either card offers 2X points on all Southwest Airlines purchases. Also, you could earn a huge 40,000+ sign-up bonus when completing the minimum spend requirement following opening a co-branded card.
How To Earn Southwest Airlines Elite Status
Earning elite status with Southwest Airlines is incredibly simple. Rapid Rewards members earn elite status based on the number of one-way trips taken or the number of points earned in a calendar year. Unlike other carriers, members only need to satisfy one requirement or the other rather than both.
Now, it’s important to keep two things in mind if you’re planing to earn elite status with Southwest Airlines. First, Southwest has a somewhat tricky definition of a one-way flight. The airline defines a one-way flight as any flight from an origin to a destination, including any intermediate stops. Southwest’s definition of a “flight” is much different from the legacy carriers’ definition of a segment.
Second, all points earned through credit card spend count toward elite status. Oddly enough that also includes credit card sign-up bonuses. That means you’ll reach A-List status by just by opening a Southwest Airlines credit card and earning the sign-up bonus of 40,000 points.
Lastly, Southwest Airlines awards more qualifying points to elite members than those without status. This makes it easier to earn elite status and earn Rapid Rewards points faster the year following elite status qualification.
A-List Elite Status
A-List is the lowest and easiest Southwest Airlines elite status currently offered. Rapid Rewards members need to fly just 25 one-way flights or earn 35,000 qualifying points in a calendar year to earn A-List elite status.
A-List members have access to Priority Check-in lanes and Priority Security lanes where available. A-List members also qualify for free same-day standby on Southwest flights and access to the A-List customer service phone line. Most importantly, Southwest guarantees A-List members a spot in the “A” Boarding Group when traveling with Southwest. Anyone who has ever flown with Southwest Airlines before understands how valuable the A boarding group is. With A-List elite status, you’ll never have to set an early alarm to check-in to your flight again!
Additionally, A-List elite members earn Rapid Rewards points and qualifying points much faster than non-elites. A-List elites earn 7.5 points per dollar spent when purchasing “Wanna Get Away” tickets, 12.5 points per Anytime ticket purchased and 15 points per Business Select ticket purchased.
As you can see A-List members earn points faster than non-elites. This makes it easier to re-qualify for elite status each year and you’ll earn free flights faster as a Southwest Airlines A-List elite member than as a base member.
A-List Preferred Elite Status
The next level of elite status offered by Southwest Airlines is A-List Preferred. To qualify for A-List Preferred status Rapid Rewards members must either earn 70,000 points or take 50 one-way trips annually. A-List Preferred elite members have all of the benefits of A-List status plus a better Rapid Rewards points multiplier and free in-flight Wifi.
Southwest Airlines offers fantastic in-flight wifi which works from gate to gate. Southwest’s wifi also includes live tv and a cargo plane full of on-demand entertainment which should help make any journey fly by. I apologize for the terrible puns.
Obviously I’m glad to see an airline offer free wifi to elite members, but I’m actually much more excited by the higher points earning rate offered from A-List Preferred elite status.
With A-List Preferred elite status you’ll earn 12 points per dollar spent on Wanna Get Away tickets, 20 per dollar spent on Anytime tickets, and a whopping 24 points per dollar spent on Business Select fares! Considering Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth at least $0.015 a piece, A-List Preferred elites purchasing Business Select fares earn approximately $0.36 per dollar spent! That’s an absolutely incredible return when paying for flights with cash. Think about that, as an A-List Preferred member purchasing Business Select fares, you’re earning 36% cash back, wow.
Companion Pass Elite Status
Companion Pass represents what I think is the most interesting and potentially valuable elite status benefits offered from any airline. Essentially, with Companion Pass, your designated travel companion can accompany you on any flight for free. The Companion only has to pay for the taxes and fees associated with each ticket. Even better, Companion Pass is valid on flights paid for with points.
To earn Companion Pass, Rapid Rewards members must simply earn 110,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. It doesn’t matter if you earn those points from flying or from credit card spending. Astonishingly credit card sign-up bonus points also count toward earning Companion Pass.
Companion Pass is valid for the remainder of the qualifying year earned and the entire year following. If earned promptly at the beginning of a calendar year, Rapid Rewards members could have Companion Pass for nearly two whole years! The only catch to Companion Pass is that your travel companion can only be changed three times a year. You must assign a travel companion and stick with them.
Lastly, your travel companion won’t necessarily be able to board with you. Companion Pass isn’t exactly an elite status and just because someone is your companion doesn’t mean they also inherit your elite status benefits. When traveling with your companion you’ll need to make sure to check them in promptly for them to secure a good boarding group. If not, they’ll have to board later in the boarding process. This could cause an issue as Southwest Airlines doesn’t have pre-assigned seats and saving seats once on-board is discouraged.
My Take On The Southwest Rapid Rewards Program
I have a few issues with Southwest Airlines as a whole that in the past have discouraged me from switching my loyalty from Southwest. First, I don’t like their lack of a global route network. I want to use my points/miles to explore the world and don’t exactly want to use points to spend another long weekend in Cabo. Secondly, I enjoy flying in international first/business class occasionally. I find the whole airport, ground, and in-air experience of flying in a premium cabin exciting. For me, I’d like to use my points to fly to Asia in First Class instead of flying to Little Rock in a school bus. However, I still think there are three areas where the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program really shines.
1. Knowing How Much You’ll Have To Spend For Elite Status
While I don’t love the Southwest Airlines experience, I find myself longing for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program. Mostly, I find myself wanting an easy to understand system that actually rewards loyalty. As a lowly Rapid Rewards member I know that I’ll have to spend approximately $5,840 on Wanna Get Away fares to earn A-List (35,000 points divided by 6 points per dollar). If I wanted to earn A-List status even more quickly, I could instead spend just $2,920 on Business Select fares.
I also love that I can essentially budget how much I’ll have to spend each year to retain status. Once I earn A-List Preferred status, I know I’ll only have to spend $2,920 on Business Select fares to re-qualify. Qualifying is made even easier if I use a Southwest Rapid Rewards co-branded credit card to purchase my flights.
2. Knowing The Value of Points
Another thing I love about the Southwest Rapid Rewards program is that you know how to value points. I did a few quick searches and found that Rapid Rewards points are worth approximately $0.016 each. Also, there aren’t any instances where you can’t use points to pay for flights (blackout dates). You’ll always be able to use Rapid Rewards points to pay for a flight. If the Wanna Get Away fare bucket isn’t available you’ll have to use more points to pay for your flight, but if that fare bucket opens up later, you can redeposit your points and re-book the lower fare easily.
3. Companion Pass Is Excellent
I can’t believe Southwest Airlines offers free flights all year for a travel companion. I honestly don’t know how in the world they keep making money offering this benefit. Think of all the trips, weddings, and holidays you and your significant other have to take together each year. Now imagine cutting that same transportation budget in half each year! It’s a great deal and one that I can’t believe is available.
Even better, Companion Pass is only going to get sweeter next year when Southwest begins service to Hawaii. While I’m not sure how much trips to Hawaii are going to cost on Southwest, I’d bet you couldn’t get two people there cheaper than flying Southwest with Companion Pass.
Final Thoughts
As time goes on and I learn more about Southwest Airlines I’m beginning to wonder why I rarely fly with them. After all, the airline appears to offer the most generous loyalty program serving the lower 48. Additionally, Southwest flies to a few ‘exotic’ destinations that could be fun vacation spots to unwind after weeks of living on the road. The airline is also soon to add to that list by flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu at some point in 2018. All in all, that could mean 2018 is the year to finally switch to Southwest Airlines; especially considering how unrewarding other airline loyalty programs have become.
The thing I love most about the Rapid Rewards program is the simplicity of it all. It’s easy to understand how many points you’ll earn from each flight and easy to understand how many points you’ll need to spend to purchase a flight. Rapid Rewards also makes it incredibly easy to understand what level of elite status you’ll earn in a year given your annual spend and fare classes purchased.
While I’m beginning to envy the Rapid Rewards program as a domestic business traveler, the program doesn’t make sense for me currently. I’m not traveling for work as often as I once was. While I used to take at least one work trip a week years ago, this year I’ve only taken a handful of work related trips. The rest of my travels have been for pleasure. I spend much of my annual travel budget on international trips these days as I try to explore as much as the world as I can before I settle down. Maybe once I get a house in the burbs with a white picket fence I’ll reconsider my loyalty.
