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Southwest has been in the news lately, and not for the right reasons. The airline is reshaping the way they do things, highlighted by:
- Scrapping their polarizing open seating policy, opting for assigned seating
- Revamping their cabins by adding extra leg room seats at a cost
- Changing their “two bags fly free” policy in exchange for bag fees — with exceptions for A-List elites and Southwest credit cardholders
- Introducing a more restrictive “Basic” fare class
While all this change is a lot to process — and is leading to much backlash — all is not doom and gloom at Southwest. Let's look at some reasons to be positive about the airline as we wade through the upcoming changes.
Page Contents
- Route Convenience
- Rapid Rewards Points are Still Easy to Earn
- Rapid Rewards Points Are Easy To Redeem
- Will Rapid Rewards Provide Consistent Value?
- Great for Families by Earning Southwest’s Famous Companion Pass
- Some Flyers are Largely Unaffected by New Bag Fees
- Boarding and Seating Changes
- Extremely Friendly Award Change and Cancelation Policy
- Final Thoughts
Route Convenience
If you're looking for rewards that can take you to the opposite side of the world, Southwest isn't the best choice. But, if you're like most U.S. flyers (and AwardWallet members), most of your travel is within Southwest's route network.
Southwest serves 120+ destinations with a fleet of 800+ Boeing 737s. If the airline can't get you where you need to go, there's a high chance you can get pretty close.
If Southwest extensively serves your home airport, the Rapid Rewards program can still deliver excellent value. While Southwest loyalists may be more prone to compare flight prices than before, sometimes convenience is more valuable than other factors. For example, a Nashville (BNA) flyer just can't beat the reach of Southwest nonstop flights from their home airport.
Rapid Rewards Points are Still Easy to Earn
Southwest's Rapid Rewards program is great for accumulating a ton of points quickly and easily. The faster you earn points, the sooner you can treat yourself to a vacation.
In addition to points earned from flying, members can take advantage of a full lineup of co-brand credit cards issued by Chase or transfer Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt Rewards to Southwest. You can also buy Southwest points and earn extra points on hotels, car rentals, dining, and online shopping through Southwest's travel, dining, and shopping portals.
Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards
There are five flavors of Southwest credit cards — three personal cards and two business cards. What makes these cards worth a look is that all points earned with them — including the signup bonus — count towards the Southwest Companion Pass. More on that later.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of Southwest's personal credit cards:
- 2X points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2X points per $1 spent on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming services
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent on all Southwest® purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on all Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2X points per $1 spent on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming services
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent on all Southwest® purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on all Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2X points per $1 spent on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming services
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Or, if you run a small business, you'll likely find more utility with one of Southwest's business cards:
- 4X points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car partners
- 2X points per $1 spent on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services
- 2X points per $1 spent on rideshare
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent on local transit and communting, including rideshare
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Southwest's co-branded credit cards are issued by Chase, which means they're subject to Chase's 5/24 policy. In addition, the personal Southwest cards have an additional restriction preventing you from holding more than one of them at a time. Plus, you can't receive a welcome bonus on a personal card if you've earned one on a Southwest card in the previous 24 months (but this doesn't apply to business cards).
Related: How To Choose the Right Southwest Airlines Credit Card
Transfer points from Chase or Bilt
Travelers can transfer points that convert to Southwest Rapid Rewards from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. That means, if you have a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the premium Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can effectively earn Southwest points at a much faster rate than using Rapid Rewards credit cards.
Earning Ultimate Rewards or Bilt Points and transferring them to Southwest Rapid Rewards when you see a redemption you'd like to make is one of the best functionalities of transferable points. This way, you're not resigned to only earning Southwest points and can make a redemption through another program if something catches your eye.
Related: When Should You Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest?
Alternatively, you can transfer hotel points to Southwest at a less-than-1:1 ratio:
Receive bonus points via Southwest hotel, rental car, and shopping portals
It's also possible to rack up a bunch of Southwest points by using the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal, Rapid Rewards Hotel Portal, and Rapid Rewards Dining program. These points are in addition to those earned on your credit card.
The payoff from using a portal means added points on things you already buy or a bonus of a few thousand points when you book a hotel room. Portals present an easy way to earn towards your next reward flight.
Earn Rapid Rewards points by flying Southwest
Southwest has one of the easiest-to-understand earning structures of any frequent flyer program — issuing points based on the class of flight and your A-List status. Here's what you'll earn on your next Southwest flight:
| Southwest Point Earnings by Fare Class | Rapid Rewards Member | A-List | A-List Preferred |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2 points per dollar | 2.5 pts per dollar | 4 pts per dollar |
| Wanna Get Away Plus (Choice) | 6 points per dollar | 7.5 pts per dollar | 12 pts per dollar |
| Anytime (Choice Preferred) | 10 points per dollar | 12.5 pts per dollar | 20 pts per dollar |
| Business Select (Choice Extra) | 14 points per dollar | 17.5 pts per dollar | 28 pts per dollar |
The rates at which you'll earn Rapid Rewards points by flying Southwest used to be solid, even bettering other airline loyalty programs. However, the recent devaluation in earning points through paid flights has really weakened this aspect of the program.
Rapid Rewards Points Are Easy To Redeem
One of the most frustrating aspects of traditional frequent flyer programs is restricted award availability — especially when looking for multiple tickets. Having a stash of miles but finding limited or no flights to book with them is painfully annoying. Thankfully, you won't run into these issues with Southwest.
Southwest doesn't make a specific number of seats available for award redemptions or impose arbitrary blackout dates like other major U.S. carriers. Instead, if there's a seat available to purchase with cash, you can book it with Rapid Rewards points. It's as simple as that.
Here is Southwest's Low Fare Calendar for October 2025, flying Detroit (DTW) to Orlando (MCO). Every date is available, with some dates as low at 6,000 points.
The convenience of award availability alone makes award travel on Southwest super accessible for most people. It's easy to get frustrated — especially if you are new to award travel — searching for award flights. Not so with Southwest. After you build a stash of Rapid Rewards points, all that's left to do is find some dates that work for you and book your trip.
Plus, you don't have to worry about losing those points, as Rapid Rewards points don't expire as long as your account remains open.
Will Rapid Rewards Provide Consistent Value?
Southwest has long used a nuanced version of dynamic award pricing, which helps deliver consistent value for its Rapid Rewards. As the cash price of tickets fluctuates up and down, so do award prices. But unlike United MileagePlus and Delta SkyMiles, which also use dynamic pricing, Southwest currently fixes the value of Rapid Rewards points within a range.
It's hard to get outsized value from fixed value rewards points, so you'll get the most value on cheaper flights in cheaper fare classes. This way, you'll have points left over to put towards future vacations.
But if you take your focus away from the per point value, and just look at the points required, you'll see that often times Southwest can be the fewest points — especially from small market airports. For example, on Oct 12th in the calendar above, it would be 8,500 points for a non-stop Detroit (DTW) to Orlando (MCO) flight.
The lowest — albeit one stop — flights through American Airlines and United Airlines on the same date are 14,000 and 17,300 miles respectively.
The only other nonstop from Detroit to Orlando among the major U.S. carriers is of course Delta Air Lines, which charges 13,000 Skymiles in Basic Economy or 16,400 in Main Cabin for a similar one-way flight.
So despite using Southwest miles (and especially transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards) at an uninspiring valuation, booking through Southwest could be the cheapest way to go. Again, when flying from regional airports with less competition, Southwest is a serious player.
When Southwest launched variable pricing in March 2025, we began seeing even lower valuations than we were typically used to — especially during peak travel times. Data points are now showing redemptions as low as ~1.12 cents per point. This is bad news but, as shown above, there are still great opportunities to spend fewer points with Southwest than the competition.
Great for Families by Earning Southwest’s Famous Companion Pass
Possibly the most sought-after money-saving perk in award travel, the Southwest Companion Pass allows you to take a “plus one” on any flight for just the taxes and fees. This is especially valuable for families looking to reduce the cost of flying their whole crew. And it appears Southwest isn't messing with this gem.
You can earn the Companion Pass by flying at least 100 segments or earning 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. While this seems like a lot of flying and Rapid Rewards points (it is), earning the Companion Pass is surprisingly achievable if you commit the time and the resources to earning it.
If you make a purchase through Southwest's shopping portals or earn a welcome bonus on a co-branded credit card, those points count towards the Companion Pass-qualifying point requirement. With the right spending and strategy, one of the best industry-wide perks can be quickly within reach.
Related: Earn a Southwest Companion Pass Through 2026
Some Flyers are Largely Unaffected by New Bag Fees
Southwest's decision to begin charging bag fees is certainly ruffling feathers. However, several groups of travelers will be largely unaffected:
- A-List Preferred members will still get two free checked bags.
- A-List members and Southwest credit card holders will still get one free checked bag.
- Any free bag qualification extends to up to eight people on the same reservation, as well as any companion pass traveler who is also flying.
- Those who carry on bags will be mostly unaffected (except for the higher demand for overhead space).
Again, while this policy change is generally negative, it may not be so bad for all travelers. What will be interesting to see is if this “unbundling” of Southwest's fares will lead to a reduction in flight costs. In theory, all travelers were previously subsidizing bag fees for all. It could be that charging bag fees results in lower base fares. That could also be the furthest from reality, so we will see what the future rates look like.
Boarding and Seating Changes
Southwest's changes have extended to their boarding and seating processes, which will be totally revamped. The changes are polarizing, but if you were a critic of lining up at the stanchions in the terminal and arguing with other passengers on board who were unfairly saving seats for their family, these changes may be very welcome.
Not only are there the bag benefits listed above, but credit card holders as well as A-List and A-List Preferred members will receive priority boarding and preferred seating options.
As you can see, all cardholders can reserve a seat for their party as some point before check-in. Those with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card or Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card can even choose a preferred seat at the time of booking, making these very valuable cards.
Plus, the preferred boarding for these members will give them a leg up on snatching that now even more valuable overhead space.
You might say that these changes seem to be pushing travelers into getting a Southwest credit card (and you'd be right). But that has been the norm in the industry for a while (looking at you, American). Still, the change away from open boarding and seating definitely makes Southwest more appealing to some flyers.
Extremely Friendly Award Change and Cancelation Policy
Have you ever booked a flight far in advance, only to have your plans change? Lots of us have, and we've paid the fees to prove it.
While many U.S.-based airlines have relaxed their award change and cancellation policies, Southwest's policies are among the friendliest. Despite the new program changes, the change and cancellation policies are still relatively consumer-friendly.
As you can see, you can change or cancel the new Choice Preferred and Choice Extra fares for no fees. Changes are subject to a fare difference and cancellations will result in a full refund. The new Choice fare has the same policy, except you'll get a flight credit rather than a refund for canceling.
The new “Basic” fare cannot be changed, but it can be cancelled for a flight credit. This is different, as you could previously change Wanna Get Away fares (Southwest's cheapest fares) if the cost went down and receive a points refund or flight credit for the difference in price. Going forward, you'll have to cancel a Basic fare for a flight credit or points refund and rebook at the lower fare.
… but Southwest flight credits now expire
Note the new expiration policy for Southwest flight credits, which is much more punitive than before. Previously, Southwest flight credits never expired. Now, flight credits are only valid for 12 months for Choice fares or six months on a Basic fare. This expiration will put a premium on booking Southwest flights with points, where you'll get a points refund, versus booking with cash and contending with a flight credit that has the clock ticking on its expiration.
All cancelations are painless if done at least 10 minutes before the flight's scheduled departure time. Even if you've checked in, Southwest has you covered.
Related: Airline Award Ticket Change and Cancellation Policies
Final Thoughts
Southwest Airlines is completely changing many aspects of its flying experience. While many seem negative, there is still plenty to love about Southwest. Their route schedule, award availability, and Companion Pass offering still make Southwest an airline to consider when looking at your flying options.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
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