AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
In the crowded U.S. airline market, Southwest Airlines has set itself apart as an airline “with heart.” Not everyone appreciates the airline's open seating policy, which is coming to an end in 2025. But, for families, flying Southwest can be the cheapest and easiest way to fly everyone together.
Flyers can enroll in the Southwest Rapid Rewards program to earn points toward free flights. This post explains whether Southwest points expire and how to earn enough points for an award flight.
Do Southwest Points Expire?
Southwest Rapid Rewards Points do not expire as long as your account remains open. Per the Southwest terms and conditions page:
“Points do not expire. Should a Member close its account, the points in the account will be terminated.”
Track your points and miles expiration for 630+ loyalty programs and get email alerts before your miles expire by signing up for a free AwardWallet account.
Related: A Complete Guide To Southwest Rapid Rewards.
How You Can Earn Southwest Points
Since Southwest points don't expire, you can focus your efforts on building up a healthy Southwest points balance. You can earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points in the following ways:
- Fly with Southwest and include your Rapid Rewards number in your ticket/booking.
- Join Rapid Rewards Dining and use an enrolled card to earn points the next time you dine out.
- Click through the Rapid Rewards Shopping portal to earn points for online purchases.
- Buy Southwest points.
- Stay with Southwest’s hotel partners and opt to earn Rapid Rewards points for your stay.
- Take Rewards for Opinions surveys.
- Share opinions through eRewards.
- Purchase wine from Laithwaiteswine.com.
Earning Southwest points through credit card spending
Since Southwest points don't expire, you can feel confident with a large points balance. One of the easiest ways to rack up a bunch of Southwest Rapid Rewards points is by snagging one of the following Southwest credit card offers:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card : Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
- Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 7,500 anniversary points each year.
- Earn 3X points on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- Earn 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming.
- $75 Southwest® travel credit each year.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 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
With so many credit cards to choose from, we've got a dedicated article to help you decide which Southwest card is right for you.
Related: How Much are Southwest Rapid Rewards Points Worth?
Boosting your Southwest Rapid Rewards points balance
Ultimately, you still have options if you are a few points short of redemption. Southwest is a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, meaning you can transfer some Chase points to boost your balance.
Chase points transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points. In addition, transfers are immediate, so there is minimal risk of your award being snapped up while you wait for the points to arrive in your Southwest account. And since Southwest points don't expire, it's not a big deal if you transfer points to Southwest and then need to cancel your award and redeposit your points.
You also have a few less-desirable transfer options that you can use to pad your Southwest account for your next flight redemption:
Related: Ultimate Guide to Earning A Southwest Companion Pass.
Tracking Your Points With AwardWallet
Unfortunately, Southwest is one of a few U.S. airlines that have prevented AwardWallet from tracking their customer's points. It is hard to see why the airline continues to do this since it eliminated points expiration, so not allowing AwardWallet to track its points only serves to inconvenience travelers.
While this is frustrating, fortunately, there is a workaround allowing you to use AwardWallet to track your Southwest Rapid Rewards Mileage balance. You can check out our detailed post on how to track your points. It also includes how to track Delta and United miles.
Related: How to Earn and Maximize Southwest A-List and A-List Preferred Elite Status.
Bottom Line
Southwest is one of the easiest programs in the world of points and miles. The program is straightforward, with little to worry about in the small print. Also, the program offers excellent value — from the famous Southwest Companion Pass to solid redemption 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® Premier Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
