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Airlines typically have two ways to directly monetize their loyalty program: selling points/miles and elite status. It's easy, low-hanging fruit for airlines to squeeze as much as they can from their members while still giving the sense that they are offering a value proposition. We've seen this with other airlines — such as Qatar Airways selling status-qualifying Qpoints to its Privilege Club members.
Southwest is bringing back a similar promotion from this past July, allowing Rapid Rewards members to purchase A-List elite status points now through December 30, 2024.
But just because Southwest is selling elite status, should you buy it? Let's dive into some of the details to see if it (ever) makes sense.
Southwest A-List Status Points Purchase Details
Southwest Airlines is currently offering its Southwest Rapid Rewards members the chance to purchase A-List elite status. To be more specific, Southwest Airlines is selling Tier Qualifying Points — also known as TQPs — which help you qualify for elite status.
The chance to buy TQPs to earn A-List elite status runs through December 30, 2024. Any TQPs you purchase by the promotion's final day will count for status good through December 31, 2025.
The minimum amount of TQPs required to achieve A-List elite status is 35,000. And this is the maximum amount you can buy. A-List Preferred elite status takes 75,000 TQPs, but since you're cut off at just the A-List level, you won't be able to buy enough to reach this elite status.
Here are the increments and prices for buying TQPs:
- 1,000 TQPs: $175
- 2,500 TQPs: $350
- 5,000 TQPs: $650
- 7,500 TQPs: $875
- 10,000 TQPs: $999
- 15,000 TQPs: $1,199
- 20,000 TQPs: $1,350
- 25,000 TQPs: $1,499
- 35,000 TQPs: $2,190
As you can see, TQPs don't come cheap. But, even if you wanted to buy your way all the way to A-List status, you can't. In order to buy TQPs to earn elite status, you will need to have 3,000 TQPs in your account already. If you don't, you will likely run into this message:
That means you can buy A-List status outright if you haven't earned at least a bit of elite status credits. So before you get too excited, just ensure that you have the minimum amount (3,000 TQPs) in your account before proceeding.
Southwest A-List Elite Status Benefits
Let's take a look at some of the perks and benefits you'll enjoy as part of Southwest A-List elite status:
- Priority boarding
- Priority check-in counter and express security screening (where available)
- 25% points earning bonus
- Dedicated A-List phone line
- Same-day standby
- Same-day confirmed change (no fare difference)
If we're being honest, this is pretty weak stuff from Southwest, especially when you compare it to the elite statuses of other airlines. On top of that, Southwest Airlines announced it's scrapping its open-seating policy at some point in the near future — which might remove the need for the priority boarding benefit.
Since we don't know what A-List elite status perks will look like in the new iteration of Southwest, it's a gamble to buy this elite status now.
And if you're starting from (near) scratch, you'll pay over $2,000 for these perks. That's a lot of money for fairly minimal concrete benefits.
Funny enough, one of the best uses of A-List status may be to use it as a way to status match to another airline. United matches A-List to Premier Silver. Get AAdvantage Gold status with American Airlines. Even Spirit Airlines is offering free Silver status to A-List members and Gold to A-List Preferred.
Related: Southwest Airlines Cash + Points Feature: How It Works
Alternative Ways To Earn Southwest A-List Elite Status
This promotion only makes sense if you're just short of the threshold for A-List and want to top off your account before taking your next flight. And even then, there are better, more cost-effective ways to earn A-List elite status.
There are two ways you can earn A-List status: Flying 20 qualifying one-way flights or earning 35,000 TQPs in a calendar year.
If you're close to the 20-flight threshold, you might find it cheaper to sneak in an extra vacation (or two) to earn status instead of buying the TQPs necessary for A-List elite status outright. You'll get more bang for your buck this way and earn Rapid Rewards points for future travel.
Southwest fares will also reward you with up to 12 TQPs per dollar spent, so you might also find value in booking more expensive fares or pricing out future travel to see when (or if) you'll qualify for A-List organically.
Alternatively, remember that you can earn TQPs through spending on four Southwest credit cards. On Southwest's business cards, plus the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you'll earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List for every $5,000 you spend.
With the right strategy, you can earn A-List with ease and avoid spending more than you should by buying TQPs.
Bottom Line
To acquire enough TQPs (35,000) for A-List elite status, it's going to run you $2,190. That's an astronomical amount of money for an elite status that we don't know what it will offer after Southwest's seating policy changes take effect. Even if you fly Southwest once a week, it still feels like a steep price to pay for something that doesn't get you a lot in return. You may be better off just buying Early-Bird Check-In or Southwest Upgraded Boarding outright on future flights.
So, if you're considering buying your A-List elite status from Southwest, we suggest taking a hard pass. Your hard-earned money can be better spent elsewhere.
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