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The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards. If you've got an Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card — such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees) or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), you can transfer the points you earn to Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000-point increments.
In this article, we'll explain the basics of redemptions with the Rapid Rewards program and share some insight on when it makes sense to initiate a transfer.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Is a Revenue-Based Program
Historically, airline loyalty programs adhered to either a region-based or distance-based award chart — or some combination of the two. In short, this is where you'll pay a set amount of miles based on the regions your travel includes or the distance of the flights you book.
With Southwest, you won't find any award charts. If a seat is for sale, you can redeem your Rapid Rewards points to pay for it. The cost of your award ticket correlates with the cash price for that seat. The higher the cash rate, the more points it'll cost you.
The value of Rapid Rewards points sits within a range. You'll get anywhere between 1.25 and 1.54 cents per point when you cash in for a flight. Unfortunately, you won't be able to redeem points for any better value than that. It's one of the drawbacks of fixed-value points currencies.
By extension, cheaper fares present more valuable redemptions. Generally, Wanna Get Away fares will offer you better value for your points than Business Select or Anytime fares. This is simply because they require fewer points. And there's not much of a benefit to redeeming more points for a more “premium” award fare. The added benefits aren't necessary if you're just trying to get from Point A to Point B.
Related: Southwest Airlines Cash + Points Feature: How It Works
When Should You Transfer Points From Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest?
We'll be clear: Southwest Airlines isn't Chase's most valuable transfer partner. On average, AwardWallet users redeem Rapid Rewards points for 1.52¢ apiece. This is good, but not great.
Other airline programs that Chase partners with — such as Air France–KLM Flying Blue (2.16¢ apiece) and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (3.64¢ apiece) — offer a higher average redemption rate. It's worth noting that high-cost, low-points business class redemptions skew the cent-per-point numbers positively in these programs.
There's nothing wrong with transferring Chase points to Southwest. However, there are certain instances where it makes sense to transfer and others where you're better off paying for your Southwest flight with points through Chase's travel portal. This largely depends on what Chase card you have in your wallet and your travel goals.
What are Chase points worth towards Chase TravelSM redemptions?
On redemptions through Chase Travel, your Ultimate Rewards' value varies by card. Here's a look at the value you'll get, broken down by Chase's currently available cards:
- 1.5 cents per point
- 1.25 cents per point
- 1 cent per point
For most travelers, one simple question will help determine when (and when you shouldn't) transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest: Will you redeem fewer points by transferring to Southwest than by paying with points through Chase Travel?
- If yes, transfer Ultimate Rewards 1:1 to Rapid Rewards and book directly with Southwest.
- If no, pay with points in the Chase Travel portal.
However, this can be complicated by factors such as point earnings on cash fares and whether or not you're seeking Southwest A-List elite status.
Real-life example
For example, here's a flight between Orlando (MCO) and Chicago (MDW). Should you transfer points to Southwest or book through Chase Travel?
Through Chase Travel, the $102 Wanna Get Away fare requires the following number of Chase points — depending on the rate your card offers for points redemptions:
- 1.5 cents per point = 6,800 Ultimate Rewards points
- 1.25 cents per point = 8,160 Ultimate Rewards points
- 1 cent per point = 10,200 Ultimate Rewards points
Alternatively, you can book the same flight directly with Southwest for 6,709 Rapid Rewards points.
Given that you can only transfer in 1,000-point increments, those with the Sapphire Reserve should book through Chase Travel, while those with other cards would be better off transferring Chase points to Southwest.
Why? Well, Sapphire Reserve would need to transfer 7,000 points to Southwest to book this flight vs. paying just 6,800 points through the Chase Travel portal. Plus, booking this cash fare would earn 491 Rapid Rewards points, dropping your net redemption to around 6,300 points.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $120 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
However, purchasing the cash fare through the Chase Travel portal is much more costly for other Chase cardholders. Sapphire Preferred and Ink Preferred cardholders would need to redeem 8,160 points through the portal vs. transferring just 7,000 points to Southwest to book an award, and the 491 point earnings from booking the cash fare doesn't do much to close the gap.
How To Transfer Points From Chase to Southwest
Transferring points from Chase to Southwest is much easier than you’d think. Log in to the Chase Travel portal and choose “Transfer to Travel Partners.”
After you select Southwest, enter your Rapid Reward details. It’s important to note that you can only transfer points to yourself or one authorized user on your account.
Then, choose how many points you want to transfer — in increments of 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
Finally, review your information and hit submit.
Data points from AwardWallet users show that most transfers are instant. Also, it's important to know that your point transfers are final. Once you transfer the points, you cannot transfer them back to Ultimate Rewards. That means you shouldn't transfer until you have a redemption in mind and priced out!
Related: How To Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points: A Step-By-Step Guide
Other Factors To Consider
Among the many reasons to love Southwest Airlines, we've found two that stand out. First, Southwest is the only U.S. commercial airline still offering free checked bags to all passengers (subject to weight and size limitations). In fact, you get two free checked bags per passenger!
Additionally, Southwest doesn't charge award change or cancellation fees. If you book a ticket using Rapid Rewards points and need to change or cancel your award, you can do so without penalty — redepositing your points for no additional charge.
Also, if you need to change your award, you can do so simply by paying the difference in the fare with your points. Even better, if you notice the fare drops before your fight, you can go to Southwest’s website and have the difference refunded to your Rapid Rewards balance.
Finally, it's also worth considering whether you can buy Southwest points at a reasonable rate before transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest. Sometimes, this option may make more sense than transferring or booking through Chase Travel.
Bottom Line
If you want to book a Southwest flight with points but aren't sure whether you should transfer Chase points to Southwest or book through Chase Travel, look at the number of points required for either option.
Depending on the Chase card in your wallet, you may find better value in booking through Chase Travel — or by converting Ultimate Rewards points to Rapid Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio and booking through Southwest.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
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