{"id":157004,"date":"2024-04-05T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=157004"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:55:09","slug":"southwest-points-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/airlines\/southwest-rapid-rewards\/southwest-points-value\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Are Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Points Worth?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you've got a stash of Rapid Rewards in your Southwest Airlines account or you're eyeballing a five-digit welcome offer on a co-branded credit card, you might wonder what those points are worth. Here's a look at the value of Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards<\/a> points to help you better understand the numbers.<\/p>\n

How Much Are Southwest Points Worth?<\/span><\/h2>\n

With Southwest Airlines, you know what you're going to get. The same goes for the Dallas-based airline's loyalty currency, Rapid Rewards points.<\/p>\n

Southwest doesn't have an award chart or partner airlines to redeem points for a free flight on. Outside of a few ancillary ways to redeem points for merchandise and gift cards<\/a>, the primary (and best) way to cash in Rapid Rewards points is to book an award flight.<\/p>\n

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Credit: Southwest Airlines<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

Revenue-based programs like Southwest allow passengers to book any seat on their planes with points. However, without an award chart, the price fluctuates with the cash cost of the ticket. More expensive tickets command more points, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

Southwest generally fixes the value of its points within a defined range. Nowadays, the value fluctuates between 1.25 and 1.54 cents per point \u2014 give or take a bit on the margins. On average, AwardWallet users typically redeem Rapid Rewards points for 1.52\u00a2 apiece<\/a>, which is close to the upper end of the sliding scale.<\/p>\n

Extracting maximum value from Rapid Rewards points<\/span><\/h3>\n

Unlike non-revenue-based loyalty programs, you won't be able to get more out of your points than the defined range suggests. That's the downside of fixed-value points currencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, booking cheaper award tickets is an easy way to get more from your points and move closer to the upper end of the value range. Typically, the cent-per-point value you'll get is better for Wanna Get Away tickets than for Business Select tickets.<\/p>\n

For instance, let's look at the cash and point rates for a flight between Chicago (MDW) and Seattle (SEA). Here are the cash prices, starting from $144:<\/p>\n

\"Southwest
Credit: Southwest<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

And here's what those flights cost in points, starting from 9,218:<\/p>\n

\"Southwest
Credit: Southwest<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

For the four ticket types available, Rapid Rewards members will receive different point valuations. Including the mandatory $5.60 security fee for award tickets in the calculation, the point values come out to these averages:<\/p>\n