{"id":60981,"date":"2021-04-15T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=60981"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:39:43","slug":"southwest-rapid-rewards-devaluation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/southwest-rapid-rewards-devaluation\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Devalues Rapid Rewards Program, More Points Now Needed for Award Flights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Update: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/news\/southwest-rapid-rewards\/southwest-devaluation-2024\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Southwest further devalued Rapid Rewards points<\/a> effective January 1, 2024. Flyers now need to redeem 86 Rapid Rewards points per $1 of base fare.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Southwest Airlines just made some unwelcome changes to the airline's Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program. Southwest award flights now require 6% more Rapid Rewards points than before. And unfortunately, this isn't just an error. Southwest has confirmed this devaluation.<\/p>\n<p>Here's what we know about this no-notice Southwest devaluation.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Redeeming_Points_with_Southwest8217s_Rapid_Rewards_Program\">Redeeming Points with Southwest's Rapid Rewards Program<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/travel\/types-of-rewards-points\/\" rel=\"noopener\">frequent flyer program is revenue-based<\/a>. The majority of U.S. airlines have transitioned to a revenue-based mileage program. However, unlike other airlines, the Rapid Rewards program has used a fixed formula for award redemptions for years.<\/p>\n<p>If you're unfamiliar with this term, a revenue-based frequent flyer program ties earning and redemption rates to the flight price as opposed to the distance of the flight or the region(s) you're flying between.<\/p>\n<p>Before this devaluation, Southwest priced Rapid Rewards award flights based on the following formula:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wanna Get Away: 76-78 points per dollar of base fare<\/li>\n<li>Anytime: 78 points per dollar of base fare<\/li>\n<li>Business Select: 78 points per dollar of base fare<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, as a result of this Southwest devaluation, you'll need approximately 6% more points for award travel.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_60995\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"751\/428\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-60995 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Screen-Shot-2021-04-14-at-11.35.53-AM.png\" alt=\"Award flight search results showing the required number of Rapid Rewards points for flights between St. Louis and Dallas after the devaluation.\" width=\"751\" height=\"428\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Screen-Shot-2021-04-14-at-11.35.53-AM.png 2000w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Screen-Shot-2021-04-14-at-11.35.53-AM-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Screen-Shot-2021-04-14-at-11.35.53-AM-1024x584.png 1024w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Screen-Shot-2021-04-14-at-11.35.53-AM-1536x876.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 751px) 100vw, 751px\" \/><center><em>Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards program is revenue-based, pegging award rates to the base fare for each flight<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<p>This isn't the first time Southwest Airlines has devalued its Rapid Rewards program. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/news\/southwest-rapid-rewards\/southwest-devaluation-2024\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Southwest made similar changes to its Rapid Rewards program in 2018<\/a>. At the time, Southwest also devalued the value of Rapid Rewards points by about 6%.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Southwest8217s_New_Rapid_Rewards_Award_Rate_Formula\">Southwest's New Rapid Rewards Award Rate Formula<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After this week's devaluation, here's how many points you'll need for Rapid Rewards award flights:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wanna Get Away: 81-83 points per dollar of base fare<\/li>\n<li>Anytime: 83 points per dollar of base fare<\/li>\n<li>Business Select: 83 points per dollar of base fare<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For example, let's take a flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL):<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-270\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-270 tablepress-responsive\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">ATL-FLL Flight Example<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Wanna Get Away<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Anytime<\/th><th class=\"column-4\">Business Select<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Total Cash Price<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">$92.98<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">$130.98<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">$160.98<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Base Fare<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">$73.10<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">$108.45<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">$136.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Points Required<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">6,068<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">9,002<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">11,318<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Points Required per $1 of Base Fare<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">83<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">83<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">83<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Value of Rapid Rewards points<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.44 cents<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">1.39 cents<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">1.37 cents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<p>The same Wanna Get Away fare previously would have required no more than 5,702 Rapid Rewards points. Now, it costs 6,068 points.<\/p>\n<p><img data-aspectratio=\"600\/510\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-61010 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ATL-FLL-Southwest-award-example.png\" alt=\"example after the Southwest devaluation\" width=\"600\" height=\"510\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ATL-FLL-Southwest-award-example.png 864w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ATL-FLL-Southwest-award-example-300x255.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This may not seem like a big increase. However, when revenue-based programs are devalued, the devaluation can be more significant than we initially think.<\/p>\n<p>Devaluations should not be needed when an airline already pegs the value of its points to cash flights through a revenue-based model. Things like fare inflation and market forces will naturally raise or lower the mileage price of award flights. The airline doesn't need to devalue the formula for calculating the award price.<\/p>\n<p>Though this devaluation is said to have happened overnight with no warning, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/southwest-2021-devaluation\/\" rel=\"noopener\">The Points Guy spoke with Southwest's Director of Marketing<\/a>, Johnathan Clarkson. Clarkson told The Points Guy, &#8220;This week\u2019s 6% hike isn\u2019t directly related to the pandemic \u2014 there hasn\u2019t been in adjustment in three years, so it could have happened around this time either way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"The_Bottom_Line\">The Bottom Line<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Whatever the reason for this devaluation may be, it isn't great for the Rapid Rewards program. Now, travelers will need to pay at least 6% more points than they previously needed. Aside from Southwest's Companion Pass tier, I find the Rapid Rewards program to be one of the least lucrative programs offered by any U.S. airline. And this devaluation is further proof of the decreasing value of the Rapid Rewards program.<\/p>\n<p><em>What do you make of these changes? If you're loyal to Southwest Airlines, do these changes motivate you to consider other frequent flyer programs?<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"ftoc\"><div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_light_blue no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Page Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Redeeming_Points_with_Southwest8217s_Rapid_Rewards_Program\">Redeeming Points with Southwest's Rapid Rewards Program<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Southwest8217s_New_Rapid_Rewards_Award_Rate_Formula\">Southwest's New Rapid Rewards Award Rate Formula<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#The_Bottom_Line\">The Bottom Line<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Southwest Airlines just made some very unwelcomed changes to the airline&#8217;s Rapid Rewards program. Without notice, Southwest reduced the value of Rapid Rewards points. You&#8217;ll now need more Rapid Rewards points to make the same award travel redemptions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":51533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12069],"tags":[12036,12757,12629],"coauthors":[36401],"class_list":["post-60981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-major-updates","tag-southwest-rapid-rewards","tag-using-points"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60981"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255516,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60981\/revisions\/255516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60981"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=60981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}