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 Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Rise® are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
The Southwest Airlines
But is transferring your points the best way to book a Southwest flight? In this article, we'll explain the basics of redemptions with the Rapid Rewards program and when it makes sense to initiate a transfer.
Chase Credit Cards
If you've got one of the following Ultimate Rewards-earning credit cards, you can transfer the points you earn to Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000-point increments.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (Rates & Fees)
$95Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
$795Rates & Fees
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
$95Rates & Fees
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
If you also have a Chase cash-back card that earns Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your points into one of the eligible accounts above before transferring them to Southwest. Eligible cards include:
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees)
- Chase Freedom Flex®
- Chase Freedom Rise®
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
Should You Transfer Points From Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest?
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how to transfer Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards, let's tackle the obvious question: Should you?
Let's be clear: Southwest Airlines isn't Chase's most valuable transfer partner. On average, our analysis shows that Southwest points are currently worth around 1.1–1.2 cents per point. This is good, but not great.
That's because Southwest doesn't use an award chart. Instead, as a fixed-revenue program, the cost of your award ticket is roughly based on the cash price of the seat. The higher the cash rate, the more points it'll cost you. That means you won't get much better value than the range we discussed above. The good news is that if a seat is for sale, you can always redeem your Rapid Rewards points to pay for it.
As the value of Rapid Rewards has decreased, it may now also make sense to consider booking Southwest flights through the Chase Travel portal instead. It's possible to use fewer Ultimate Rewards when booking this way. See our dedicated post on comparing these two alternatives.
This lower value of Southwest points means other airline programs that Chase partners with — such as Air France-KLM Flying Blue (2.24¢ apiece) and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (3.46¢ 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.
Related: Southwest Airlines Cash + Points Feature: How It Works
How To Transfer Points From Chase to Southwest
Once you've decided that transferring points from Chase to Southwest is the best option for you, the process is much easier than you’d think. Log in to your Chase account and choose to redeem Ultimate Rewards on the appropriate Chase credit card. Under the “Travel” drop-down, select “Transfer points to partners.”
You can then choose Southwest from the list of all transfer partners and click “Transfer Points.”
Now, enter the amount of points to transfer in 1,000-point increments.
Then, enter your Rapid Rewards account details. It’s important to note that you can only transfer points to yourself or one authorized user on your account. Once you enter this information, it will link your accounts, and you shouldn't need to re-enter it again in the future.
Finally, review your information and hit submit.
AwardWallet user data shows 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 have priced it out!
Related: How To Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points: A Step-By-Step Guide
Advantages of Booking Southwest Flights Using Points
There are many reasons to love Southwest Airlines, even though the value for its points may not be among the highest. First, Southwest has a robust route network that may service small, local airports very well.
Additionally, Southwest doesn't charge award change or cancellation fees — unless you choose a Basic fare. If you book a ticket using Rapid Rewards points and need to change or cancel your award, you can do so without penalty — you're points will be redeposited 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 flight, you can go to Southwest’s website and have the difference refunded to your Rapid Rewards balance by making the change.
Finally, it's also worth considering whether you can buy Southwest points at a reasonable rate before transferring Ultimate Rewards points. 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, be sure to compare the number of points required for each 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.
But once you decide to transfer Ultimate Rewards to Southwest, the process is easy and usually instant.
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), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (Rates & Fees), Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees), Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
