Renowned for its friendly service, Southwest Airlines has no luggage fees, an expanding list of destinations and affordable priority access. It also has a loyalty program that is frequently ranked as one of the best in the country. Here are a few reasons to collect Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Flexibility
Southwest is great for indecisive travelers. Other U.S. airlines generally charge between $75 and $150 for most changes to an award ticket, and between $75 and $200 to redeposit miles after canceling an award flight. But Southwest will allow you to change your ticket for only the difference in cost of the new flight. And if your new flight is cheaper, Southwest will refund the difference in miles. On canceled tickets, the airline will return your miles and refund the taxes you paid.
Recently, I booked a flight to Mexico, but wasn't sure whether I'd need to come back on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. But the flight was so cheap (7,300 miles from New York) that I wanted to lock in the fare. So I booked all three flights, and about a month later, canceled two of them and received a full refund for both.
No fees
Southwest famously remains the sole U.S. carrier that doesn’t charge fliers for checking baggage. It doesn’t charge fliers for much else, either. Most airlines demand a fee for everything from booking an award ticket within three weeks of the flight to fuel surcharges that can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of a free ticket. Southwest charges only government-imposed taxes that cost $5.60 for domestic flights, and usually range from about $25 to $75 for international fares.
Expanding international service
One of Southwest’s few weaknesses has always been its lack of international flights. The airline began limited service abroad after taking over AirTran in 2011. Southwest’s new international terminal in Houston is a game-changer, and another is coming to Fort Lauderdale in 2017. For now, Southwest’s international flight map is limited to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. That’s tiny compared to other major carriers, but prices on those routes are usually reasonable.
PHOTOS: Scenes from Southwest's inaugural Caribbean flights
Redemptions start incredibly low
Unlike other major U.S. carriers, Southwest has a revenue-based redemption system, meaning the cost of awards directly correlates to the cost of a paid ticket instead of having a fixed rate depending on departure and destination regions. The value of points does fluctuate depending on a variety of factors, but points are generally worth between 1.4 and 1.6 cents each. This has advantages and disadvantages, but it means that one-way flights can go for less than 2,000 miles. Compare that to a standard domestic ticket on the other major airlines, which generally go for 12,500 one way and almost never drop below 10,000. International one-ways can go for as low as 3,000 miles, compared to the standard 17,500 most carriers charge to the same destinations.
Points are easy to rack up
One of the biggest complaints among frequent fliers in the past couple years has been the transition of nearly every major airline to a revenue-based loyalty program. This is one area where Southwest is like the rest, but Southwest awards between six and 12 points per dollar spent on flying depending on type of fare. That’s slightly better than the five to 11 points United and Delta hand out.
No blackout dates
The revenue-based redemption system also means that if there is a seat on a plane, you can book it using Rapid Rewards. Southwest is the only U.S. airline that can make that claim.
Chase partnership
The carrier has a partnership with Chase for both Southwest co-branded credit cards and Chase Ultimate-Rewards earning credit cards like the Ink Plus and Sapphire Preferred. Both Chase cards come with big signup bonuses, and allow you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Rapid Rewards points almost instantly.
Companion Pass
Southwest offers what many travel hackers consider the greatest perk in the frequent-flier universe, and you don’t even need to fly a single mile to earn it. To qualify for a Southwest Companion Pass, all you have to do is sign up for a couple credit cards (just make sure to be smart about it). There are a lot of airlines that offer one-off companion certificatesallowing you to bring a friend along for a free ride, but Southwest is the only carrier that will allow you to designate a companion for free on unlimited flights for up to two calendar years with no caveats. In order to qualify, you will need to earn 110,000 miles in a calendar year, which is very hard to do flying. But Southwest often offers 50,000 to 60,000 points for signing up for a co-branded credit card, so it’s possible to earn the companion pass and 110,ooo+ miles just for signing up for two cards. Even if you can’t find the 60,000-point offer, there are plenty of other tricks to help you earn the extra miles you’ll need.
Brad Cohen, Special for USA TODAY
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