How many southwest rewards for a flight

Both are excellent ways to earn and double-dip points earning, especially if that's spending you're doing anyway. Gas at Marathon gas stations: Rapid Rewards members can earn 1 point for every gallon of Marathon fuel they purchase, plus additional points on select in-store purchases and other specified achievements through the MakeItCount program. To earn, members must sign up ahead of time and select Rapid Rewards as their earning partner. Switching electricity providers: Members in some states can also earn a sign-up bonus and ongoing bonuses when they switch their power service to NRG Home or Reliant.

Check the Rapid Rewards website to see if your home is eligible. Taking surveys: Participate in market research and earn points when you share your opinion via the e-Rewards and e-Miles platforms.

Generally, you can buy Rapid Rewards points at a rate of 2. NerdWallet values Rapid Rewards points at an average of 1. You must transfer a minimum of 1, points. You can also transfer points from rental car and hotel programs to Rapid Rewards, though — unless you don't anticipate using those points in their original form — the exchange rate is pretty bad, so we don't typically recommend this.

To book flights on Southwest, go to the booking tool on Southwest's website, enter your travel information and choose the option to see the fare in points rather than dollars.

If any fare classes are sold out for a given flight, that will be indicated in the results. While all fare options are available, prices in points are directly tied to their cash price. But if you hold a Southwest credit card, you'll also have access to the More Rewards program , where you can redeem your Rapid Rewards points for hotel stays, rental cars, gift cards and more.

But here's the thing: spending Rapid Rewards points on anything other than actual Southwest flights is, in most cases, not the best use of your points. We ran the numbers on dozens of redemptions in the More Rewards portal. Using our airline miles valuations , which peg a Rapid Rewards point at 1. International flights: Rapid Rewards points may also be used to book international flights to destinations Southwest doesn't fly to on over 50 carriers. To find which routes and airlines are available, visit the Southwest Rapid Rewards website and explore rewards.

When using your miles for international flights on other airlines, expect to get a value of around 1 cent per point for flights, which is a lower value than you get using points for Southwest flights. Rental cars: Rapid Rewards points can be used on rental cars. By using Southwest's travel portal, you can reserve and pay for a rental car using their Rapid Rewards balance.

Merchandise and gift cards: Finally, as with many different rewards programs, you can use your points for merchandise and gift cards. As with other frequent flyer programs, the value of such redemptions is poor: Expect to get a value of 0. Here's how. Southwest Wanna Get Away flights: The best possible way to use points is toward Wanna Get Away fares aboard Southwest, which is the lowest of the Southwest fare classes. On average, when you use your points toward Wanna Get Away airfare, expect to get a value of 1.

International flights: Southwest is primarily known for its flights within the contiguous United States and Hawaii. But don't overlook its international flights to destinations in Central America and the Caribbean.

But these tend to be a terrible deal. When we searched for gift card rewards, values were as low as 0. This makes getting gift cards and other items from a merchandise store a very bad use of points.

Hotels: Although you could use Rapid Rewards points for hotel nights, the value you'd get from your rewards will be low. When we searched for hotels, values were as low as 0. You can sign up for the Rapid Rewards loyalty program for free, which allows you to earn points toward Southwest elite status and award flights. You gain elite status as soon as you earn it, and it's good through the next calendar year. A qualifying one-way flight is defined as a trip from origin to destination, including any connections.

Tier qualifying points are counted differently from Rapid Rewards points. Although you can obtain Rapid Rewards points in all sorts of ways as described above , there are only two ways to earn tier qualifying points: 1.

Purchasing tickets for Southwest flights. To arrive at these dollar figures, we made many assumptions about how each status was used. Check the methodology in the link above for a more detailed breakdown.

Why so low compared to other airline program elite status programs? In a word: Upgrades. Other airline programs offer complimentary first-class and premium-class upgrades to members, while A-List status only grants early boarding. All of the estimated value from both status tiers comes from the bonus Rapids Rewards Points they accrue.

Need a break from The Big Apple? Try your luck in Sin City. How about a last minute cross-country flight for you and your spouse to spend Christmas in sunny California? Escape the Chicago winter for a ten-day trip to sunny South Florida. Lauderdale FLL for roughly , points. How do I pay with points on Southwest?

Booking with points is easy. Select the flight you want and review the trip and price details. If everything looks good, enter your information and then purchase the flight. The number of points needed for a reward flight depends on the fare. This includes factors such as destination, time, day of travel, and the type of fare you choose.

However, you could always book one leg of the trip using points and the other with cash. In other words, two one-way reservations — one using points and the other using cash. Yes, you can use your Southwest points to book travel for another passenger. If changes to the itinerary are needed, you will need to make the changes for the other person.

Yes, you can use Companion Pass on airfare booked with points. After you book airfare for yourself, head right back into your account to add your companion to your itinerary. You can also buy up to 60, points per day to gift to another member. Traveling with points is a rewarding experience. When you use points to fly on Southwest, you not only get the experience of traveling with the points you worked hard to earn but also with the famous Southwest hospitality.

There are plenty of ways to maximize your point-earning potential, which makes flying Southwest with points a great way to travel. You can start by signing up for a free Rapid Rewards account and then earning points for each flight. In this article. Hot Sign-up Bonus. Benefits and Drawbacks. Benefits , point sign-up bonus 3X points on travel and common business spending categories Flexible redemption options Additional employee cards at no extra cost.

Card Details. Special Perks for Business Owners. Note that you may want to book Southwest flights through Chase if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve , specifically. You can redeem Ultimate Rewards points from the card at 1. Southwest Rapid Rewards points are a great option for travelers that want flexibility in booking any ticket on a vast domestic flight network.

With fee-free changes and cancellations plus two free checked bags for all passengers, Southwest is a favorite among many travelers. Plus, the Companion Pass can double the value of your points when traveling with a friend or family member. Terms Apply. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser.

Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. Many of the credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.

This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers.

Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Skip to content. Advertiser Disclosure. Andrew Kunesh. Screenshot courtesy of southwest. Related: The best business credit cards With these high welcome offers, earning the Companion Pass is relatively easy. Redeem points on travel and experiences Like most airline mileage currencies, you can redeem your Rapid Rewards points for hotel stays and car rentals. How do I join Southwest Rapid Rewards? Can I transfer points to Southwest?

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Outside of the travel world, Andrew is a cyclist, craft coffee aficionado and — despite now living in NYC — a Chicagoan at heart.