As well as earning points to use for free flights, most loyalty programs also offer elite status. This gives great perks when flying. As with point earning and redeeming, this is limited to only Southwest Airlines flights for the Rapid Rewards program. Earning status is straightforward and offers useful benefits for frequent flyers.

A limited elite recognition program

Offering status for the most frequent travelers is a major benefit of most airline loyalty programs. With the larger airlines in the main airline alliances, this can include global lounge access and preferential treatment when flying with any partner airline, and lucrative complimentary upgrade offers. Such benefits are much more limited with Southwest Airlines and Rapid Rewards but still valuable for frequent airline users.

Photo: Southwest Airlines

Elite status with Rapid Rewards

There are just two elite status levels in the Rapid Rewards program, earned with increasing levels of flying or other points earning. These are called A-List and A-List Preferred. They offer increasing benefits when flying.

Status is based on either the number of flights taken on Southwest Airlines (each flight segment counts) or the total number of qualifying points earned in a calendar year.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The following earnings are needed:

• A-List status: 25 flights or 35,000 qualifying points.
• A-List Preferred status: 50 flights or 70,000 qualifying points.

Qualifying points are different from the total points earned in the program. The following all count as qualifying points:

• Base points earned from flight tickets (the additional bonuses for elite status do not count)
• Spending on certain Southwest Airlines co-branded credit cards. Spending on the Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card, Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, and Rapid Rewards Performance Business all count. You earn 1,500 qualifying points for every $10,000 in spending. From January 2023, there is an additional 10,000 points per year bonus for all co-branded cardholders.
• Points earned through hotel and car hire partners (but not from shopping or dining portal spending).

Photo: Tada Images/Shutterstock

Benefits when flying Southwest Airlines

As Southwest Airlines is not part of the major airline alliances, and Rapid Rewards has no other airline partners, benefits only apply on Southwest-operated flights. These are useful for frequent fliers, but there are no big savings as you get with many other loyalty programs – and there are no upgrades (as Southwest Airlines only has one cabin) and no free baggage (as all fares already include this).

Photo: Jeramey Lende | Shutterstock.

The benefits of A-List status include:

• A 25% bonus on points earned from flights
• Priority check-in, security (where available), and priority boarding
• Same-day flight change and same-day standby

A-List Preferred status adds:

• A 100% bonus on points earned from flights
• Free inflight WiFi

The Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass benefit is not directly tied to elite status but is also awarded based on flight segments or Qualifying points. This is a great perk (one of the best in the loyalty market) that offers one free ticket for a named companion when you buy a cash or points ticket.

It requires one of the following:

• 100 Southwest Airlines flight segments.
• 135,000 Qualifying Points. This level was increased in January 2023, from the previous requirement of 125,000 points.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Do you have A-List or A-List preferred status with Rapid Rewards? Feel free to share your experiences with the program, and what benefits you find most useful in the comments.