New Southwest Rapid Rewards promotion offers 4 additional ways to earn elite status

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Earning A-List or A-List Preferred elite status in Southwest's Rapid Rewards loyalty program has just become easier.

A new limited-time acceleration promotion offers members four unique ways to earn elite status through 2025. Activities that previously did not count toward status are now included in tier qualifying points and flight segment calculations.

Here's how you can fast-track your way to elite status with Southwest's new promotion.

How to earn Southwest A-List elite status with new promotion

Rapid Rewards members would typically need to earn the following to qualify for elite status through 2025:

• A-List: 20 one-way qualifying flight segments or 35,000 tier qualifying points
• A-List Preferred: 40 one-way qualifying flight segments or 70,000 tier qualifying points

However, you can now earn elite status faster through Nov. 30 with Southwest's latest promotion.

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Currently, you can fast-track your way to elite status by:

• Registering at southwest.com, then booking travel through Nov. 30; doing so will get you at least double the tier qualifying points, with business travelers booking flights through Southwest Business channels (swabiz.com, a global distribution system or Southwest Partner Services) earning triple the tier qualifying points.
• Purchasing flights with Rapid Rewards points for travel through Nov. 30; doing so will count toward tier status flight segment requirements, but keep in mind that this only includes awards booked after registering for this promotion, so if you want these flights to count toward your segment requirements, you may wish to cancel them, register and rebook.
• Using a Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, a Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, a Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card or a Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card after registration to earn an additional 2,000 tier qualifying points for every $5,000 spent on the card from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30; these points are in addition to the tier qualifying points already awarded on these cards for reaching spending requirements.
• Booking a car rental or hotel via Rapid Rewards or making purchases with select Rapid Rewards partners between now and Nov. 30; each base point you earn will count as 1 tier qualifying point, up to 5,000 tier qualifying points. No registration is required.

The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Travel booked through Southwest Vacations Packages is not eligible for this promotion.

What are the benefits of Southwest A-List elite status?

With Southwest A-List status, you'll get the following:

• Priority boarding
• A 25% bonus on points earned from paid flights
• Free same-day standby and changes (taxes and fees may apply)
• Priority check-in and security lane access
• Access to a dedicated A-List member phone line

Southwest A-List Preferred elite status provides all the benefits of A-List status, as well as:

• A 100% bonus on points earned from paid flights
• Free inflight Wi-Fi
• Two free premium drinks on flights of 176 miles or more

While not a status level, Southwest's famous Companion Pass can also be earned after taking 100 one-way qualifying flights or earning 135,000 qualifying points.

You can earn A-List and A-List Preferred status by completing the required number of qualifying flight segments or earning tier qualifying points. The latter can be earned on flights, via spending on select cobranded Southwest credit cards or through these new earning opportunities.

Bottom line

If you thought you might struggle to secure A-List or A-Lift Preferred status in Southwest's Rapid Rewards program for the 2025 calendar year, this new promotion might push you over the line. Register first, then enjoy four new and unique ways to earn additional tier qualifying points and flight segments to reach your status goals sooner.