The short answer is “no.” Southwest Rapid Rewards Points don’t expire. Although Southwest Rapid Rewards points used to expire after 24 months of inactivity, they no longer do.
Airlines vary in how they handle point expiration: United and Delta miles don’t expire, and while Alaska miles don’t expire either, the program requires activity on an account every 24 months to keep it active. American extends the life of an account by 24 months every time a member makes a transaction, like earning or redeeming miles.
So, if you have a bank of Southwest miles you’re not sure you can use in the foreseeable future, don’t worry — your Southwest Rapid Rewards miles are safe as long as they don’t change the terms of the program.
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How to earn more Southwest points
There are several ways to earn Southwest points, from flying Southwest flights to using a Southwest-branded credit card to booking partner hotels or car rentals. You can even earn points by sending flowers or gifts through select partners.
Earning points with flights
The easiest way to earn Rapid Rewards points is by booking Southwest flights. You can earn more miles per dollar by purchasing higher fare categories. It’s six points per dollar for their lowest fares and up to 12 points per dollar for the Business Select Fare.
One limit to earning with flights is that Southwest has no airline partners. You can only earn points on Southwest flights.
Earning Southwest points with partners
Although Southwest has no airline partners, there are plenty of travel companies that offer Southwest points. Most major rental car companies do, and so do many hotel chains. Southwest also has a hotel booking engine that earns points, even if you book at a hotel that doesn’t award them directly.
Many hotel and rental car companies put a caveat on earning Southwest points, however. These partners require you to be a member of their own program and elect to earn Southwest points instead of their own rewards when you stay or rent with them. Southwest’s site has all the details on earning with each partner.
Southwest also participates in shopping and dining programs that earn points. For retail partners, simply make purchases online via the Rapid Rewards Shopping website, and you’ll earn points.
For restaurants, you’ll register a credit card with the Rapid Rewards Dining program andautomatically earn bonus points whenever you use that card at a participating restaurant. Rapid Rewards Dining even offers a first-dine bonus along with extra points for making reservations, completing reviews and completing other qualifying activity.
Redeeming Southwest Rapid Rewards points
Southwest flights are the most straightforward way to redeem Rapid Rewards points. While searching for flights, there’s a toggle between “Points” and “Dollars.” When shopping using dollars, there’s an additional option on the payment page to make a partial payment in points. Unlike with earning points, there’s not a set points-per-dollar conversion when redeeming points. Your redemption value will vary by fare type.
Southwest doesn’t currently offer redemptions for flights on other airlines, but you can redeem Rapid Rewards points for hotel stays, car rentals, or merchandise. The redemption rates are less favorable than they are for redeeming flights — that is, you’ll likely spend more points for a hotel stay than for a Southwest flight that costs roughly the same in dollars. But if you have a lot of points to spend and can’t use all of them on flights, it’s a good option to cut down on travel costs.
Getting a Southwest co-branded card
Southwest has five Rapid Rewards credit cards, issued by Chase Bank: Two business and three personal cards. The credit cards carry an annual fee ranging from $69 to $199 and come with benefits like bonus points on Southwest flights, discounts on onboard purchases, Tier Qualifying Points (TPQ) towards A-List status, and annual bonus points, and perks like EarlyBird Check-in. The perks vary by card.
Think of the Southwest credit cards as an additional partner for earning points. You’ll earn points for making purchases on Southwest and everyday purchases. You won’t lose your points if you close your credit card account or carry a balance (but you don’t earn points on interest charges).
Reasons why you might lose your Southwest points
While Southwest points don’t expire, you can lose your Southwest points if your account is closed due to fraudulent activity if you violate their terms and conditions by doing things like selling award travel.
Southwest tends to send out inquiries and warnings before they take action to close accounts for fraud or rule-breaking, so it’s not something that tends to be a surprise. However, Southwest reserves the right to close any account without notice.
Southwest does not, however, automatically close accounts for members in the event of a death. If you share your account login with a spouse or other family member, they can continue to redeem points from the account to book travel even after your demise, and they can transfer the points out for the regular fee for points transfers. Southwest doesn’t allow the points to be willed, inherited, or transferred to an estate.
Summary
Southwest points don’t expire, so unless the program changes its policy, your points are yours until you decide to spend them. Southwest’s points can mostly be spent on flights on Southwest (there are no airline partners), cars, hotels, and merchandise such as gift cards. In short, the program is good for travelers who frequently fly Southwest’s network (which is limited to North America).
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