How to Use American Express Points on Southwest Flights

With a robust portfolio of 21 travel partners, including 18 airlines and three hotel brands, American Express Membership Rewards is one of the best transferable points programs on the market. 

Unfortunately, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards is not among them, meaning there’s no way to transfer points directly between them like you would with other partners. (Side note: Southwest is a Chase travel partner, and you can transfer Ultimate Rewards at a 1:1 ratio if you’re a member of that particular program).

To make matters worse, you can’t even get around this by redeeming Membership Rewards points for Southwest flights through the American Express Travel portal, AmexTravel.com, a popular hack for booking non-partner flights on other carriers.

Thankfully, booking Southwest Airlines flights with Membership Rewards points is still possible. You’ll just have to work a little harder or potentially be willing to part with more points than usual.

Here’s everything you need to know about redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points for flights on Southwest Airlines, whether you’re a long-time points and miles enthusiast or are just starting your journey.

Booking Southwest flights using the Amex travel portal 

Let’s start with the bad news: you can’t actually book Southwest Airlines flights with Amex points through Amex Travel portal. The good news is there are still a few workarounds, but they’ll take a bit more effort than your average points transfer process.

A recent Amex Travel search for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. (DCA) to Tampa (TPA), for instance, only showed results for American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, even though Southwest also flies that same route.

Since redeeming Amex points for Southwest flights isn’t possible through the portal, you’ll have to call American Express customer service at 1-800-297-2977 and tell the representative you wish to book your trip with Amex points. Note, however, that due to search limitations, they may not have access to the cheapest “Wanna Get Away” fares or international flight options, which can only be booked directly with the carrier.

Another option is to use an eligible American Express credit card that’s part of the Membership Rewards program to book your flight directly with Southwest Airlines, then use Amex points to cover the charge once it appears on your statement. This can be done through your account online or by calling Customer Service at 1-800-297-2977. Either way, your points are worth one cent apiece, so you’d need about 25,000 Membership Rewards points to reimburse yourself for a $250 Southwest flight.

When using the Pay With Points feature, keep in mind a few stipulations, including that “you may use points only toward the entire amount of an eligible charge.”

Depending on which Amex credit card you’re using, you might be able to score a bonus rebate of 25% (American Express Business Gold Card), 35% (The Business Platinum Card from American Express), or 50% (Centurion Business Card from American Express) on points redemptions when you choose Southwest as your preferred airline.

To check for eligible charges to cover with Amex points, log into your Amex account, click on “Rewards & Benefits” on the top right tab, scroll down to “Use [points to cover card charges,” and hit “Get started.”

From there, you can apply points towards your list of eligible charges, as determined by Amex. Simply choose the one you want to cover with points – in this case, any recent purchases with Southwest Airlines – to take care of it.

Booking Southwest flights using American Express Membership Rewards points on partners 

I’m afraid there’s more bad news: Southwest doesn’t have any airline partners. That said, two American Express hotel partners are Membership Rewards transfer partners— namely, Marriott Bonvoy and Choice Privileges. From there, you can convert points to Southwest Rapid Rewards.

While the initial transfer from Amex Membership Rewards to either hotel partner is still 1:1, you won’t be able to score the same 1:1 transfer ratio when converting those hotel points to Rapid Rewards points. But since Southwest doesn’t allow transfers from other airlines or credit card partner rewards programs (except for Chase Ultimate Rewards), your options are pretty limited.

Even so, it might still be worth “pooling” your points from other transferable programs, such as Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Bilt Rewards, or Chase Ultimate Rewards, toward a common hotel partner — in this case, Marriott Bonvoy or Choice Privileges — and converting those points to Rapid Rewards.

Remember to check the transfer page of your Membership Rewards account to see if any transfer bonuses are available. And be sure you have a solid points redemption in mind before you pull the trigger, as transfers happen immediately and are irreversible. 

American Express Membership Rewards Partner: Marriott Bonvoy

Start by logging into your American Express account and making sure your Marriott Bonvoy account is linked. It should say “Enrolled” below the program once this is done. If not, follow the on-screen instructions to verify your information and connect them.

Choose “show details” for Marriott Bonvoy. You’ll then be asked how many points you’d like to transfer to the program. 

Keep in mind that your next step involves transferring these points to Southwest at a 3:1 ratio, so you’ll need to convert 3X the final amount needed. For example, if my flight costs 20,000 Rapid Rewards points, I’ll need to transfer 60,000 Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy and then convert those 60,000 points to Southwest Rapid Rewards to cover it. On the bright side, I’ll end up earning 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points transferred from Marriott Bonvoy to Southwest.

Allow up to 48 hours for the points to transfer from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy. Once you’re ready to transfer them to Southwest Rapid Rewards, go to this page, select “transfer points,” and log into your Marriott Bonvoy account. You may need to confirm your identity with a code first.

On the next page, you can select Southwest Rapid Rewards from the list of frequent flyer programs, enter your membership number, and enter the number of points you want to transfer. 

The last page lists your final details. Click “Transfer points now” to confirm the transfer, which should go through within about 24 hours, if not immediately.

American Express Membership Rewards Partner: Choice Privileges

Converting Amex points to Rapid Rewards points is a similar process, though the transfer ratio is worse at 6:1.8 — in other words, you’ll only get 1,800 Rapid Rewards points for every 6,000 Choice Privileges points transferred.

Use the same steps mentioned above to log into your Amex account and transfer points to Choice Privileges. Remember to calculate how many points you’ll need since it’s not a typical 1:1 transfer rate.

Once the points have moved over, which should take up to 48 hours, head over to the Rewards Exchange page and log into your Choice Privileges account. On the next page, select “Exchange now,” and confirm your identity with the code sent to you. From here, link your Southwest Rapid Rewards account to Choice Privileges if you haven’t already. Just follow the steps and plug in the security code that’s emailed to you.

Enter your Southwest Rapid Rewards login info on the next screen to connect your accounts. It should now say “registered.” Click “make an exchange” to continue, then enter how many Choice Privileges points you need to transfer for your Rapid Rewards flight redemption. Click on “exchange” to finalize the conversion. 

Note that it can take up to 24 or 48 hours to process the points transfer.

The best Southwest flights to book using Amex points

Determining the best Southwest flight redemption options for you comes down to your travel needs and preferences. Start by using the Southwest Low Fare Calendar to see if there are any sweet spots that best suit your ideal travel dates. Those with flexible schedules will have the best shot at maximizing points redemption deals.

To get the best value, aim for short one-way hops between major cities, like Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Vegas (LAS) or Phoenix (PHX), for instance. Remember that Southwest also flies internationally, so you could end up booking a ticket from South Florida to Mexico for less, depending on the time of year and exact destination.

A recent search for one-way flights from LAX to LAS in February showed flights from 3,335 Rapid Rewards points and $5.60 in taxes. Since the cash fare was $58.48, those points are worth roughly 1.6 cents apiece, yielding a pretty decent value.

Another sample search showed one-way flights from Miami (MIA) to Cancun (CUN) in March starting at 5,478 Rapid Rewards points, plus $47.47 in taxes. The cash value of that same ticket is $145.37, meaning your redemption is worth about 1.8 cents per point — a steal if you can fly then. 

Those planning trips to Hawaii can use Rapid Rewards points to save on flights, especially when departing from the West Coast. Southwest flies into all major Hawaiian airports, including Honolulu (HNL) on Oahu, Kahului (OGG) on Maui, Lihue (LIH) on Kauai, and Kona (KOA) and Hilo (ITO).

For example, one-way flights from Seattle (SEA) to Honolulu (HNL) start at 8,442 Rapid Rewards points, plus $5.60 in taxes in early March. Since the same ticket costs $143.60, we subtract the taxes when calculating the point value, so the points represent 1.6 cents per point.

How point.me helps you book Southwest flights with American Express Membership Rewards points

It’s easy to track down the best available flight redemption for your travel and financial needs with point.me. Just enter your preferred cities/airports, desired travel dates, and which class you prefer to fly in. 

Then, filter the search results by loyalty program or by the airlines or credit cards you have memberships with. Best of all, there are never any surprises, as all taxes and fees, cash fares (for comparison), and the total amount of points you’ll need to transfer are always displayed.

Frequently asked questions about booking Southwest flights with Amex points

Can I use Amex points for Southwest flights?

You can use Amex points for Southwest flights, but it’s a little more complicated than usual. Instead of redeeming Membership Rewards points for Southwest flights via AmexTravel.com, you’ll need to call customer service at 1-800-297-2977 or purchase your Southwest flight with an American Express credit card that earns Membership Rewards and use your points to cover the price of your flight after the fact. 

Since transferring them directly to Rapid Rewards isn’t an option, you’ll have to go through a middleman — namely, Marriott Bonvoy or Choice Privileges — which are each transfer partners of Rapid Rewards and Membership Rewards.

What other airlines can I transfer Amex points to?

American Express Membership Rewards partners with 18 airlines and three hotel loyalty programs (Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and Choice Privileges) and you can transfer points to most of them at a 1:1 ratio (AeroMexico Rewards gives you 1,600 points for every 1,000 transferred, and JetBlue gives you 200 points for every 250 transferred, while Hilton Honors has a more lucrative transfer ratio of 2:1). 

Those airline partners include Aer Lingus AerClub, AeroMexico Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, ANA Mileage Club, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Delta SkyMiles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Can I partially pay for a Southwest flight with Amex points?

You can’t partially pay for a Southwest flight with Amex points since you’re not going through the typical AmexTravel.com portal. You must have enough Membership Rewards points to cover the entire cost of your flight. That goes for whether you’re calling customer service to redeem points for Southwest flights or using the Pay With Points feature to “wipe” the eligible fare from your bill. Even if you’re transferring Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy or Choice Privileges, you’ll need to have enough to float the full amount.

Summary

While using American Express points to redeem flights on Southwest Airlines isn’t impossible, the process is slightly more complicated than it is with other partner airlines. But with a little extra effort — whether that means calling Amex customer service to book your trip with points, remembering to “erase” the eligible charge with your Amex points once you get the bill, or navigating the less lucrative world of hotel transfer partner intermediaries — you’ll be well on your way to a free Southwest flight in no time.