Southwest Airlines partners: Earn points on travel, shopping and more

Summary

An overview of all your point-earning opportunities with Southwest’s hotel, car rental, shopping and specialty partners.

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Did you know that you can earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points without spending money with Southwest at all? That’s right! Southwest Airlines has a number of partners across the travel industry and beyond that offer Rapid Rewards points for purchases ranging from home goods and alternate transportation to travel-related purchases such as hotel stays.

Southwest partners with hotels, rental car companies and even utilities providers, both within and outside of the world of travel. You can link your Southwest Rapid Rewards account to these partners so that you earn Rapid Rewards points every time you complete a transaction.

The best card for Southwest flyers

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Why should you get it?

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card is by far the best value for a frequent Southwest flyer, thanks to its $75 travel credit and 7,500-point annual bonus.

Learn more

More things to know:

Earn 40,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn 3X points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, for the first year
7,500 bonus points each year after your card anniversary
$75 annual travel credit
4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
20% discount on in-flight purchases made with your card

We’ve broken down the partners by category below:

Hotel partners

Southwest’s hotel partners typically offer a flat 600 Rapid Rewards points per stay when booked directly through the hotel website. However, booking hotel stays through the SouthwestHotels.com site instead allows Rapid Rewards members to earn additional points per stay.

The typical earning pace is one point per dollar, although Southwest sometimes offers promotions where members can earn two points per dollar. Because the earning rate fluctuates based on a dynamic algorithm of availability and pricing, your best option for finding the best earning potential or redemption timeframes is to monitor the website as soon as you know your dates and book your reservation when the rates are most favorable.

From time to time, Southwest offers bonus points promotions that offer an especially high earning rate – up to 10,000 Rapid Rewards points per night – so it’s a good idea to make a habit of checking the Rapid Rewards Promotions page to keep an eye out for good hotel deals.

Southwest hotel partners

	Earning rate/sign-up bonus	Transfer ratio (partner to Southwest)
Best Western	Varies; around 600 points per stay	5,000:1,200
Radisson Rewards	Varies; around 600 points per stay	10,000:1,000
Choice Hotels	Varies; around 600 points per stay	6,000:1,800
World of Hyatt	Varies; around 600 points per stay	5,000:2,400 or 50,000:24,000 + 6,000 bonus points (30,000 points total)
La Quinta	Varies; around 600 points per stay	6,000:1,200
SPG/Marriott	Varies; around 600 points per stay	10,000:2,000 or 20,000:5,000 or 30,000:10,000 or 70,000:25,000 or 140,000:50,000
MGM Resorts	Varies; around 600 points per stay Participating hotels: Bellagio, ARIA, Vdara, MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano Las Vegas, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur	N/A
Rocketmiles	1,000 – 10,000 points per night	N/A

Rocketmiles

Rocketmiles isn’t actually a hotel chain; rather, it’s a booking platform that offers Rapid Rewards members between 1,000 and 10,000 Rapid Rewards points per night on stays booked directly through the website. It’s always best to compare your options before booking a reservation. Sometimes, it may be a better value for you to book through SouthwestHotels.com, but other times Rocketmiles may be the more lucrative option. Depending on the hotel and the number of nights you book, a single Rocketmiles reservation could earn you a free award flight.

Car rental partners

Similar to its hotel partners, Southwest partners with most of the major car rental companies in the nation to offer Rapid Rewards points for rental car reservations made through its rental car booking portal. Earning rates vary by each partner, but typically, every qualified rental will earn you 600 Rapid Rewards points upon completion of the rental agreement. Remember that these bookings count toward the two points per dollar bonus on Southwest purchases if you pay with a Southwest credit card – a great opportunity to double-dip in earnings.

Southwest rental car partners

	Earning rate	Notes
Alamo	600 points per rental worldwide	A flight is not required to receive points except when the member has multiple rentals on consecutive days in the same market. If more than one rental occurs in the same day or consecutive days, a flight must be taken within 24 hours of each rental. Rapid Rewards Points will not be issued for prior rentals older than 6 months.
Avis	600 points per rental at worldwide airport Avis locations	Frequent Flyer surcharge of up to $1.00 per day may apply.
Budget	600 points per rental worldwide	Frequent Flyer surcharge of up to $1.00 per day may apply.
Dollar	600 points per rental worldwide	A flight is not required to receive points. Industry discount rates, tour rates and complimentary rentals do not qualify for Rapid Rewards points.
Hertz	600 points per rental worldwide	Request Rapid Rewards Points up to 6 months after your rental date. Use your Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards discount number CDP 205418 and get the following benefits: Preferred Daily Discount in the U.S. Rapid Rewards points with qualifying rentals Up to 30% Discount on U.S. Leisure Rates 10% Discount on Affordable Europe Rates (non-prepaid) 10% Discount on Canadian Leisure Rates 10% Discount on Rates in Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean
National	600 points per rental worldwide	N/A
Payless	600 points per qualifying rental at participating airport locations worldwide	Frequent Flyer surcharge of $1.50 per day, up to $7.50 per rental may apply.
Thrifty	600 points per rental worldwide	Within the U.S. only, earn 600 points after three parking visits at a Thrifty airport parking location (must be at same location within a 12-month period).

Ground transport partners

SuperShuttle
ExecuCar

Rapid Rewards Members can earn 150 points each way – 300 points round-trip – for reserving SuperShuttle’s shared-ride airport shuttle or ExecuCar’s private sedan service to and from the airport. Reservations must be made at rapidrewards.supershuttle.com to qualify, and you simply need to provide your Rapid Rewards account number at the time of booking. The name on the reservation must match the name on your Rapid Rewards account for the points to post to your account.

Shopping and dining partners

1800-Flowers
Laithwaite’s Wine
Harry & David

Got someone to woo? Reward yourself as well: Each order over $29.99 ordered through 1800-Flowers earns 1,000 Rapid Rewards Points when you place your order by phone and include promotional code RR22 as well as your Rapid Rewards account number. The same bonus is available for shoppers who order gourmet gifts through Harry & David and use promotional code SW44 and their Rapid Rewards account number at checkout.

Bet you didn’t know that soothing glass of wine after work is also getting you that much closer to your next vacation. Rapid Rewards members earn 2,000 points as an introductory bonus to the Laithwaite’s Wine club case of 12 top-estate wines. Each future club case of wine earns buyers 1,000 points, while all non-club purchases earn Rapid Rewards at a rate of three points per dollar spent.

Home and lifestyle partners

NRG
Reliant
Make It Count

Southwest even makes paying your electricity bill a little bit sweeter. Texas residents who are Rapid Rewards members can receive up to 27,000 Rapid Rewards points over 24 months with either NRG or Reliant as their energy providers. Rapid Rewards members also earn one point per gallon of fuel purchased at participating Marathon gas stations across the nation, with the opportunity to collect additional points on in-store purchases and other achievements listed here.

Specialty partners

Rewards for Opinions
e-Rewards

Southwest rewards members who share valuable consumer feedback with marketing survey companies Rewards for Opinions and e-Rewards. While completed surveys earn currency with the survey company itself, Rapid Rewards members can convert survey currency points into Rapid Rewards points.

e-Rewards Currency can be redeemed for Rapid Rewards Points in increments of:

$15 e-Rewards Currency = 300 Rapid Rewards points
$25 e-Rewards Currency = 600 Rapid Rewards points
$50 e-Rewards Currency = 1,200 Rapid Rewards points
$100 e-Rewards Currency = 2,400 Rapid Rewards points

Rewards for Opinions earning potential will vary based on dynamic availability, demand and other factors – so check back to the site often to look for the most lucrative times to complete surveys.

Bottom line

There are a number of ways to stack your Rapid Rewards points-earning potential without ever having to whip out your credit card. This list is just a starting point. If you are looking for additional guidance on adding Rapid Rewards points to your Southwest account without having to purchase them, take a look at the Southwest shopping portal and dining program, as well as our information on credit cards that allow you to transfer membership points into Rapid Rewards.

Editorial Disclaimer

The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven by advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners.

Southwest Airlines partners