Southwest Airlines announced five enhancements to its Rapid Rewards loyalty program. The enhancements, according to the announcement, reward members by making it easier to earn tier status; awarding A-List Preferred members with up to two complimentary premium drinks; and allowing customers to pay for flights using a combination of cash and Rapid Rewards points.
Jonathan Clarkson, vice president of marketing, said that by lowering the tier requirements and making credit card spend count double toward tier requirements, the carrier “is able to deepen engagement with our brand and co-branded credit cards, while maintaining the core program values that our customers know and love — including unlimited reward seats, no blackout dates, and points that don’t expire.”
Enhancements include:
- Earn A-List status faster: Starting Jan. 1, 2024, members need to fly only 20 one-way qualifying flights (previously 25) or earn 35,000 tier qualifying points to reach A-List status.
- Earn A-List Preferred status faster: Starting Jan. 1, 2024, members need to fly only 40 one-way qualifying flights (previously 50) or earn 70,000 tier qualifying points to earn A-List Preferred status.
- Earn tier-qualifying points faster with Rapid Rewards credit cards from Chase: Starting Jan. 1, 2024, card members will receive 1,500 tier-qualifying points for every $5,000 spent (previously $10,000) on purchases using their Rapid Rewards Premier, Premier Business, Priority or Performance Business Credit Cards from Chase.
- Complimentary premium drinks for A-List Preferred status: Starting Nov. 6, 2023, A-List Preferred members can receive up to two complimentary premium drinks per flight, added directly to their mobile boarding passes.
- Redeem with cash plus points: Beginning in spring of 2024, members will have the option of paying for their flight with a combination of cash and points, starting with as few as 1,000 points.
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