Southwest Rapid Rewards 2027: New Tiers, Uncapped Card Status and a Different Companion Pass

Southwest rebuilds Rapid Rewards on 1 January 2027. A-List becomes Silver, A-List Preferred becomes Gold, a new Platinum tier brings unlimited Companion Pass trips, and one currency, Tier Qualifying Points, decides everything. Every Southwest credit card will earn one TQP per dollar, with no cap.

That last change matters most. Southwest has made its status one of the most card-friendly among the big US programmes at the same moment it made the Companion Pass harder to reach through sign-up bonuses. Whether 2027 is better or worse for you depends almost entirely on how you earn today: on a Southwest card, on Southwest fares, or on welcome offers.

The new structure at a glance

Southwest set out the new programme on its Rapid Rewards 2027 overview. Each level can be reached on Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) or on qualifying one-way flights, whichever comes first.

How the thresholds compare with 2026

Southwest’s current tier page still shows this year’s rules, which apply to all activity until 31 December 2026.

Two things stand out. The flight-count routes get longer at every tier, which is bad news for people who fly lots of short, cheap sectors. And the unlimited Companion Pass target rises by only 5,000, but in a currency that no longer counts welcome bonuses or partner earning, which is the real change.

What earns Tier Qualifying Points from 2027

According to Southwest’s Rapid Rewards 2027 FAQ, TQPs come from five places: qualifying flights operated by Southwest, Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card purchases, the Rapid Rewards debit card, Getaways by Southwest packages and Southwest Groups bookings. TQPs are not redeemable and reset on 1 January every year.

Southwest fares earn less at the top end

The same FAQ lists the Rapid Rewards points each fare will earn per dollar from 1 January 2027. Set against the current rates on Southwest’s how-to-earn page, the cheapest fares are unchanged and the two most flexible fares lose ground:

Southwest’s overview says these rates apply to both Rapid Rewards points and TQPs on qualifying flights. So a traveller on Choice Extra fares needs about US$3,500 in base fares for Silver in 2027 instead of US$2,500 today, and about US$6,500 for Gold instead of US$5,000. Choice Preferred travellers face a similar squeeze.

The tier earning bonuses, 40% for Silver, 60% for Gold and 120% for Platinum, are described by Southwest as bonuses on flight points. Under the current terms tier bonus points do not count towards qualification, and nothing on the 2027 pages says that changes, so plan on the bonus boosting your redeemable balance, not your progress to the next tier.

Card spending earns far more, on every card

This is the headline change. Today, Southwest’s tier page lists three card rates, earned in whole blocks of US$5,000 of purchases a year: 1,500 TQPs per block on the Premier card, 2,000 on the Premier Business card, and 2,500 on the Priority and Performance Business cards. The Plus card earns no TQPs. From 1 January 2027, Southwest’s FAQ says every Rapid Rewards card, including the entry-level Plus card and the business cards, earns one TQP per eligible dollar, and that there is no limit on TQPs from card spending. That is double today’s best rate and more than three times the Premier card’s.

The usual exclusions apply: balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions such as money orders and cryptocurrency, gambling, person-to-person transfers, interest and fees, including the annual fee, do not count. TQPs post to the primary cardmember’s account after each billing cycle closes.

On card spending alone, the 2027 arithmetic looks like this:

The boost works like this: a primary cardmember whose posted TQP balance reaches 130,000 by 31 December 2027 receives a one-time 10,000 TQPs within 30 days, provided the card account is open and not in default at that point, according to the terms on Southwest’s overview page. It is limited to one card account per member and counts towards qualification for the rest of 2027 and through 2028. The 2027 pages do not mention a minimum number of Southwest flights for status earned on card spending.

For contrast, United’s 2027 MileagePlus update caps card earning at 32,000 Premier qualifying points on its top card and still requires four United flights a year. United caps card status; Southwest, for now, does not. We cover the United side in United MileagePlus 2027: Premier status goes PQP-only.

The Companion Pass: easier for big spenders, harder for bonus hunters

The Companion Pass survives, but it is no longer earned through its own currency. Southwest’s Companion Pass in 2027 page says Companion Pass qualifying points are retired after 31 December 2026, and from 2027 there are two ways in:

• Three trips at the second Milestone Reward: 95,000 TQPs or 75 qualifying one-way flights.
• Unlimited trips with Platinum status: 140,000 TQPs or 100 qualifying one-way flights.

Each of the three trips covers a one-way or a return itinerary, and a trip is fully used when you redeem it, so a one-way booking keeps no leftover value. Use them on return trips. The rest of the Companion Pass mechanics stay as they are: one designated companion at a time, up to three companion changes a calendar year, and, according to Southwest, taxes and fees from US$5.60 each way.

The catch is what no longer counts. Southwest lists new cardmember welcome bonuses, referral bonuses, anniversary points, bonus points from spending categories (the extra points on fuel, for example) and partner earning from hotels and car hire. Those activities still earn redeemable points; they just stop helping with the Companion Pass. Under today’s rules, card points, including welcome bonuses, count as Companion Pass qualifying points, which is how a large sign-up offer could carry someone a long way towards 135,000.

The transition rules

Southwest’s guide for members who earned status or Companion Pass in 2026 softens the change in four ways:

• Earn it in 2026, keep it through 2027. Qualify for Companion Pass under the current rules, with all qualifying activity posted by 31 December 2026, and your unlimited Companion Pass runs through 31 December 2027.
• The 2 December card deadline. Cardmembers approved on or before 2 December 2026 who meet their welcome bonus requirement can have those bonus points count as Companion Pass qualifying points, even if the spending threshold is met in early 2027.
• Existing promotions are honoured. If you are registered for a Companion Pass promotion, or earned a promotional Companion Pass with a card offer in 2026, Southwest says it will honour the promotional terms.
• Current passes run their term. A 2026 Companion Pass holder keeps the benefit for its full term.

What happens to the status you already hold

On 1 January 2027, members who hold A-List for 2027 move to Silver and those who hold A-List Preferred move to Gold automatically. Status that ends on 31 December 2026 without being requalified simply ends, and you start earning under the 2027 rules. Most benefits carry over. The differences are in the earning bonus and in baggage:

Status-match and promotional status holders move to the corresponding new tier. If a status challenge runs into 2027, Southwest says its requirements follow the programme terms in force when status is awarded or extended, so read your challenge’s own terms.

Milestone Rewards, briefly

Milestone Rewards are the new rungs between tiers. Southwest’s FAQ says each can be earned once per calendar year, progress resets to zero every 1 January, and a reward stays valid through 31 December of the year after you earn it. At the first Milestone you choose between 2,000 Rapid Rewards points and two Preferred Seat Certificates, which are redeemed through the Modify or Upgrade Seats function after booking, not at the time of booking. The second Milestone is the three Companion Pass trips. Nothing earned in 2026 counts towards a 2027 Milestone.

A tracking trap: the card year is not the calendar year

Flight TQPs count by calendar year. Card TQPs, according to the terms on Southwest’s 2027 pages, accrue over an annual period tied to your statement cycle. The first year runs from account opening to your December statement date. Each year after that is the 12 billing cycles that follow the December statement. TQPs post only after each billing cycle closes, and Southwest’s FAQ warns that card TQPs post on your statement closing date, which differs between cardmembers.

The terms do not spell out how a purchase made after your December statement closes, but before 31 December, is treated. Read literally, it falls into the next annual period. If you are a few thousand TQPs short of Gold in late December, find your statement closing date before you plan a large purchase, and treat anything after it as next year’s spending unless Chase or Southwest confirms otherwise. Two clocks, one status, and the gap between them is where people miss a tier. Our guide to tracking status across programmes covers this kind of deadline juggling, and the elite status qualification calendar sets out how other programmes count their years.

What else arrives in 2027

• International partners. From spring 2027, Southwest says members can earn and redeem Rapid Rewards points with Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad Airways. Pricing on partner flights has not been published.
• New ways to spend points. Car rental redemptions start in November 2026, and seat selection, including Extra Legroom and Preferred seats, can be bought with points during 2027.
• Lounges. Southwest Icon Lounges are planned for select airports from 2027, with access tied to a new premium Southwest card from Chase launching in 2027. Fees and locations are still to come.
• Wi-Fi. Southwest expects to finish fitting Starlink across its fleet in autumn 2027.

For travellers in Asia, China Airlines is the interesting name. It gives Rapid Rewards its first Asian partner, and Southwest’s own examples mention Taipei and Tokyo, but how points will price on its flights is not yet known.

What to do before 31 December 2026

1. If you are close to Companion Pass under the current rules, finish in 2026. It buys unlimited companion travel through 31 December 2027 and avoids the narrower 2027 currency. Everything must post by the end of the year.
2. If you want a Southwest card for the welcome bonus, mind 2 December. Approval by that date keeps the bonus counting as Companion Pass qualifying points even if you finish the spending requirement in early 2027. A bonus that posts by 31 December 2026 counts under the current rules regardless; a bonus from a card approved after 2 December that posts in 2027 does not. Check your offer’s own terms.
3. If you earn status on Choice Preferred or Choice Extra fares, re-run your numbers. Expect to need roughly a quarter to two-fifths more fare spending for the same points.
4. If you fly a lot of short, cheap sectors, check the flight-count routes. Silver now takes 25 one-way flights and Gold 50.
5. If you put heavy everyday spending on a card, look again at the card itself. From 2027 the Plus card earns status at the same one TQP per dollar as the premium cards, so the annual fee and travel benefits, not the status rate, decide which one to hold.
6. Find your December statement date. It, not 31 December, closes your card year.

The verdict

If you put serious spending on a Southwest card, 2027 is a better programme. Uncapped, one-for-one status earning on every card is generous by US standards, and Platinum gives a clear spend-only route to unlimited Companion Pass. If you relied on welcome bonuses to reach Companion Pass, or you buy Choice Extra fares on a company card that is not a Southwest card, it is worse, and the best move is to qualify under the current rules before 31 December.

Either way, it continues the pattern of the year. Delta, United and now Southwest all reward the wallet as much as the seat. Our explainer on status currencies compares how each programme counts, and credit card shortcuts to elite status looks at where card spending buys status most cheaply.