Rapid Rewards from Southwest

[beast/del]

Can anyone give me details about Rapid Rewards? I dont want a credit card but i would like the free points with RR. Is this card similar to the reward cards at petsmart, dicks sporting and such?

 

[Darcy03231]

You can earn rapid reward points by flying on Southwest, or using their partners for things like hotel rooms, car rentals, eating out, etc. For the dining program you need to register a debit or credit card with the site to earn the points.

 

[Firefly09]

Rapid rewards is the frequent flyer program for Southwest Airlines. You earn points by flying, using the shopping portal, signing up for the dining rewards. You can go online and price out reservations in cash and points to figure out if this is worth it for you. Obviously if you plan on flying Southwest a lot then you should sign up to get the points you'll be earning. But just like any other frequent flyer program it takes several paid flights before you'll have enough points for a free flight. Which is why a lot of people sign up for the credit card when they are offering 50k points. The program is free, the credit cards have annual fees however.

 

[Frugal Kev]

You can also earn Rapid Rewards points by using their shopping mall as well. Just Google Rapid Rewards Shopping and you'll see the portal.

The best way to earn tons of RR points is through the Chase Credit Card signup, it's going to take you a looong time to get enough points for a flight by just shopping.

 

[Heidi K]

Can I join Rapid Rewards now, then get the Chase Visa at a later date and still get the 50,000 bonus points at that time (or whatever the offer is then)? Or do I need to sign up for both at the same time?

 

[3angelsmom]

You can just join rapid rewards now and if/when you decide to apply for a southwest visa you can add your rapid rewards number to that account.

Another way to earn rapid rewards points is through e-miles and e-rewards.

 

[hsmamato2]

OP I strongly suggest you research what you're looking for before going for anything.... as pp's have noted, rapid rewards is a points program for SWA, which is separate from the credit card,and offers. They are linked, if you have both, but different. And anytime you deal with credit,cards,banks,etc you must step in knowing what you are doing..... google the terms and see if it works for you- million miles secrets .com is a good place to start reading-
as with all credit cards/banks, you should know you finances well, your credit score,etc etc etc..... those 'free points' you see mentioned everywhere are great, but involve some level of commitment.... for instance, join RR itself anytime for free, it won't get you too much without the credit card angle and actual flying SWA..... which involves some money laid out...etc

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You can also earn Rapid Rewards points by using their shopping mall as well. Just Google Rapid Rewards Shopping and you'll see the portal.

The best way to earn tons of RR points is through the Chase Credit Card signup, it's going to take you a looong time to get enough points for a flight by just shopping.

I've had the SWA visa for years, long before they were offering 50k miles for signing up. I put everything on it except our mortgage, sewer & dh's truck payments. It earns equivalent to a one way to MCO every other month.
For our summer vacation out west, we should have enough points for 3 out of 4 of us to fly free.

Of course I would only recommend this if you can be diligent in paying it off each month. I check my balance daily and make payments at least every week, sometimes more often, so it's never a crazy-high balance that I can't pay.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Its amazing how quickly points build just by using the CC for monthly expenses. And if shopping I always shop through the RR shopping sit to get the bonus points. and then pay with the CC and get even more points.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Its amazing how quickly points build just by using the CC for monthly expenses. And if shopping I always shop through the RR shopping sit to get the bonus points. and then pay with the CC and get even more points.

Yes, and at Christmas they were offering bonus points if you spent a certain amount, maybe 2-3,000 over a 3 month period. Easy peasy. Then there's the bonus points at each anniversary of card membership.

I also like that with SWA, I can book a one way as an award if I only have enough points for that. With USAirways, it must be booked as a RT. If you book an award as a one way flight, it will still use miles required for a RT.

With SWA, if I can get 3 seats free RT and then 1 seat free one way, that's still a couple hundred $ it saves me. I love how flexible the RR program is.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

I love Rapid Rewards! We ended up getting two of the credit cards during the 50k point promo, and round trip flights from where we live are roughly 10k points, so we got 10 free flights (well, minus the annual fee we paid!)...plus we use the card all the time, put our bills on it, pay it off...that earns us 2-3 more flights a year. Then I participate in e-miles and e-rewards and earn roughly another flight that way. Haven't paid for airfare in a while and we won't for a while.

 

[Autumnslight]

I use a Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa to accumulate their Ultimate Rewards points. Then I can transfer the points for free to my Southwest Rapid Rewards account. I get one point per dollar spent on anything, two points per dollar spent on travel and dining, then bonus points for purchases or travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping mall, which includes practically every store and travel site in existence like Target, Travelocity, Southwest, etc. I also get an annual bonus of 7% of the total points I earned the year before.

For example, if I spend $12,000 over the course of a year (though I actually spend more), on things that only earn me 1 point per dollar, then I'll have 12,000 points, plus my 7% bonus, for a total of 12,840 points. I can redeem that for a statement credit of $128.50, or I can transfer the points to Southwest, and use them towards flights that cost $109 or 5,470 points. So I'll have gotten a $218 round-trip flight for free, plus still have 1,900 points left.

This example gives the points a value of $.02 each, whereas redeeming them for cash is only worth $.01 each. It also means when I earn them, I'm basically earning double as much for Southwest flights as I would be for cash back. Since I shop through the Chase mall, and also spend money on dining and travel, I can earn four times as much on dining and travel, and even more with bonus points.

I love this card!