Southwest Will Let You Convert Flight Credits to Points: Should You Do It?

Southwest Airlines is allowing customers to convert flight credits to points. Here’s what to know before you make the trade.

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We had plans to visit our daughter in Nashville at least a couple of times this year. It’s a quick non-stop flight on Southwest Airlines from our home on the Gulf Coast. But Covid-19 has upended nearly everyone’s plans, and we canceled ours. No refunds, but the funds from our canceled flights were available to use for future plans.

Southwest’s Cancellation Policy

Southwest does not give refunds on its cheapest “Wanna Get Away” fares when customers cancel. (If the airline cancels, that’s another story). But Southwest’s generous change/cancellation policy carries no fees. Customers can cancel up to 10 minutes before departure and apply the value of their ticket to a flight credit. Use the amount just like cash to book a future flight.

The credit is normally good for 12 months from the date the ticket was purchased. But Covid-19 has been an unprecedented extenuating circumstance, and the airline has instead been extending flight credits through September 7, 2022.

Southwest’s Points for Credits Offer

From now through December 15th, Southwest will let customers convert the value of those unused flight credits to Rapid Rewards points. The airline is converting at a rate of 78 Rapid Rewards points for every $1 in flight credits. If you buy a ticket with points, you’ll pay the same — 78 points per $1 of cost.

So it’s a fair deal. I have $114 in credits at the moment, and Southwest is offering 8,892 miles.

There are some restrictions. Southwest is only offering to convert flight credits to points if:

• The flight credit expires on September 7, 2022.
• The name on the ticket matches the name on the Rapid Rewards account.
• The ticket was purchased at southwest.com, through Southwest’s customer service, or (for booking via business channels) with approval by an employer.

Benefits of Taking the Points

If you convert your cash-based flight credit to Rapid Rewards points, you’ll instantly get two important benefits from the transfer:

1. Rapid Rewards points do not expire, so no more worrying about using your flight credit by September 7, 2022.
2. You can use your Rapid Rewards points to book a trip for anyone, not just yourself. Flight credits, on the other hand, are not transferable.

Both of these benefits will give you some added flexibility with future travel. Further, Southwest bases the cost of an award ticket on the cash cost of the flight. If your flight costs $100 before taxes and fees, you’ll pay 7,800 plus $5.60/one-way. If you’d purchased that same ticket with cash, you’d pay $105.60, plus some additional tax. So yeah, the cost of your flight is just a bit cheaper when you pay with points.

The flight credits you convert to points will not be applied toward tier status in the Rapid Rewards program, nor toward the Companion Pass.

Benefits of the Flight Credit

However, you’ll be giving up two valuable perks when you convert those flight credit to points.

1. You will NOT earn Rapid Rewards points for your future booking, miles that you would have earned with the flight credit. Nor do you make progress toward A-List status and the Companion Pass with award bookings.
2. Rapid Rewards points can only be used when you have enough of them to purchase the flight you want. But if your flight credit falls short of the flight’s cost, you simply pay the fare difference in cash.

On a related note, remember that your flight credit is a cash equivalent. Cash bookings earn Rapid Rewards points, but there is also some incremental tax on the purchase. But those additional points earned are often going to be worth more than the additional tax you’d pay. At worst, it’s basically a wash.

Decision Time: Credit or RR Points?

If you are unsure of your future plans and may not fly before September 7, 2022, take the Rapid Rewards points. They will give you a lot more flexibility in the long run. They don’t expire, and you can use them to buy tickets for others — not just you.

If you are confident that Southwest flights are in your future, before September 7, 2022, I’d recommend you keep the flight credit and earn points on your next flight. If you don’t have a lot of Rapid Rewards points already, you should take this advice even more seriously. You can use a flight credit now, but you can only use your points when you have enough of them to book a flight. Until then, you’ve got to keep saving (or pay too much to buy points).

Once you’ve made up your mind to convert the credit to points, there is no going back. Southwest will not reverse the transfer.

Final Thoughts

Southwest will let its customers convert their unused flight credits to Rapid Rewards points. I actually discovered this during a Southwest flight this morning. I was looking at fares in the Southwest app when this message appeared: “Convert qualified travel funds to points.”

Southwest is running this promotion from August 10, 2020 through December 15, 2020. So you have some time to make up your mind. I’ve already decided to keep the flight credit. Our daughter is in Nashville, and Southwest is the easiest way to see her. So I know we’ll be flying Southwest again and again.

But take a look at your own travel plans and compare the benefits of Rapid Rewards points versus the credit. You’ll be hard pressed to go wrong either way, as Southwest is offering a fair exchange from credits to points.

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