Southwest Airlines overhauls Rapid Rewards program

Goodbye, A-list, and A-list priority.

southwest airlines Starting next year, the once-unorthodox airline will scrap its two-tier loyalty program and instead roll out silver, gold and platinum tiers similar to other airlines, as it looks to increase revenue and reward its biggest spenders.

Southwest Airlines executives are overhauling the airline, eliminating long-standing customer perks such as two free checked bags and unreserved seats. The company now charges fees for some of these options, as its competitors have done for years.

As loyalty levels move from 2 to 3, the airline will also change the names of the levels. In older versions, travelers were categorized into the higher levels of A-List or A-List Preferred.

“If you think about A-List and A-List Preferred, we don’t even have Groups A, B and C anymore,” Tony Roach, Southwest’s chief customer and brand officer, said in an interview. “So it was time for a refresh to incorporate all the seating changes and all the new experiences we’ve been adding.”

Loyalty program changes include:

A-List and A-List Preferred Rapid Rewards status levels will be retired on January 1st. A-List customers will move to Silver status in the Rapid Rewards program. A-List Preferred members earn Gold status. A new platinum tier will be added to the airline’s “most engaged” customers.

You will earn one Tier Qualifying Point (TQP) for every dollar spent on your Southwest co-branded credit card. tracking. The new status requirements are:

Silver status requires 35,000 TQP or 25 eligible flights. Previously, A-List was 35,000 points or 20 flights. For Silver members, the point earning bonus on flights increases from 25% to 40%. To earn Gold, you must reach 65,000 TQP or take 50 flights from 70,000 points on A-List Preferred. Points earning bonuses for users with this status range from 100% (double points earned) to 60% on eligible flights. The new top-tier Platinum status requires 140,000 TQP or 100 eligible flights. Platinum members earn a 120% earnings bonus on eligible flights.

Silver status members will board in Group 1 and Gold members will board before Group 1. Platinum members board before both Gold members and Group 1. The Platinum Tier also includes an unlimited companion pass.

Southwest Airlines’ Companion Pass, which allows designated travelers to fly for free after taxes and fees, will also be changed.

If you have a Companion Pass in your account, you can keep it for the duration of its validity period. However, starting with the 2027 earnings year, Companion Pass benefits will be earned through TQP or eligible flights, milestone benefit achievement or Platinum status.

Currently, Rapid Rewards members must earn at least 135,000 Qualifying Points or 100 flights each way to qualify for the pass.

The company is also expanding its partnerships with international airlines and building its first airport lounge. Southwest on Thursday offered a peek at a new lounge the company is developing, which it is naming Icon and working with credit card partners. tracking. The company has built Icon Lounges in four U.S. cities, with more in the works.

Southwest is also adding similar benefits to customers who are between the status tiers. american airlines I’ll make an offer.

For example, after earning 20,000 points or taking 15 eligible flights, customers can choose a “preferred” seat from an additional 2,000 Rapid Rewards points or two coupons. This can be a standard seat with extra legroom near the front of the plane, or the more popular aisle or window seat.

Customers can also earn three Companion Pass trips by earning 95,000 points or taking 75 eligible flights, which is below the Platinum threshold.

“This is definitely different from what we’ve done in the past,” said Nandika Suri, director of Southwest’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program. She said this new strategy is “a way to really recognize and reward our customers…to move them faster and more frequently down the road to staying engaged with us.”

Airlines as a whole have consistently raised requirements to earn status, requiring more spending, and making similar changes to get into airport lounges.

united airlines announced Tuesday that starting next year, it will no longer allow customers to earn status in its MileagePlus program based on flight segments and will only accept Premier eligible points earned on flight spending or co-branded credit cards.

United also increased the requirement to reach Premier 1K, the highest mileage tier outside of its invitation-only global service, to 32,000 points from 28,000 points this year.

—CNBC’s Caleigh Keating contributed to this article.