Southwest California Millions Sweepstakes is Back - for Non-CA Residents Too
Once again, Southwest Airlines is giving away 50 million Rapid Rewards points to a handful of lucky California residents... and a little bit of LUV to the rest of us outside the Golden State.
The California Millions Sweepstakes begins today, March 12, and continues for the next 30 days until April 10 at 11:58pm PT. Interested eligible contestants can participate in several ways:
Register — To get started, submit your name, valid email address, Rapid Rewards account number and zip code at www.SWACaliforniaMillions.com
Daily Sweepstakes — Registered participants will automatically be entered into a daily drawing for points prizes. There are 2 "million-dollar days": March 12 and April 10, marking the beginning and end dates for the sweepstakes, respectively. The second-prize amount is 750,000 points on March 26, followed by two 500,000-point days on March 19 and April 2. One lucky winner will win 85,000 points on March 28, while 24 other recipients will each win 20,000 points for every remaining day of the contest.
| March 12, 2018 | 1,000,000 | 1 | $13,500.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 13, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 14, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 15, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 16, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 17, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 18, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 19, 2018 | 500,000 | 1 | $6,750.00 |
| March 20, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 21, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 22, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 23, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 24, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 25, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 26, 2018 | 750,000 | 1 | $10,125.00 |
| March 27, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 28, 2018 | 85,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 29, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 30, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| March 31, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 1, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 2, 2018 | 500,000 | 1 | $6,750.00 |
| April 3, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 4, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 5, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 6, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 7, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 8, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 9, 2018 | 20,000 | 1 | $270.00 |
| April 10, 2018 | 1,000,000 | 1 | $13,500.00 |
Instant Win Game Functionality/Prizes — Another way to win points during the next 30 days is through Instant Win Game prizes. These are randomly time-seeded prizes throughout the promotion period, which will be awarded to the person who plays on or after the time the prize is randomly seeded. See the chart below for a reference point on how many points you could win:
| 1,000 | 7,650 | $13.50 |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 | 2,700 | $33.75 |
| 5,000 | 1,350 | $67.50 |
| 7,500 | 600 | $101.25 |
| 10,000 | 300 | $135.00 |
In-Person Prizes – In addition to these two options for winning Southwest points, you can enter to win points or branded Southwest by spinning a prize wheel at seven in-person events scattered across California:
| 22nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade | Old Sacramento 1002 2nd Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 | March 17 at 10am | March 17 at 5pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Pedro Square | 87 N. San Pedro Street, San Jose, CA 95110 | March 24 at 12pm | March 24 at 7pm |
| San Pedro Square | 87 N. San Pedro Street, San Jose, CA 95110 | March 25 at 12pm | March 25 at 7pm |
| East Village Opening Day Block Party | East Village Sixth Ave & J St San Diego, CA 92101 | March 30 at 2pm | March 30 at 8pm |
| East Village Opening Day Block Party | East Village Sixth Ave & J St San Diego, CA 92101 | March 31 at 12pm | March 31 at 7pm |
| First Friday Street Festival | 2414 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94612 | April 6 at 5pm | April 6 at 9pm |
| Smorgasburg LA | 785 Bay St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 | April 8 at 10am | April 8 at 5pm |
Additional information for in-person contest rules can be found here.
Instagram Contest — Finally, Southwest is offering a social media promotion where five lucky travelers will win 20,000 points by posting a photo "consistent with the theme" and using the hashtags #californiamillions and #contestentry.
The Contest begins on March 15, 2018 at 12 am Pacific time, and ends on April 5, 2018 at 11:59:59 p.m. PT. There will be five entry periods:
| 1 | March 15 | March 15 | March 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | March 18 | March 18 | March 19 |
| 3 | March 22 | March 22 | March 26 |
| 4 | March 29 | March 29 | April 2 |
| 5 | April 5 | April 5 | April 9 |
Instagram contest submissions will be judged on the following criteria:
- Creativity and Originality (20%);
- Entertaining (25%);
- Southwest Appeal - reflects fun Culture and Fun-LUVing Attitude (35%); and
- Fit to Contest Theme (20%).
Once an Instagram winner has been selected for an entry period, that same contestant is no longer eligible to enter and/or win a prize for any subsequent entry period.
For this giveaway, Southwest is valuing its Rapid Rewards points at 1.35 cents apiece, slightly below TPG's valuation of 1.5 cents.
As for where 1 million miles can get you, it depends on the cost of paid airfare since Southwest has a revenue-based award pricing system. However, based on sample award rates for round-trip travel from New York to Las Vegas, you could book 38 round-trips with this haul of points.
If you don't live in CA, no worries — the airline has some LUV for you too. US residents who do not live in Alaska; California; Hawaii; or Puerto Rico can apply to win 100,000 points through this form. The airline will select one random winner from amongst all eligible entries on or around April 23, who will be notified by email or phone within 72 hours.
This isn't Southwest's first special benefit for CA residents. Last November, Southwest offered its coveted Companion Pass for California-based travelers, available after just one single purchase.