Southwest is selling points with a 75% bonus, but you'll still lose money
Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based loyalty program where the amount of points required for an award flight is dictated by the revenue cost of the flight you want to book. Fresh off this month's devaluation, it will take roughly 83 Rapid Rewards points per dollar of airfare to book an award flight. This makes a Rapid Rewards point worth about 1.2 cents per point (give or take a bit depending on some airfares).
Starting today through May 28, you can buy points with up to a 75% bonus:
If you buy the maximum allowed in this promotion, you'll end up paying $1,650 for 105,000 points making the cost 1.57 cents per point.
If you can only redeem points for 1.2 cents per point, but have to pay a minimum cost of 1.57 cents per point, you're never going to come out ahead. It makes more sense to take your $1,650 you would spend on points and buy the revenue tickets from Southwest - which will earn your redeemable points as well as progress towards status and the Companion Pass. Purchased points do not count towards A-List status or towards earning the Companion Pass.
The only time I can think where it would make sense to buy a revenue-based loyalty program's points is if you're just short of a reward and need to top up an account to save yourself considerable money. Even then, a savvy TPG reader would have a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards ready to be transferred over to your Rapid Rewards account so you don't need to spend any money to top up an account or get a Southwest award flight.
75% is a good bonus, but the math still doesn't work in your favor.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.