Your Southwest Rapid Rewards points will be worth less in 2024
Planning to book a trip in 2024? Well, flying to your next destination via Southwest Airlines has just gotten a little more expensive — at least when it comes to using your Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
If you are a Southwest Rapid Rewards member, you may casually skim (or skip altogether) reading every word in your Rapid Rewards account statement.
As first reported by Frequent Miler and confirmed when this TPG writer checked the bottom of her Rapid Rewards account statement email on Nov. 10, Southwest recently issued the following notice:
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, for flights purchased using Rapid Rewards points, the number of Rapid Rewards points required per dollar of base fare will increase by approximately 4%.
So, what does this mean for travelers?
Related: Southwest revamps Rapid Rewards by lowering thresholds for status
Southwest Rapid Reward points will be worth less in 2024
Currently, TPG values Southwest Rapid Rewards points at 1.4 cents apiece, which means your points will soon be worth 1.3 cents each once the change takes effect. However, people who book travel for 2024 before the Jan. 1 change will not be affected. Therefore, we recommend reserving award flights before the increase occurs.
"We recently shared with Rapid Rewards® Members that beginning Jan. 1, 2024, they'll see a modest increase in the number of Rapid Rewards points required per dollar of the base fare to redeem Wanna Get Away®, Wanna Get Away Plus®, Anytime, and Business Select® fares," a Southwest spokesperson told TPG in a statement. "We continue our focus on enhancing the Customers' experiences and remain committed to delivering nonstop Southwest Hospitality. We're making this change as a normal course of business to adapt to the current environment and increased cost pressures."
Though Southwest is giving its customers ample notice regarding the change, this is not the first time the airline has devalued its points program, which already ties the number of points required to the cash price. In 2021, the loyalty program decreased the value of Rapid Rewards points by 6%.
Related: The best Southwest Airlines credit cards
Bottom line
While a 4% increase in the number of points needed to book an award flight is not a huge loss, it's interesting that an already revenue-based program would see a devaluation like this. With the current pattern, though, it wouldn't surprise us if this happens again with Rapid Rewards in another couple of years.
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month