Southwest just launched a subscription plan for buying points — here's how it works

Southwest has just introduced a new way of buying Rapid Rewards points: via an installment plan.

As the airline describes it, the idea is that you sign up to purchase a set number of points each month at a discounted price. Then, you'll get a points bonus awarded every three months.

There are three subscription plans for you to choose from. Although you can cancel at any time, the longer you subscribe, the more bonus points you’ll earn. As with other buy points promotions, whether these subscriptions are actually worth it is another question so let's take a closer look.

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Southwest's new points subscription plans

You can find Southwest's new Rapid Rewards points subscription program in the "Buy or Transfer Points" section of the website.

The program operates similarly to Avianca’s “Club LifeMiles” monthly subscription plan. There are three subscription plans, enabling you to earn a total of either 30,000, 40,000 or 80,000 points over 12 months, including quarterly bonuses awarded along the way. So, although you can cancel your subscription at any time, the longer you keep your subscription, the lower your net cost per point.

Here's how the plans break down:

Is it worth it?

The three plans allow you to purchase Rapid Rewards points for 1.79 cents each, 1.93 cents each and 2.06 cents each, respectively. While that's less than the usual 3 cents per point Southwest charges, it's still a lot more than they're worth.

Since Rapid Rewards redemptions are revenue-based, these points have a fairly defined value. TPG's latest valuations peg Southwest points at 1.5 cents apiece, but that's before factoring in Southwest's latest devaluation. In most cases, you'll only get around 1.2 cents in value per point now. It's also worth mentioning that Southwest often has buy-points promotions, which let you buy points at discounted rates. For instance, Southwest recently sold points for as little as 1.62 cents apiece.

Related: Why I’ll never book Southwest flights with Chase points the same way again

Now, some travelers might be willing to overpay for Southwest points if the purchased points were elite-qualifying or counted toward the Companion Pass. However, as explicitly stated in the terms:

No points purchased or given as a gift hereunder will count toward any Southwest Airlines Companion Pass or Tier Status designation.

Other ways to earn Southwest points

As you can see, it’s better to look for another source when you’re looking to top off your points balance. One option would be to sign up for a Southwest credit card — or spending on an existing one — like one of the three below:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

All three of these cards currently offer the ability to earn 60,000 bonus points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

If you have a business, you can sign up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card to score a bonus of 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. Or, sign up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card and earn 60,000 points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months.

Related: Easy ways to earn more Southwest Rapid Rewards points

Alternatively, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest if you have a card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve (earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening), Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening) or the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening). That said, ever since the latest Rapid Rewards devaluation, you'll likely be better off booking redeeming your points for Southwest awards through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal directly, as opposed to transferring your points.

Bottom line

Southwest is now letting you buy points in the form of monthly installment plans. However, at the current rates, they're almost certain to be a poor value proposition. You'd also only be racking up points little by little, so it could take a while to accumulate enough points for an award flight this way. Luckily, there are many other ways to earn Southwest points easily. Alternatively, you might be better off skipping the Rapid Rewards program altogether and booking your Southwest awards through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.