Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

Airline elite status can be a great way to make your travel experience less stressful and more rewarding thanks to the variety of benefits offered. However, if you’re new to the points and miles hobby, you may be wondering just how valuable these perks can be. Is it worth devoting yourself to earning status with a specific airline?

Today I’ll continue to answer this question by quantifying the value you can get from the major U.S. airlines’ elite status programs. This analysis will go through the Southwest Rapid Rewards program in depth to try and answer a simple question: Is it worth pursuing Southwest elite status in 2020?

Be sure to check out other airlines for a full breakdown of their elite benefits:

American AAdvantage
Delta SkyMiles
United MileagePlus
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

In This Post

Before getting into the weeds with the Rapid Rewards program, I want to remind you that my valuations below represent a singular way to identify what elite status is worth to a potential traveler. Be sure to adjust any of the assumptions I make to fit with your individual travel situation. For example, if you always pay for first and business class and thus have no need for complimentary upgrades, you might value perks differently than those who travel exclusively in the US and don’t care about free lounge access on international itineraries.

Also, it’s important to note that my analysis is based on having earned the status in 2019 and continuing to travel a comparable amount in 2020. However, I do include a link to an Excel spreadsheet toward the end of the post for those of you starting from scratch and planning to earn Southwest elite status for the first time during the year. This should help you determine the overall value specifically for you.

How much is Southwest elite status worth in 2020? (Photo courtesy of Southwest.)

This brings me to the third and final critical part of this analysis: the underlying assumptions I’m making. To really hit a value for benefits, I have to assume a certain amount of flying and a corresponding amount of spending. Southwest also awards elite status a bit differently than most other airlines. Instead of earning status by miles flown, you’ll earn Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs), as follows:

Wanna Get Away fares: 6 TQPs per dollar spent on base fares (excluding taxes and fees)
Anytime fares: 10 TQPs per dollar spent
Business Select fares: 12 TQPs per dollar spent

This analysis assumes that you earn 20% more TQPs than the minimum required for the given level. I’ll then assume that you spend an average of 7 cents per TQP, which is what you’d average across the year if 10% of your purchases are Business Select tickets, 10% are Anytime fares and the remaining 80% are Wanna Get Away.

Remember too that you can earn up to 10,000 TQPs through certain Southwest credit cards like the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card or the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card. On these cards, you’ll earn 1,500 TQPs for every $10,000 you spend on the card — up to a maximum of 15,000 TQPs for $100,000 in total annual spending.

Related: Current bonus offers on Southwest credit cards

As always, you should modify these details based on how much you’re planning to travel in 2020 and what types of Southwest tickets you most frequently purchase.

Three final pieces of information: First, since you’ll earn bonus points as an elite member with Southwest, I’m using TPG’s most recent valuations to calculate their value (1.5 cents apiece). Second, I’m rounding all numbers to the nearest $5 to make the calculations a bit easier. Finally, I’m including two different approaches for calculating the value of the Companion Pass: one earned entirely through Southwest flights and one earned with an even split between flights and partner activity. Feel free to choose whichever most closely matches your own situation.

With that out of the way, how much value can you get out of the Southwest Rapid Rewards program in 2020?

A-List ($685)
A-List status with Southwest includes both priority check-in and security. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy.)

The lowest tier in Southwest’s program is A-List, which normally requires 25 qualifying one-way flights or 35,000 TQPs in a calendar year. For this analysis, I’ll base my numbers on earning 42,000 TQPs at a cost of 7 cents per TQP (so a total spend of $2,940).

Priority Boarding ($250): The first perk offered to A-List members is priority boarding. However, given Southwest’s boarding process, this is not as straightforward as the similar benefit offered to elites on other airlines. The program’s terms and conditions state that “Southwest Airlines will automatically reserve a boarding position for the member 36 hours prior to each … flight.” You’ll fall behind higher-tier elites and those who purchase Business Select tickets, but this will hopefully get you a spot in the A boarding group (and prevent the frantic check-in exactly 24 hours prior to the flight). It also avoids paying the Early Bird Check-in fee, which starts at $15 each way per passenger. Given these details, I am valuing this much higher than the priority boarding offered to low-tier elites on other airlines.
25% point bonus ($160): A-List members will earn 25% more points than non-status flyers. With 42,000 base points, that equates to an extra 10,500 points over the year, worth $157.50.
Free same-day standby ($75): You can also standby on an earlier flight at no charge as an A-List member, a perk added in 2016. However, the terms and conditions state that this is only available for flights between the same cities before your originally scheduled departure time and on the same date of travel (and note that free standby is also provided for Anytime and Business Select fares, so this perk only offers tangible value on Wanna Get Away tickets). For flights outside this window, you’re still given priority over non-elites, but must pay a fare difference if a seat opens up. This perk also doesn’t extend to non-elite travelers on the same reservation, nor will it apply to a companion utilizing the Companion Pass benefit. Given this limited utility, I’m valuing this a bit lower than comparable benefits on other carriers.
Priority check-in and security ($150): You’ll also get priority check-in and security benefits as an A-List member, which can be especially beneficial if you’re checking bags. Southwest’s policy of free checked bags for all passengers tends to create longer check-in lines than other airlines.
Priority phone line ($50): Like all other carriers, Southwest offers a priority phone line to elite members, which can be a nice perk when major weather events hit.

A-List Preferred ($2,835)
As an A-List Preferred Member, you’ll enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi onboard, now available on all of Southwest’s planes. (Photo by Nick Ellis/The Points Guy.)

The second tier in Southwest’s program is A-List Preferred, which normally requires 50 qualifying one-way flights or 70,000 TQPs in a calendar year. For this analysis, I’ll base my numbers on earning 84,000 TQPs at a cost of 7 cents per TQP (so a total spend of $5,880).

Priority Boarding ($600): A-List Preferred members will automatically be assigned a boarding position 36 hours prior to departure, and they’ll be prioritized over regular A-List members (though behind Business Select travelers). I’ll double the value I used for A-List due to twice the utilization and add an additional $100 thanks to the higher priority.
100% point bonus ($1,260): As an A-List Preferred traveler, you’ll earn 100% more points than flyers without status. With the assumed flying above, you’ll take home an extra 84,000 points, worth $1,260.
Free same-day standby ($175): You’ll also enjoy complimentary same-day standby on all Southwest flights when you earn A-List Preferred status, and you’ll be prioritized above A-List members, though the same restrictions outlined above still apply.
Priority check-in and security ($300): Same benefit, more frequent utilization.
Priority phone line ($100): Same benefit, more frequent utilization.
Free in-flight Wi-Fi ($400): The final perk for A-List Preferred members is free internet access on board. This usually costs $8 per day and is available on 100% of Southwest’s planes. The value of this benefit is dependent upon how frequently you need the internet in the sky, but I’ll assume a value of $400, which is equivalent to paying $8 per day for 50 days.

Companion Pass with flying and partner activity ($4,020)

The next tier in the Southwest program isn’t actually an elite status tier but is still worth valuing: the Companion Pass, one of the most lucrative and rewarding benefits in the travel industry. It essentially gives you a Buy 1, Get 1 free on all Southwest flights, including both paid and award tickets. You’ll earn it by taking 100 qualifying one-way flights or by earning 125,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points in a calendar year — the latter of these two thresholds was increased for 2020. Note that these are slightly different than the Tier Qualifying Points identified above, which are generally earned only through flying. However, you can earn points toward the Companion Pass in a variety of additional ways:

Flying on Southwest
Doing business with travel partners like hotels and car rental agencies
Dining through the Rapid Rewards Dining program
Opening and/or using a Southwest credit card (like the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card), including sign-up bonuses

The latter three will not count toward A-List or A-List Preferred Status but will count toward earning the Companion Pass each year.

For this analysis, I’ll assume that you just surpass the point threshold by earning 130,000 points. However, for this first part, I’ll assume that your points originate from flying and partners equally, earning 65,000 points from each (so a total spend of $4,550). Note that this will give you A-List Preferred status (and the benefits it confers) plus the perk of the Companion Pass.

Priority Boarding ($375): Your A-List status will grant you priority boarding (as I outline above), though with 65,000 base points, you’ll be able to utilize it roughly 50% more frequently.
100% point bonus ($245): By earning 65,000 points on flights during the year, you’ll take home 16,250 bonus points as an A-List member, worth $243.75.
Free same-day standby ($100): Same benefit, slightly more frequent utilization.
Priority check-in and security ($225): Same benefit, more frequent utilization.
Priority phone line ($75): Same benefit, more frequent utilization.
Companion Pass ($3,000): Trying to land on an exact value for the Companion Pass is incredibly difficult, as it depends entirely on how frequently you can bring your designated companion on a flight. Remember too that the pass is valid for the year in which you earned it and the entire following year, so you could get nearly two years of use from the perk. This number is based on bringing your companion along on twelve round-trip flights at a value of $250 apiece — though you should adjust it if you plan to utilize it more (or less) frequently.

Companion Pass through flying alone ($8,250)
You and your travel partner will be toasting in mid-air if you’re able to score a Companion Pass on Southwest. (Photo courtesy of Southwest.)

For this final part of the analysis, I’ll assume that you earn the Companion Pass solely through flying and surpass the qualification threshold by the same amount as the prior scenario, spending the same 7 cents per point. This means that you would’ve earned 130,000 base points by spending $9,100 in the year, granting you both the Companion Pass and the perks of A-List Preferred status. You’re thus traveling roughly 50% more than a “regular” A-List Preferred member outlined above, and the following values reflect that.

Priority Boarding ($900)
100% point bonus ($1,950): You’ll take home 130,000 bonus points with the assumed flying above, worth $1,950.
Free same-day standby ($250): Same benefit, more frequent utilization
Priority check-in and security ($450): Same benefit, more frequent utilization.
Priority phone line ($100)
Free in-flight Wi-Fi ($600)
Companion Pass ($4,000): Under this final scenario, you’re traveling twice as much as the first Companion Pass example above. However, with this extensive travel during the year, I’d venture a guess that you wouldn’t be able to use the Companion Pass twice as frequently. As a result, I’ll peg this at $4,000 based on taking 16 round-trip flights that would’ve normally cost $250 apiece — but again, please adjust if your utilization differs.

What if I’m starting from scratch?
You may have many flights at the back of the plane until you reach the qualification threshold for A-List status. (Photo by Emily McNutt/The Points Guy.)

As I mentioned at the outset, these numbers are based on the benefits you’d enjoy by spending a full year with the given status. However, if you’re starting from scratch, the calculations become a bit more complicated, since you won’t start to enjoy any benefits until you hit the 35,000-point mark and earn A-List status. To help modify the analysis for those individuals, I’ve taken the above valuations and converted them to a value per Tier Qualifying Point, excluding the combination Companion Pass category:

A-List: $685 / 42,000 TQPs = 1.63 cents per TQP
A-List Preferred: $2,835 / 84,000 TQPs = 3.38 cents per TQP
Companion Pass (solely travel): $8,250 / 130,000 TQPs = 6.35 cents per TQP

I then created an Excel spreadsheet that uses these numbers to calculate how much value you’d get from the different levels of Southwest elite status given a certain amount of flying. All you need to do is change the number in cell A2 to represent the number of TQPs you expect to earn in 2020, and the spreadsheet will update with the corresponding value.

For example, you’ll see that I have pre-loaded 80,000 TQPs. At this rate, you’d get no benefits from the first 35,000 points, then enjoy A-List benefits for the next 35,000 points (at a rate of 1.63 cents per TQP) and then enjoy A-List Preferred benefits for the final 10,000 points (at a rate of 3.38 cents per TQP). This means that if you’re starting from scratch and estimate that you’ll earn 80,000 TQPs in 2019, you’d be able to get $908.33 worth of perks from the Rapid Rewards program.

As always, feel free to adjust the numbers above for each tier (loaded into the “Base Data” tab of the spreadsheet) based on your own personal valuation.

Is it worth it?

So given these values, is it worth pursuing elite status (or the next tier of elite status) with Southwest? Just like with any analysis we undertake here at TPG, there isn’t an easy answer to this, as it depends entirely on your individual situation. However, here are a few over-arching questions that can help you arrive at a decision:

How much will you travel in the future? If you earned Southwest elite status in 2019, it’s valid through Dec. 31, 2020, and if you qualify in 2020, your status will last until Dec. 31, 2021. It’s critical to think about how much you’ll be traveling in the future. If you push hard to earn A-List Preferred, for example, the valuable perks outlined above only apply when you actually travel.
What’s the incremental value of one tier over another? Many of you may wind up within striking distance of the next tier, so be sure to consider whether the benefits are worth pushing for it. There’s no sense in going out of your way for perks that don’t matter to you.
How well does Southwest’s route map match your typical travel patterns? There’s really no point in pursuing elite status with an airline if you can’t feasibly fly it on a regular basis. Be sure to consider Southwest’s service from your home airport(s) and how easy it is to get to your desired destination(s).
How sensitive are you to price and convenience? There are many tradeoffs in this hobby, and one of the most common is deciding whether to use your preferred airline or hotel chain when it’s not the most convenient or cheapest. Would you book a one-stop Southwest flight if Delta had a cheaper nonstop option? If the answer is no, it may not be worth going out of your way to earn status with Southwest (or elite status with any airline, for that matter).

These questions are also not easy to answer, as there are many different factors that come into play with each of them. Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile exercise to evaluate your own situation as you decide to determine if Southwest elite status is for you!

Bottom line

Southwest is an interesting case study in loyalty, as some travelers won’t even consider flying on another airline, whereas others would rather take Greyhound than set foot on a Southwest plane (that’s only a mild exaggeration). Even though the Rapid Rewards program is revenue-based, the overall value proposition of flying Southwest, especially its “fun” atmosphere, is appealing to many.

But when you add in valuable perks like the Companion Pass and the carrier’s no-fee change policy, it’s easy to see why Southwest has such loyal fans. If you’re considering pursuing elite status with Southwest this year, I hope this analysis has helped you come to a decision.

This is The Points Guy’s permanent page about Southwest Airlines elite status, so you can bookmark it and check back regularly for the latest information. Keep in mind you may see some reader comments referring to outdated information below.

Related video:

Featured photo courtesy of Southwest.

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