‘Tis the season … when frequent flyers scramble for eleventh-hour ways to qualify for airline elite status they haven’t quite reached yet.
If Southwest is your airline of choice, the end of 2026 is particularly important to hit status milestones, as Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program is about to change in major ways in early 2027.
Key details
With fewer international flight options and no premium cabins for upgrades, chasing Southwest status might not seem as necessary as it does with larger competitors like United Airlines or Delta Air Lines.
But if you fly Southwest a lot and are close to hitting a status goal, it’s wise to explore easy and inexpensive ways to get over that hump.
What you need to do to earn status depends on what part of Southwest’s program you are targeting. Southwest technically has two official status tiers in 2026. Plus, members who fly (or spend) the most can unlock its popular Companion Pass.
- A-List: Earned by flying 20 qualifying one-way flights or acquiring 35,000 tier qualifying points (TQPs) in a calendar year.
- A-List Preferred: Earned by flying 40 qualifying one-way flights or acquiring 70,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year.
- Companion Pass: Earned by flying 100 qualifying one-way flights or acquiring 135,000 companion pass qualifying points in a calendar year.
Coming next year: Commonly asked questions about Southwest’s recent Rapid Rewards reboot and Companion Pass changes
You can check how close you are to status by logging into your Rapid Rewards account where there are easy-to-read status bars for each goal.
There are very different methods for earning the Companion Pass than there are for earning A-List and A-List Preferred status. If the Companion Pass is your only goal, you need to act quickly. The “easy” way to do that with credit card bonuses effectively ends forever no later than Dec. 2, 2026.
This year also marks the last that many partner points count towards Companion Pass, from credit card refer-a-friend bonuses to completing hotel stays booked on the Southwest Hotels portal.
More: Last chance to earn a Southwest Companion Pass the easy way with card bonuses as high as 90,000 points
5 tips to Southwest status
If traditional A-List or A-List Preferred status is your goal, however, here are 5 ways you can get the flights or points you might still need.
Note that beginning in 2027, Southwest will rename those tiers as part of a broader overhaul (more on that below), but that will not affect how you qualify in 2026 for 2027.
1. Book several super-cheap one-way flights.
If you are only a few flights away from qualifying for Southwest status, one of the easiest ways to get to the finish line is by taking a trip or two before year’s end.
The amount of money spent doesn’t matter at all if you qualify purely by counting up the number of one-way flights flown, so book and fly the cheapest nonstop Basic fares you can find.
Use Southwest’s Low Fare Calendar to search quickly for the least expensive days to fly to various destinations. The best deals are usually midweek. Early and mid-December (between peak Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel) will likely offer lower prices and reduced chances of travel disruptions.
2. Buy and fly a more expensive Southwest fare.
If you can’t hit a status goal by counting one-way flights and need to earn status approach. Instead of booking inexpensive Basic fares, book and fly Southwest’s most expensive fare option: Choice Extra
This fare earns a whopping 14 TQPs per dollar spent in 2026. If you spend $500 on Choice Extra fares for a November or December mileage run, for example, you will add a quick 7000 TQPs to your Rapid Rewards account balance—one fifth of the way to A-List status.
Those same points are also worth about $90 when redeemed for award travel, so consider the rebate in your cost-benefit calculation.
3. Spend on (some) Southwest cobranded credit cards.
If actually flying the airline before the year is up isn’t a realistic option, another way to earn tier qualifying points is by spending on a Southwest credit card.
The different cobranded cards earn TQPs differently in 2026. Holders of the lower annual fee Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (see rates and fees) are out of luck; that card doesn’t earn TQPs at all.
The higher fee cards each earn incrementally higher TQPs, as follows:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*: earns 1500 TQPs per $5000 spent
- Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (see rates and fees): earns 2000 per $5000 spent
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (see rates and fees): earns 2500 TQPs per $5000 spent
- Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees): earns 2500 TQPs per $5000 spent.
(Note, however, that all cards earn Companion Pass qualifying points at a different rate—1 point per $1 spent.)
One critical detail: TQPs earned from credit card spending only count towards 2026 status if the points post to your account before year’s end. That means it is essential to complete all spending before the closing date of your December credit card statement, meaning many travelers may only have a few weeks left.
A reminder, though: Credit card spending will count differently beginning next year for customers trying to qualify for status for 2028.
*The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
4. Spend on your Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve® card (see rates and fees) and already spend heavily on it, there is a quick and easy shortcut to Southwest A-List status (but not A-List Preferred). If you spend $75,000 on that card annually, you’ll be rewarded with complimentary A-List status for the remainder of the year and the following year (activation required).
You’ll also earn a $500 annual credit towards booking Southwest flights in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. That same spending level unlocks other perks from a variety of travel brands like Hyatt and IHG, so there are more benefits than just the Southwest ones to consider.
This method doesn’t require fussing with flight counts or TQPs or even hopping on an airplane before 2026 is up, but it’s only a viable option for a smaller subset of Southwest customers who carry the card and are capable of meeting a significant spending minimum.
5. Register for a status match.
Like many airlines, Southwest offers a status match promotion and challenge where you can leverage your elite status on another airline into temporary status on Southwest. If you hold status elsewhere, consider taking advantage.
The current promotion is open for registration through Dec. 30, 2026. As soon as you register, Southwest confers automatic status for a 120-day trial period. You can extend this status for another 12 months if you complete additional flights or earn additional TQPs in the promotion period.
If you plan to fly several trips on Southwest at the end of 2026 or in early 2027, this promotion might make sense. The requirements to meet the status challenge extension are substantially lower than the ones for achieving status the standard way.
Just be aware that only flights booked after registering for the status match count. If you have future Southwest travel already booked, you’ll need to cancel and rebook, potentially at higher prices.
Quick reminder: How to earn TQPs on Southwest
Before committing to any of these strategies, be certain that you understand how Southwest counts Rapid Rewards points in 2026.
Southwest currently counts points three different ways. There are points redeemable only for award travel, and there are two other types that count towards status. Only tier qualifying points, earned primarily through flying or credit card spending, count towards A-List and A-List Preferred Status.
A broader collection of companion pass qualifying points (including credit card welcome bonuses) still count towards earning the Companion Pass for 2026 only.
Quick look ahead: What’s happening with the status tiers in 2027?
A lot will soon change when the calendar page turns to 2027.
A-List members will become Silver, and A-List Preferred members will become Gold. Members who have earned a Companion Pass due to points activity in 2026 will continue to be able to use those benefits until the end of 2027.
If you want to earn a Companion Pass anew in 2027 or later, however, you’ll have to aim for a new status tier: Platinum. And if you want to achieve Silver or Gold in subsequent years, be aware that that benchmarks will change. The way TQPs are calculated for several Southwest fare types and for credit card spending will be different as well.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Source: thepointsguy.com
