Southwest’s New Platinum Status Adds Too Little—10 Ways Rapid Rewards Should Fix Its New Program

Southwest Airlines is adding Platinum status to Rapid Rewards, but someone who already has A-List Preferred and Companion Pass won’t get much new. A third checked bag, earlier boarding, and a higher advertised earning bonus (offset by lower base-earning on higher fares) are very modest additions considering they’re launching a new top tier. Gold, the replacement for A-List Preferred, already gets the same seats. The 2027 overhaul makes things simpler by unifying qualification for elite status and Companion Pass. And they’re adding award travel on Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad Airways beginning in the spring, including in premium cabins. We don’t yet know redemption pricing, rules or surcharges, so we don’t know how much value those will deliver. I’ve argued that Southwest’s changes follow from one another. Broader distribution puts their fares alongside everyone else’s. That creates pressure to unbundle with basic economy and paid seats and bags. Selling better seats requires assigned seating. Once they’ve given up the old differences, they need more of the benefits that make other airlines worth choosing. Southwest is inexorably becoming like the rest of the industry, but – they insist – with friendler crews. They at least need to become like everyone else without offering less. I offered ten ways to improve Rapid Rewards in 2022. Some, including partner airline redemptions and stronger credit card earning toward status, are finally being addressed. Here’s what I’d do next. Deliver Elite Members’ Bags First Southwest baggage delivery can be slow. That was easier to tolerate when checking bags was free for everyone. Once they’re charging for the service, standing around a carousel feels different. They should offer priority baggage handling for elites, with Gold and Platinum bags among the first delivered. This requires actually sorting and loading the bags so they come out first, not just a colored tag. And back it with a delivery guarantee. Delta offers 2,500 miles when checked bags take more than 20 minutes from gate arrival to the carousel. Alaska has a similar guarantee (and was actually first). Southwest could start with a guarantee for its top elites. I’d rather get my first bag promptly than have a free third one. Give Platinum Members Priority For An Empty Middle SeatSouthwest doesn’t have first class upgrades to offer. It can still make sitting in coach better. When a Platinum member selects a window or aisle in a regular legroom row, hold the adjacent middle seat out of routine seat assignments until it’s needed. Keep selling the flight, and release the seat at the gate if passengers need it. This would determine who gets the empty seat when a flight isn’t full. Someone is going to have extra space beside them. Give the customer who earned the highest status the best chance of being that person. Limiting this to ordinary coach would avoid taking some premium seats they’re trying to sell out of inventory. An empty middle can be better than a few additional inches of legroom. Introduce Lifetime Elite StatusAmerican, Delta, United and Alaska all recognize lifetime flying. Southwest now should, too. I’d base on miles or flight segments since Southwest has never had a long haul netowrk to rack up 20,000 flown miles on a roundtrip. For instance, 1,000 one-way trips could earn lifetime Silver, 2,000 could earn lifetime Gold, and 3,000 lifetime Platinum. I don’t know whether Southwest has the database to support historical flying like this. Give Elites An Award Rebate Make points worth more to the customers who earn status. A 10% rebate on Southwest awards for Gold and 15% for Platinum would make their points more valuable, and could be more easily managed than an award discount. Some Southwest credit cards already provide annual 10% or 15% discount codes. This is especially important because the new program cuts earning on expensive fares. As I laid out in comparing the new tiers, a Choice Extra ticket earns an A-List Preferred member 28 points per eligible dollar today, versus 22 for a Platinum member next year. Let Families Pool Points Free Southwest sells family travel and has one of the best benefits for traveling with someone else. Yet its program rules prohibit members from pooling points. Let a household combine its balances without paying a transfer fee. You can already use your points to book someone else’s ticket. The problem is having enough points across several accounts, but not enough in any one account for the award you want. JetBlue has offered free pooling for groups of up to seven people for years. United has family accounts, and this is a big feature in international progams. Count Award Flights Toward Status A flight paid for entirely with Rapid Rewards points doesn’t count as a qualifying flight. Southwest should change that, like Delta and Alaska do, and include partner awards as that part of the program develops. Southwest wants people to earn points from its credit cards and partners, then use them to fly. Treating that journey as less valuable to the airline makes no sense. Make Companion Pass More Useful When Traveling With Different People Companion Pass remains Southwest’s strongest benefit. But the new program keeps the old restrictions: one designated companion at a time, three changes per calendar year, and existing companion reservations must be canceled before switching people. Let Platinum members designate a small group, perhaps three people, and choose one companion for each trip. A spouse on one trip, a child on another. Still one companion per flight, still traveling with the member, with limits on changing the roster. I’d also let Platinum members use Companion Pass for an adjacent empty seat when traveling alone, an idea I included in my earlier wishlist. This would be a confirmed seat reservation, consuming inventory just as a companion booking does. A member whose travel is mostly business shouldn’t need to bring another person on the trip to get substantial value from the program’s biggest reward. Allow Confirmed Same-Day Changes On Basic Fares Southwest already lets elites use their seating benefits on Basic. That’s a real advantage over competitors, and it extends to family members on the same reservation. But even the new Platinum tier won’t receive free confirmed same-day changes on Basic. Members can stand by. They need to buy Choice or higher to confirm the change without paying a fare difference. Give Gold and Platinum confirmed changes into available seats on the day of travel, regardless of their original fare. Keep the same origin and destination, and let the member choose an available itinerary that gets them there sooner or works better with their schedule. Southwest already provides the service on more expensive fares, here earned status would supply it. Make Southwest Status Useful On Its Airline Partners The international redemption announcement addresses not being able to use Southwest points for long haul travel. The awards need solid pricing and inventory. I expect that we’ll eventually see reciprocal status recognition, but that needs to come quickly: priority check-in, baggage allowances, boarding and seat benefits and lounge access would make Gold and Platinum valuable even when member travels beyond Southwest’s route map. Give Platinum A Choice Of Benefits Southwest is building Icon Lounges, with openings planned to begin in late 2027. Access has been announced through a forthcoming premium Chase card. They haven’t announced a Platinum lounge benefit. Give members an annual choice when they earn Platinum: perhaps some lounge passes which could encourage them to try the product and get the card, or to share the passes with others. They might choose a travel credit or certificates that let friends and family select extra legroom seats when the member isn’t traveling. Southwest is already introducing two milestones, at 20,000 and 95,000 qualifying points which are below Platinum. The earlier milestone’s Preferred seat certificates aren’t extra legroom upgrades and can’t be gifted, so certificates for a friend to choose a better seat would add something different. They should continue with milestones above platinum, and continue offering choice benefits. Southwest Airlines is remaking itself in the image of the rest of the airline industry – with the same kinds of restrictions, but also adding many of the same amenities. They will have three elite tiers, but those tiers need to be competitive. I want Southwest to succeed. Are these things that would do it for you? What’s missing from my list? Topics on this page