Southwest Airlines will scrap its A-List and A-List Preferred loyalty tiers from 1 January, replacing them with Silver, Gold and Platinum status as it seeks to generate more revenue and reward its biggest spenders.
The changes form part of a wider overhaul at the US carrier, which has also ended its long-standing open-seating policy and begun charging for some options, including benefits that were previously included for customers.
Tony Roach, Southwest’s chief customer and brand officer, said the airline’s loyalty programme was being refreshed alongside its new seating and boarding arrangements.
“If you think about A-List and A-List Preferred, we don’t even have [boarding] groups A, B and C anymore,” he said. “So it was time to do a refresh to somewhat incorporate all the changes to seating and all these new experiences that we’ve been adding.”
Southwest’s new loyalty tiers
Existing A-List customers will move to Silver status, while A-List Preferred members will become Gold members. A new Platinum tier will be introduced for the airline’s “most engaged” customers.
Silver status will require 35,000 Tier Qualifying Points, or TQPs, or 25 qualifying flights. The points threshold is unchanged from the former A-List requirement, although the flight requirement rises from 20 flights.
Silver members will receive a 40% bonus on points earned from qualifying flights, up from 25%. They will board in Group 1.
Gold status will require 65,000 TQPs or 50 qualifying flights. The points threshold is lower than the 70,000 points previously required for A-List Preferred, but the points bonus on qualifying flights will fall from 100% to 60%.
Gold members will board before Group 1. Platinum customers will board ahead of both Gold members and Group 1, and will receive a 120% bonus on points earned from qualifying flights.
Platinum status will require 140,000 TQPs or 100 qualifying flights. Customers will be able to earn one TQP for every dollar spent on Southwest co-branded credit cards issued with Chase.
Southwest is also introducing additional rewards for customers between status levels. After earning 20,000 points or taking 15 qualifying flights, members will be able to choose either 2,000 extra Rapid Rewards points or two coupons for a preferred seat.
Those who earn 95,000 points or complete 75 qualifying flights will receive three Companion Pass trips, below the threshold for Platinum status.
The Companion Pass, which allows a designated person to travel for free apart from taxes and fees when flying with the qualifying member, is also being revised. Existing pass holders will retain their passes for the remainder of their current term, while from the 2027 earning year the benefit will be based on TQPs, qualifying flights, a milestone reward or Platinum status.
“That is definitely different from what we’ve done before,” said Nandika Suri, who leads Southwest’s Rapid Rewards programme. She described the approach as a way to reward customers “faster and more frequently in their journey to continue to engage with us”.
The airline is also expanding partnerships with international carriers and developing its first airport lounges. It is building Icon lounges in four US cities with Chase, with further locations being considered.
The changes come as airlines increase the spending required to earn frequent-flyer status and introduce similar restrictions around access to airport lounges. United Airlines has said it will stop allowing customers to qualify for status through flight segments next year and will raise the requirement for its Premier 1K tier from 28,000 to 32,000 qualifying points.
