Southwest Airlines is the largest budget airline in the world with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. It operates flights to various destinations across the globe from 11 operating bases with 735+ Boeing 737 jets.
Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, and Denver are the primary hubs for Southwest.
At Southwest, you will find Business Select, Anytime, Wanna Get Away Plus and Wanna Get Away fares. Furthermore, the airline offers Rapid Rewards Loyalty Program to its loyal customers and frequent flyers that include A-List, and A-List Preferred Tier Level.
In this blog, we will explore Southwest A-List status with the program rules, requirements, and benefits.
What does Southwest A-List Status mean?
The majority of renowned, and big airline companies around the world offer loyalty programs to their loyal customers, and frequent flyers. Southwest Airlines offers a Rapid Rewards Loyalty Program that consists of two-tier levels namely A-List, and A-List Preferred.
A-List is the lowest level of the Rapid Rewards Loyalty Program that offers various benefits such as priority travel service, earning bonus, same-day flight change, dedicated phone line, and much more.
Before getting into the benefits of A-List status, let us first find out the requirements to qualify for this status level.
How do you become an A-List on Southwest? (Requirements)
Southwest Passengers, and customers are required to earn qualifying flights or qualifying points to qualify for the A-List Status level.
A total of 25 One-way qualifying flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points are required to meet the A-List status level. For instance, you need to simply fly 25 qualifying one-way flights, or earn 35,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year (January 1 – December 31 of each year).
The qualifying flights can be achieved by flying with Southwest from an origin city to a destination city that may include intermediate stops and/or connections on Southwest. If you fly a one-way flight booked through Southwest from your origin to your destination, it is counted as one flight segment.
The qualifying points are earned when you purchase qualifying flights or use your Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card or the Rapid Rewards Premier Credit, Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, or Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Cards.
Let’s take an example: You can earn 1,200 points when you fly on Southwest Wanna Get Away plus fare with a $150 base fare. You will earn 8 Qualifying Points per dollar spent. Likewise, you will earn 2,640 points (12 Points earned per dollar spent) when you fly on Southwest Business Select fare with a $220 base fare.
Passengers flying on Business Select fares earn 2X the points per dollar per qualifying flight than Wanna Get Away fares. With the Rapid Rewards Credit card, you can earn up to 1,500 Qualifying Points per dollar spent.
| CARD BENEFITS | PRIORITY CREDIT CARD | PREMIUM BUSINESS CARD | PERFORMANCE BUSINESS CARD |
| Anniversary Points | 7,500 Points | 6,000 Points | 9,000 Points |
| Points per $1 | 3X | 3X | 4X |
| Points earned per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partner purchases | 2 points per $1 | 2X | 3X |
| Points earned per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare | 2 points per $1 | 2 points per $1 | 2 points per $1 |
| Points earned per $1 spent on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming | 2 points per $1 | N/A | 2 points per $1 |
| Points earned per $1 spent on all other purchases | 1 point per $1 | 1 point per $1 | 1 point per $1 |
| Percentage Back on all inflight purchases | 25% back | 25% Inflight Purchase Discount | N/A |
| EarlyBird Check-in | 2 EarlyBird Check-In | 2 EarlyBird Check-in per year | N/A |
| Upgraded Boarding Per year | 4 Upgraded Boardings/year | N/A | 4 Upgraded Boardings per year |
| Southwest Annual Travel Credit | $75 | $500 fee credit for points transfers per year | $500 fee credit for points transfers per year |
| Tier Qualifying Points | 1,500 Points for every $10,000 spent | 1,500 Points for every $10,000 spent | 1,500 Points for every $10,000 spent |
Every $10,000 in eligible net purchases using a Card = 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points
Important Note: Points can be earned from qualifying flights, including flights booked and flown through Southwest and flights paid entirely with dollars, Southwest LUV Vouchers, gift cards or travel funds, and with no portion of the purchase price paid for with Rapid Rewards points.
Southwest customers can also earn Rapid Rewards Points by shopping, dining online, and other purchases. (Watch the following video.)
Now, let’s explore the benefits of A-List status.
Southwest Airlines A-List Benefits
A-List status offers various benefits to qualifying members that include priority travel services, earning bonus, complimentary flight changes, and so on.
Here are the major benefits of Southwest A-List
Priority Boarding
Southwest passengers, and everyone on their reservation is offered priority boarding service with which they can reach the aircraft seat faster avoiding long queues.
25% Earning Bonus
A-List Status holders get up to 25% bonus points on every qualifying flight. The bonus points are useful to grab your next reward flight faster.
Priority Lane, and Express Lane
Priority and Express Lanes are the dedicated lanes at Southwest Check-in Counter and airport security checkpoints. These lanes make your check-in, and security screening faster than ever.
Priority, and Express Lanes are subject to availability. You can check the airports where these lanes are available by visiting this page.
Same-Day confirmed change
A-List members are offered a same-day confirmed change with no difference in base fare if there is a seat available on the same calendar day.
Same-Day Standby
Southwest A-List status holders can contact a Southwest Gate Agent at the airport to add them to the standby list for an earlier flight.
Dedicated A-List Member Phone Line
A-List members get a special A-List phone line to assist them to connect directly with a Customer Representative.
Conclusion – ‘What Does Southwest A-List Status mean?’
We have come to the end of this blog where we discovered ‘What does Southwest A-List status mean?’. All requirements and benefits were discussed above.
In a nutshell, A-List status is the base level of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Loyalty program that is offered to loyal, and frequent flyers for an enhanced travel experience.
If Southwest customers collect at least 25 Qualifying one-way flights or earn 35,000 Tier Qualifying Points in a calendar year, they are eligible for A-List Level.
The major benefits of A-List status are:
- Priority Boarding
- 25% Earning Bonus
- Same-Day Flight Change
- Same-Day Standby Priority
- Priority Lane, and Express Lane
- Dedicated A-List member phone line
FAQs on ‘What Does Southwest A-List Status mean?’
Does Southwest A-List get priority boarding?
Southwest Airlines A-List status offers priority boarding service to the A-List members and everyone on their reservation for an earlier boarding position.
What is the difference between Southwest A-List and A-List Preferred?
Southwest A-List is the lowest level of the Rapid Rewards Loyalty Program whereas A-List preferred is the second-highest level. A-List requires 25 one-way Qualifying flights or 35,000 Tier Qualifying Points. On the other hand, passengers need to acquire 50 one-way qualifying flights or 70,000 Tier Qualifying Points to qualify for A-List Preferred Status.
Does Southwest A-List automatically check you in?
There is no such automatic check-in available for A-List members however, they are offered a priority lane at the Southwest Check-in counter for expedited check-in processes.
How long does Southwest A-List status last?
Member will maintain A-List status for the remainder of the calendar in which the status was earned and for the entire calendar year immediately following. A-List holders must re-qualify each calendar year (January 1 – December 31 of each year) to continue receiving benefits.
