The Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal is a free, easy and fun way to earn Southwest points to get you more free flights!

You simply need to start ALL online shopping at the Southwest Shopping Portal to earn a return on money you would be spending anyway! In addition to earning Southwest points, sometimes up to 15 points per dollar, you may also find special coupons or discounts to save you even more. Win, win, win!

TOP TIP: To ensure you optimize ALL online shopping to earn Southwest points, utilize the handy Southwest Shopping button for the Google Chrome browser that pops up anytime a website you are visiting earns points and lets you activate your points-earning by simply clicking the button.

 

6 Steps for Using the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal

 

  1. Visit: RapidRewardsShopping.Southwest.com and make sure you are signed in to your Rapid Rewards account.
  2. Search for the store where you’d like to shop. Different stores, which are partners with Southwest, offer different rewards at varying times. For example, you might earn 5 points per $1 at Kohl’s, 2 points per $1 at Best Buy and 3 points per $1 at Macys. I keep members of my Families Fly Free program updated with the BEST deals every week sent to their mobile device.
  3. Click on the store within the Southwest Shopping Portal where you want to shop and review the box that appears with the terms of the offer. This informs you of what you are required to do and what you are getting in return.
  4. Click Shop Now.
  5. Do your online shopping and your points should be automatically added to your account within a couple days, though Southwest says it can take up to 15 days.
  6. Don’t see your points after 15 days? Contact Southwest! Here’s how.

Before you begin shopping, keep these 4 things in mind to be sure you get your points.

 

Double-Dip by Paying with a Southwest Credit Card

If you pay for your purchase using your Southwest Chase Rapid Rewards credit cards or Chase Sapphire Preferred (whose points can be transferred to Southwest; read my full review of this card), you will earn an additional point per dollar for the purchase ON TOP of the points you earned by starting at the portal. I like to call that “double dipping” :).

Just be sure you pay off your expenditure on your credit card within a couple days so you do not incur debt.

If you decide to apply for any of the credit cards in this post, please use the links within this post or the TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS links in the Go to Travel Gal main menu shown below. This allows us to earn a commission — at NO COST TO YOU — to help support our free content! Thank you for taking this step!

 

 

Do These Points Qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass?

Most points earned through the portal DO count toward the 135,000 Southwest points needed to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. The Southwest Companion Pass is an amazing deal that lets one person fly free with you for up to two years!

If you see any points that Southwest shopping says are “BONUS points,” these WILL NOT qualify for the Companion Pass, but you CAN use them for free travel. This is important, so be sure to understand if the points you are earning are or are not “bonus” points.

 

What If the Item I Need Is in the Store and Not Online or I Need It Quickly?

See if you can order the item online by starting at the portal so you don’t miss out on earning points and then choose Store Pick-up. Many stores offer this option, including Walgreens, Target and Best Buy.

Then you can go to the store and pick it up as soon as they have it ready for you. If you don’t start online, you CAN’T earn any free Southwest points!

 

Inside Tips for Using the Southwest Shopping Portal

Online shopping

To find the best deals on the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal, here are some different parts of the website to check:

  • Click on Explore Stores/Categories to search by category of item that you are interested in.
  • The Category titled Magazines & Newspapers often has some of the biggest Southwest points offers – up to hundreds of points for just a small spend. These may include subscribing to the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s or The Economist for $1-$25 and earning hundreds of points.
  • Purchase gift cards from some of your favorite stores by viewing Offers/Gift Cards
  • Try clicking on Offers and then All Online Offers and sorting by highest earn rate to see your options for earning the MOST Southwest points.
  • Click View All Stores and sort alphabetically or by earn rate; alternately type the store you are looking for in the Search Bar.
  • Look under Extra Rewards that may allow you to earn extra points if you spend a set amount in the Shopping Portal within a set period of time.
  • Don’t want to pay shipping? Check Offers/Free Shipping to see which stores have free shipping offers.

 

Using the Shopping Portal During the Holidays

Southwest Shopping Portal

A great time to use the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal is during the holiday season where you may be making more purchases than usual. Again, you’re going to be making these purchases anyway, so you might as well earn free Southwest points by doing so!

Make it a habit to start all of your holiday shopping at the portal, even for items you want to pick up in store and even for gift cards. Pay with your Southwest credit card or Chase Sapphire Preferred to load up on even more points and then go right in and pay the balance.

To help you remember to use the portal, use the Google Chrome browser and download the free Southwest shopping button (it only works in Google Chrome) that will pop up automatically anytime you are visiting an online retailer that participates in the Southwest shopping program.

The pop-up will tell you how many points you can earn and you can click Activate to immediately activate your points-earning. This helps for those of us who are a tad forgetful (not me! ;-)) More about the Southwest shopping button.

Don’t forget to use the links within this post or start at the TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS link in the main menu to apply for any credit cards. We sincerely appreciate you taking this step!

What questions do you have about using Southwest Airlines’ shopping portal? Have I convinced you to start ALL your online shopping there?

 

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