Does each member of your family have a separate Southwest Rapid Rewards account? Have each of them earned some of their own Southwest points?
If you ever plan to transfer Southwest points to someone else, such as your spouse, to book a flight, be forewarned, it’s not cheap!
But there’s also a trick you can employ to get around transferring points. I’ll tell you about that in a minute.
First, let’s talk about transferring points.
Note: This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a commission if you make a purchase or apply after clicking through.
While I generally collect all Southwest Rapid Rewards points through my account and then book ALL flights for my family through my account (which is what I would recommend if you’re booking most flights on points, as it keeps things SIMPLE — always my goal :)), there have been a few instances where it made sense to pay for a flight for both my husband and I to write it off as a business expense.
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In these cases, since we paid for the flights, my husband earned his own Southwest points, which went into his account.
Sometimes we will BOTH take advantage of great Rapid Rewards Shopping deals (see my weekly updated post of the best deals of the week, like a $99 subscription for Motley Fool’s stock advisor email newsletter to get 5,400 points!!) from within our own Rapid Rewards accounts. That also nets him some points.
Collecting points in one person’s account is the simplest way to fly multiple people nearly free on Southwest
I thought it was no big deal, because we could just transfer those points over to me. When I went to make the transfer, I discovered it costs $10 for every 1,000 points you want to transfer!
While this is much less than buying Southwest points, it still seems a high price to pay just to transfer points, so avoid this if you can.
How to Transfer Southwest Points to Another Account
- Log in to the Southwest Rapid Rewards account of the person whose points you want to transfer
- Select Rapid Rewards and under Manage, choose Buy or Transfer Points
- Choose Transfer Points on this page
- Select the number of points you’d like to transfer (minimum 2000 points required)
- Enter the name, Rapid Rewards account number and email address of the person you are transferring the points to
- Enter payment information
- Confirm the purchase and transfer
- Note: Transferred Southwest points DO NOT qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass (which lets you fly one person free for up to two years after earning 125,000 Rapid Rewards points), but you CAN use them to book flights for FREE travel.
Why to Transfer Southwest Points to Someone Else
If you are like us and fly on points (ie nearly FREE!) most of the time, then you rarely collect Southwest points by paying for flights.
Instead, we earn most of our points through everyday spending on our Southwest credit cards, the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve and through credit card referral points.
Credit Stewart Seeger Flickr
Did you know you can earn up to 140,000 Southwest points by applying for just two Southwest credit cards (1 personal and 1 business OR 2 business) and another 60,000 points, which can be instantly transferred to Southwest by applying for my favorite travel credit card, Chase Sapphire Preferred (read my full review of this card)?
You can also earn the Southwest Companion Pass by accumulating 125,000 qualifying Southwest points (including points earn from Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa card bonuses). The pass lets one person fly free with you for up to two years and is one of the ways my family flies free nearly everywhere in the U.S. on Southwest.
We pretty much pool all of those points into one account (mine), because we need high numbers of points to book flights. The small amount of points you earn by paying for a flight, even a Southwest business fare, which earns more points per dollar, is rarely enough to book a subsequent flight.
So when one of us DOES pay for a flight and earns their own points, we’d like to move it into the larger pool, which has more purchase power.
2 Tricks to Avoid Transferring Points
Credit Southwest Airlines, Stephen M Keller
If you want to avoid that unpleasant fee to transfer points, you can do one of two things:
1. Collect enough points in one account to book at least a one-way fare or one round-trip fare
This is what we try to do with my husband’s account. Get enough points in there so that he can book at least one of the four of us on a one-way or one round-trip fare.
He is often my companion for the Southwest Companion Pass, so sometimes we use his points to book one of our kids’ flights.
He also holds the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (read my full review of that card) in our family, and we use that card to earn triple points on dining and travel expenses, so he usually has Chase Ultimate Rewards points that we transfer to his Southwest account to top him off to whatever we need to book a ticket.
2. Book a ticket for YOU and then add THEM as the Companion
Let’s say it’s just the two of us flying instead of bringing our kids with us, but my husband is my companion so we don’t need to use his points to book a flight for him, since he flies FREE.
Instead, HE could book MY flight with HIS points and then I can still go into my account and add HIM as MY companion for that flight. Nifty trick, huh?
To Sum It Up
If you DO decide to pay for a flight and earn points in an account that doesn’t usually collect points, be aware of this constraint: IT COSTS to transfer Southwest points.
You can either pay the funds and consider it part of the cost of flying free or wait until that person has enough points in their account to book a flight on their own.
Have you had to transfer points between Southwest accounts? Did you pay the fee?
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Want points to book free flights on Southwest?
Check out the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa cards, which allow you to earn tens of thousands of points after meeting a low minimum spend to book free flights on Southwest!
They include:
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa card (Personal; 40,000-points after $1,000 minimum spend!)
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card (Personal; 40,000-points after meeting $1,000 minimum spend!)
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card (Personal; 40,000-points after meeting $1,000 minimum spend!)
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card (Up to 100,000-points; highest offer currently available on ANY Southwest card !)
These points also qualify for the 125,000 points you need to earn the Southwest Companion Pass, so one person can fly free with you for up to two years.
Keep in mind you can only hold ONE personal card at a time, though you can hold two business cards.
My Favorite Travel Credit Card: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Sapphire Preferred is my FAVORITE travel credit card and its bonus is now at its HIGHEST EVER
Flexible points transfer to Southwest instantly, 2X points on dining and travel, 60,000 points after meeting the minimum spend and only a $95 annual fee!
These points DO NOT qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass.
Read my full review of this card.
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Read More:
- How I Earned My 2017 Southwest Companion Pass WITHOUT Any Card Sign-ups
- Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Chase Sapphire Reserve? Which Card Should You Hold?
- Go to Travel Gal’s Travel Credit Card Plan: Which Cards in What Order
- Southwest Check-in Simplified: Everything You Need to Know
- Do Southwest Points Expire?
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Dave says
April 21, 2017 at 5:13 pmThat is terrible! That is 1% to transfer. They are only worth 1.6-1.8% to begin with. Be patient and wait for them to accumulate.
Lyn Mettler says
April 21, 2017 at 5:16 pmI know. I agree! Terrible…
Nancy McLaughlin says
September 7, 2017 at 11:03 pmI’m pretty sure I’ve used my SW miles to book a flight in my Mom’s name in the past instead of transferring.
Chris says
May 30, 2018 at 11:32 amI know it costs money to transfer points to another account but is there also a fee to receive transferred points from someone else. Do both people in the transaction have to pay a fee?
Lyn Mettler says
May 30, 2018 at 6:05 pmNope! No fee to receive, only the transfer fee. 🙂
Chris says
May 30, 2018 at 6:23 pmThanks
Michelle says
September 12, 2018 at 7:05 pmI need to try and see if I can book a flight for my son using my husband’s account. If you have a United account you can book for anyone using your points and don’t have to pay a transfer fee.
Lyn Mettler says
September 12, 2018 at 10:05 pmYou can definitely use another person’s account to book a flight on Southwest!
John Zaroff says
November 21, 2018 at 10:38 amI read your trick for using the companion fare:
Book a ticket for YOU and then add THEM as the Companion
Let’s say it’s just the two of us flying instead of bringing our kids with us, but my husband is my companion so we don’t need to use his points to book a flight for him, since he flies FREE.
Instead, he could book MY flight with his points and then I can still go into my account and add HIM as MY companion for that flight. Nifty trick, huh?
My question is ” Does the person who purchases the ticket have to be the companion? Let’s say Mary has companion fare status and Jimmy is her current companion. Could Richard ‘buy’ Mary a ticket and then Mary add Jimmy as her companion? Or does the person who purchases the ticket have to be the companion to be added?
Lyn Mettler says
November 21, 2018 at 2:44 pmHi John, yes you can definitely do it that way and we have done it that way. I’ve had people pay for my flight (say for a business trip) and then I add my husband as my Companion even though neither I nor he paid for the flight. Does that make sense?
Mai says
April 8, 2019 at 12:18 amHello, my husband is my compassion on my rapid rewards account. I just want to make sure I’m understanding this correctly. I barely have any points left on my account but my husband has points on his account. If i book a my flight under my husband’s rapid rewards account, can I log on my account and book his flight for free (because he’s my companion). Please advise, thank you.
Lyn Mettler says
April 8, 2019 at 12:31 amYes, that should work! Thanks for the question, Mai :).
John Zaroff says
November 21, 2018 at 3:43 pmYes, that makes sense. That is a very nice perk to have. Sometimes you find people who have swa miles to use up and aren’t travelling.
Joe says
February 27, 2019 at 7:18 pmFor option 2, you say he can book a flight for you with his points, then you can add him as a companion. But you specify that you are flying without kids. Would this ‘trick’ not work if you are flying with a lap child? I have a companion pass but my wife has some miles in her account, and we have a 15 month old.
Lyn Mettler says
February 28, 2019 at 8:45 amHi Joe! I’m not sure I understand how the “lap child” affects it any differently. They fly for free no matter what :). So yes, you could have your wife book your flight with Southwest points and you add her as your Companion and your kiddo flies free! Here is info on bringing your baby to sit in your lap: https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/family/baby-on-board-pol.html
lsn says
March 5, 2019 at 6:06 amThank you for your help! If I transfer points will my family have different confirmation booking numbers?
Lyn Mettler says
March 5, 2019 at 10:12 amIf you book all tickets from one Rapid Rewards account, they will all be under 1 confirmation #. If you book them from different Rapid Rewards accounts, they will have different confirmation #s. Thanks for the question!
Ann says
April 17, 2019 at 3:48 pmHello,
My daughter flies on SWA and she has the rapid points. Can she purchase tickets for me using her points and will she receive points for purchasing?
Lyn Mettler says
April 17, 2019 at 5:32 pmYes, she can purchase tickets for you using her points but she won’t earn points when purchasing with points :). Only if she paid cash would she earn points.
Valencia says
May 2, 2019 at 12:21 pmis the only way to get the companion ticket through signing up for the Southwest credit card? What is the annual fee? Worth it?
Lyn Mettler says
May 2, 2019 at 12:51 pmHi Valencia, Applying for 1-2 Southwest credit cards (1 personal, 1 business) is the FASTEST way to a Companion Pass, but definitely not the only way. Though I believe it is definitely worth it, as the value you get from the pass (the cost of the flight of the person you bring with you X however many flights you can take!) is much higher than any annual fee, which is between $69-$149/year depending on the card you choose.
Here is a link to my post about the Southwest credit card options.
And be sure to read this post all about how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
If you do decide to apply for any cards, I appreciate it if you would use the Travel Credit Cards links in the main menu above, as that allows me to earn a commission at no cost to you, to help support the blog. Thank you!
Kristina C Shimokawa says
May 9, 2019 at 5:51 amThanks for the info! I unfortunately needed to transfer points but it still save me a lot of money for the flight total. Do you know how long it takes for the transferred miles to post to the account? I’m used to Alaska Airlines when it’s instant (and cheaper to transfer!) Thank you!
Lyn Mettler says
May 9, 2019 at 7:43 amI think it should be close to instant. Most other Southwest transfers are instant. Hopefully, they’ve already credited!
Kristina C Shimokawa says
May 9, 2019 at 12:49 pmStrangely enough they haven’t. They said it’s pending and will notify me when complete.
Lyn Mettler says
May 9, 2019 at 1:25 pmOK well keep us posted. I’ve never transferred points and it doesn’t say in the Rapid Rewards rules and regulations how long it should take 🙁
Dave W says
June 3, 2019 at 11:39 pmI am really new at this and maybe this is first grade to all of you veterans, but if I use points to purchase a ticket for another person; and then they need to cancel, do the points go back to my account or is the traveler who cancels get the points in their account, or just a credit—if that traveler does not have an account?
Lyn Mettler says
June 5, 2019 at 9:11 pmHi Dave, no problem. Always happy to answer questions! So the points would go instantly go back to the account of the person who “paid” for the ticket as soon as it’s cancelled.
Erin H says
July 9, 2019 at 11:23 amKids and points question: When I purchase tickets for our family to fly SW, I usually enter the individual RR# for each family member (2 adults 2 kids everyone has their own RR acct). Is there a way for my RR acct. to receive all the points for the family trip?
Lyn Mettler says
July 9, 2019 at 11:42 amUnfortunately not. When you pay for a SW flight, the points are credited to each person’s individual Rapid Rewards account no matter who pays.
Kathleen Cole says
July 13, 2019 at 1:24 pmAm I able to transfer 2000 points to my son’s account and how much would it cost to do it?
Lyn Mettler says
July 15, 2019 at 3:53 pmHI Kathleen, you do have to transfer a minimum of 2,000 points, so you’re good there and it would cost you $20 ($10 per 1,000 points). I’d rather see you have him take a look at the Rapid Rewards Shopping Deals and do something like subscribe to Barron’s, WSJ for $1 each to get 1,400 points, for example, or just make a purchase he’s going to do anyway by starting at the portal.
Becky Gorham says
August 7, 2019 at 8:27 pmIf I have plenty of points to buy 2 round trip tickets for my husband and I do I have to transfer my points to him to buy tickets? Or can I buy both tickets with my points and not be charged a transfer fee?
Lyn Mettler says
August 7, 2019 at 9:40 pmHi Becky, you can definitely purchase all tickets from your account. Most of the time I use my points to purchase all of my family’s tickets. That saves you the cost of transferring points, too, as you said! 🙂
Judy says
September 3, 2019 at 3:25 pmCan I send my daughter somewhere with my points? I would not be traveling..
Lyn Mettler says
September 3, 2019 at 3:38 pmHi Judy,
Yes! You can pay for her ticket with your points :).
Kate says
October 8, 2019 at 11:13 amThis might be a dumb question…If I book flights for me, my husband, and daughter and I actually PAY for the tickets (as in, I’ve depleted my miles and don’t have enough to book tickets)…then don’t my husband and my daughter accrue their own points? In other words, when I pay for tickets, I only get points for my own flight but not my family members.
Even using my SW RR credit card for pretty much every purchase I make, I don’t accrue enough points to pay for all of use to take round trip flights. What I try to do is pay for my own flight and then use miles for them as much as possible. But sometimes I just don’t have enough, so I figured, I’d pay for my own, then pay for each of them one way so that they’re both still accruing some miles, and then use miles for the other part of the roundtrip ticket.
Does that make sense or is there something better I should be doing? I feel like I’m not quite getting as much out of my purchases and infrequent flights as I could be!
Lyn Mettler says
October 12, 2019 at 5:48 pmHi Kate, So yes, I’ve done that too if I run out of points: pay for one leg in cash. And yes, when you pay in cash/credit, the person who will be flying is the one who earns the points. This works great if you can get a business to pay for your flight — they pay, but you get the points!
Make sure you are taking advantage of all the great ways to earn Southwest points, including the Southwest credit cards, double and triple on Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve, Rapid Rewards Shopping deals, Rapid Rewards dining, SouthwestHotels.com, etc. There are many great ways to keep your stash of points full! 🙂
Oh, and be sure you have a Southwest Companion Pass so one of you always flies free. You can’t beat the savings of never having to use ANY Points for one of your family members.
Tammy Worley says
December 17, 2019 at 5:19 pmMy daughter is taking a high school history trip and they are flying SW airlines. I have a friend with enough points to buy a one way ticket. Can she buy the ticket for my daughter, or does she have to transfer the points to us. It’s cheaper for her to just buy the ticket, and she doesn’t care about earning more miles. Thanks for navigating us through this!
Lyn Mettler says
December 26, 2019 at 10:56 amHi Tammy,
She can definitely purchase your daughter’s ticket without having to transfer over the points (which costs). That is the cheapest way to do it. 🙂 Thanks!
Lyn
Billy Bob says
January 30, 2020 at 10:24 pmGeez, never thought of booking someone else with the points. That’s clever!