(EXPIRED) Southwest status fast track to A-list or A-list preferred for some SWABIZ members

Southwest Airlines is offering some SWABIZ members the chance to register for a fast-track to promotional A-list or A-list preferred status. That promotional status will only last through 7/31 and qualifying flights must be booked after registering (and must be revenue fares, award travel does not count), but if you have a bunch of upcoming Southwest travel this could be worth it.

The Deal

• Southwest Airlines is offering some SWABIZ members the chance for a fast track to promotional elite status when they register and then book through one of their business channels (GDS, SPS, SWABIZ®, and/or one of our direct connect/API partners), and fly two, three, or four qualifying round trips between 2/8/2023 and 5/2/2023 as follows:
  • Two qualifying round trips (or four one-ways): promotional A-List status until 7/31/2023
  • Three qualifying round trips (or six one-ways): 10,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points
  • Four qualifying round trips (or eight one-ways): upgrade to promotional A-List Preferred status until 7/31/2023
• Direct link to this deal

Key Terms

• Eligible Rapid Rewards® Members (“Member”) can earn promotional A-List status, Rapid Rewards bonus points, and/or promotional A-List Preferred status when registering, booking in eligible business channels, and flying qualifying flights for this Promotion between February 8, 2023 and May 2, 2023 (such period the “Promotion Period”) as follows:

• During the Promotion Period, register for this Promotion by completing the registration form and earn :

  • Promotional A-List status (subject to Promotional A-List Status Restrictions set forth below) through July 31, 2023 after flying two (2) qualifying round trip flights (or four (4) qualifying one-way trip flights)

  • 10,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points (subject to Rapid Rewards Restrictions set forth below) after flying three (3) qualifying round trip flights (or six (6) qualifying one-way trip flights)

  • Promotional A-List Preferred status (subject to Promotional A-List Preferred Status Restrictions set forth below) through July 31, 2023 after flying four (4) qualifying round trip flights (or eight (8) qualifying one-way trip flights)

  • Earn the above if such qualifying flights are booked through swabiz.com (SWABIZ®), Global Distribution System (GDS), or Southwest® Partner Services (SPS) distribution channels with Southwest Airlines® inventory.

  • All travel is subject to Southwest Airlines Passenger Contract of Carriage set out at www.southwest.com/contractofcarriage.

  • An eligible Rapid Rewards Member means a Member who receives an offer in either an email invitation from Southwest Airlines or a banner invitation on southwest.com, the Southwest mobile app, swabiz.com, or in the My Account section of their Rapid Rewards account online that invites them to participate in this Promotion. Offer is nontransferable.

  • Member must register for this Promotion during the Promotion Period, and registration must be completed prior to booking and commencement of travel during the Promotion Period.

  • To register for this Promotion, Member will need to complete the applicable registration form with Member’s name, email address, and Rapid Rewards number.

  • Member’s qualifying flights must be either a Wanna Get Away®, Wanna Get Away Plus™, Anytime, or Business Select® fare and must be booked only through swabiz.com, Global Distribution System (GDS), or Southwest Partner Services (SPS) distribution channels with Southwest Airlines inventory and travel must be completed during the Promotion Period.

  • Member’s Rapid Rewards account number must be entered at the time of booking Member’s qualifying flight(s) to be considered a qualifying flight for this Promotion.
  • Valid on new reservations booked within the Promotion Period only.
  • A qualifying round trip flight is a round trip revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city and back to the originating airport or carrier-recognized co-terminal, and a qualifying one-way trip flight is a one way revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city.
  • Further, a qualifying flight must be paid entirely with dollars, Southwest LUV Vouchers®, gift cards, or flight credits, and with no portion of the purchase price paid for with Rapid Rewards points or Rapid Rewards Business points.
  • Travel booked or flown prior to Member’s registration for this Promotion is not considered a qualifying flight for this Promotion.
  • Rapid Rewards bonus points earned through this Promotion are in addition to the regular Rapid Rewards points earned through Rapid Rewards.
  • Charter flights, group travel, Companion Pass®, Southwest Vacations® packages, and reward travel do not qualify for this Promotion.
  • Valid on Southwest Airlines published scheduled service.
  • Changes made to the itinerary after purchase may eliminate qualification for this Promotion.
  • This Promotion cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at https://www.southwest.com/help/rapid-rewards/rapid-rewards-program-terms-and-conditions.

Quick Thoughts

This promotion will only give temporary status for those who reach the A-list or A-list Preferred levels, but if you have a bunch of travel planned in the first 7 months of this year, it could certainly be worth it to register.

As a reminder, SWABIZ is the business booking arm of Southwest Airlines. Prices have been the same as at Southwest.com in all of my searches. Some may be familiar with SWABIZ because of promotions they run that provide points for referring businesses to SWABIZ.

This promotion could also potentially be worth it for someone looking to parlay Southwest status into something with another airline. For instance, Alaska Airlines offers a status match whereby A-list members can match to MVP, A-list Preferred can match to MVP Gold, and A-list Preferred with Companion Pass can match to MVP Gold 75K. Given that there is also an easy path to the Companion Pass right now, it is conceivable that one could fast track themselves to Southwest A-list Preferred and Companion Pass and potentially get temporary Alaska Airlines elite status (though you would need to fly a bunch on Alaska to keep the status). That’s a pretty far-fetched / niche play and I don’t know for sure that Alaska would match your Southwest status gained from this promotion, but YMMV.

Keep in mind that any existing bookings made prior to registration will not count for this promotion. I thought about registering because I already have an upcoming Southwest booking, but then I realized that it wouldn’t count (and rebooking isn’t a viable option because the flight has doubled in price). If prices of your already-booked travel haven’t changed much, you could of course cancel, register, and then re-book. Also keep in mind that only revenue fares qualify, not award flights.

Overall, this could be a fun match for someone planning a bunch of upcoming Southwest travel, though given the short period for promotional stst

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