Southwest Points To Dollars: Cash Value & Calculator

Southwest Flights: 1.3 cents per point.

Southwest Points will have the best value when redeemed towards flights on Southwest. This will give you an average of 1.3 cents per point which is pretty solid value.

Rates for award bookings with Southwest are based on the cost of the fare. This means the higher the cash price, the higher the cost in Southwest Points.

Since this is the case, there's not many 'sweet spots' when it comes to booking flights and you'll always have a good idea of how much your points are worth.

Southwest is a simple airline that delivers simple flights. It's great for no-frills travelers who want to easily redeem points to get from Point A to Point B.

Southwest fare types

Southwest Rapid Rewards Points can be used towards any of the four fare options that Southwest offers which are:

• Wanna Get Away
• Wanna Get Away Plus
• Anytime
• Business Select

With all of these fares you'll receive two checked bags free, no change fees, and no cancel fees.

In terms of specific benefits, each fare offers a different level of flexibility when it comes to flight cancellations and changes as well as additional benefits such as bonus points per $1 spent and priority perks.

Best ways to redeem your Southwest points

Southwest doesn't really offer any "high-point" redemptions or sweet spots like many other airlines. This fits in line with Southwest being a simple, no-frills airline meant to get you where you want to go.

With that being said, Southwest is an excellent option for getting to several popular destinations including several out of country. Listed below are a few destinations you can fly to using Southwest.

The Caribbean

You can fly Southwest to several destinations in the Caribbean those destinations include:

• Nassau, Bahamas
• Turks and Caicos
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• Montego Bay, Jamaica
• Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Havana, Cuba
• Aruba
• Belize City, Belize

Southwest is one of the few airlines still operating flights to Havana, Cuba. If it's on your bucket list, you can easily get there flying from Fort Lauderdale, FL or Tampa, FL.

There are restrictions on travel to Cuba, so be sure to research this before booking any flights.

Mexico

Southwest flies to four popular beach spots in Mexico. This includes:

• Cabo San Lucas
• Cancun
• Cozumel
• Puerto Vallarta

These are all great options if you're looking for an easy getaway to some fun in the sun.

Hawaii

If you're looking to vacation in Hawaii, you can get to all of Hawaii's major cities using Southwest. This includes:

• Hilo
• Honolulu
• Kahulul
• Kauai-Lihue
• Kona

Gift Cards: 0.26 to 0.53 cents per point.

Redeeming Southwest Points for gift cards will give your points a value of between 0.266 cents and 0.531 cents per point. You'll get the best value of 0.531 cents when you redeem your points for gift card denominations of $50 or higher.

There's over 40 different brands available that range from restaurants and shopping to travel and department stores.

There are also specialty gift cards available for Universal Orlando Resort 1 Day Park to Park Anytime Access Passes for children and adults.

• Child Pass: 44,180 Points
• Adult Pass: 45,120 Points

Hotels: 0.52 cents per point.

Redeeming Southwest Points for hotel bookings will give your points an average value of 0.52 cents per point. You can book stays with several major hotel brands including Marriott, Hyatt, and Best Western.

Read More: Best Hotel Credit Cards (+ Rewards Calculator)

Car Rentals: 0.25 cents per point.

Redeeming Southwest Points for car rentals will give your points an average value of around 0.25 cents per point. The More Rewards portal features all of the major car rental companies such as Enterprise, Hertz, and Alamo.

When renting cars through the portal, you'll find that many rentals will cost significantly more than your standard Southwest flight.

For example, the lowest cost of a weekend rental for a car with Alamo that I could find was 53,914 Southwest Points.

For a few more points (and significantly higher value) you can fly from New York to Los Angeles.

Overall, redeeming Southwest Points towards rental cars will give your points a really low value. For the cost of a single rental car, you could do several short-haul trips or even fly across the country.

Experiences & Merchandise: Varies.

Southwest Points can be redeemed for experiences as well as merchandise through the More Rewards portal. The value of these options will vary based on the redemption.

You can use the Use Southwest Points or Pay Cash calculator to calculate the cash value of these redemptions if you know the average retail price in cash and the price in Southwest Points.

Convert Southwest points to dollars

The Southwest Points Value Calculator can help you estimate how much your points are worth in cash, whether you decide to redeem those points for flights, hotels, car rentals, gift cards, or other rewards. This will give you an idea of the average value for all the redemption options available with your Southwest points.

Use Southwest points or pay cash?

Use this calculator to determine the cash value of a redemption based on the cost in cash and the cost in Southwest Points. This is useful when trying to decide whether to use cash or Southwest Points to book a flight.

Credit cards that earn Southwest points

The easiest way to earn lots of Southwest points is through intro bonuses and everyday spending across Southwest credit cards. These cards also offer great benefits such as annual bonus points, travel credits, upgraded boardings, and superb travel insurance when you use the card to pay for your travel.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

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• Earn 60,000 bonus points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on internet, cable, phone services, select streaming, and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and 1X points on everything else.
• Receive up to $75 back on Southwest purchases made throughout the anniversary year with the card, 4 upgraded bookings per anniversary year that applies to positions A1-A15 on Southwest Airlines, and 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 you spend on the card with no cap on how many you can earn.
• $149 annual fee.

Calculate Southwest points and card value

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

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• Earn 60,000 bonus points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on internet, cable, phone services, select streaming, and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and 1X points on everything else.
• Receive 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 you spend on the card with no cap on how many you can earn and 6,000 anniversary points just for being a cardholder.
• $99 annual fee.

Calculate Southwest points and card value

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

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• Earn 60,000 bonus points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 2X points on Southwest purchases, internet, cable, phone services, select streaming, and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and 1X points on everything else.
• Receive 2 EarlyBird Check-In per year and 3,000 anniversary points just for being a cardholder.
• $69 annual fee.

Calculate Southwest points and card value

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

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• Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
• Earn 4X points on Southwest purchases, 3X points on purchases made with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, 2X points on local transit and commuting, social media and search engine advertising, and internet, cable, and phone services, and 1X points on everything else.
• Receive 4 upgraded bookings per anniversary year that applies to positions A1-A15 on Southwest Airlines, reimbursement for up to $8 per day when you use your card to pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi on Southwest flights, and 9,000 anniversary points just for being a cardholder.
• $199 annual fee.

Calculate Southwest points and card value

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

Learn More

• Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• Earn 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and 1X points on everything else.
• Receive 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 you spend on the card with no cap on how many you can earn, 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year, and 6,000 anniversary points just for being a cardholder.
• $99 annual fee.

Calculate Southwest points and card value

There's a small handful of rewards programs that allow you to transfer points directly to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account, but the best partner for maximizing your Southwest points is Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Learn More: Transfer Points To Southwest Using These Credit Card Partners

Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred directly to your Rapid Rewards account at a rate of 1,000 Chase points for 1,000 Southwest points. Chase credit cards feature hefty intro bonuses that can net you a large sum of Southwest points and top-notch travel benefits.

Here's the best Ultimate Rewards credit cards for Southwest:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best overall for flexibility - 60,000 Bonus Points
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best for high value and airport lounge access - 60,000 Bonus Points
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Best for business travel rewards - 100k Bonus Points

Learn More: Best Chase Credit Cards + Rewards Calculator