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7 Ways Earn the MOST Southwest Points Through Holiday Spending

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    Lyn writes about how to fly free on Southwest on her GotoTravelGal.com blog.  And created a free e-book that walks you through exactly how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass, which lets 1 person fly nearly free with you for up to 2 years.

    As we head into the busy holidays, I asked her to put together a list of how to maximize the number of Southwest points you can earn this season.

    Lyn:   Holidays are one of the best times to rack up TONS of Southwest points.  But to make sure you earn as many as you can, you’ll need a strategy.  And NOW is the time to start putting that together!

    With a Strategy in Place, You Can Earn a TON of Southwest Points on Your Holiday Spending

    Here are 7 ways to help you get as many Southwest points as possible this year!

    7 Ways to Earn the Most Southwest Points With Holiday Spending

    November is upon us – and that means the holiday season is about to get into full swing.  Christmas commercials are airing, and store shelves are lined with lights, ornaments, and gifts.  Before you jump into holiday spending, make sure you have a strategy for maximizing the number of points you will earn for free upcoming flights.  And remember, there are OTHER ways to earn points aside from gift-buying.

    Here are 7 ideas to get you started:

    1.   Shopping on the Southwest Shopping Portal

    The easiest thing you can do when buying gifts is to make sure you ALWAYS start at the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal.  You could earn between 1 to 20 Southwest points per $1 spent – at NO additional cost to you!

    Starting All Your Holiday Shopping at the Southwest Shopping Portal Can Net You Big Points!

    Here are some tips to get the most out of the portal:

    Here are some ideas:

    Also, make sure you don’t make these mistakes when using the shopping portal to ensure you get all of your points!  And always check other shopping portals to see if you’re getting the best return on your spending!

    2.   Take Advantage of Holiday Bonus Point Offers

    Southwest offers holiday bonus points when you spend a certain amount in the Southwest Shopping Portal, so if possible try to meet one of the below thresholds.  The first holiday offer runs through November 20, 2017, and offers these bonus points:

    Note:   Bonus points do NOT qualify for the 110,000 Southwest points needed in a calendar year to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.

    3.   Use a Points-Earning Credit Card

    When making any holiday purchases, be sure to use a points-earning credit card.  When using a points-earning credit card in the Southwest shopping portal, you can stack points, and earn both portal points and credit card points.  You have several options for cards that either earn Southwest points directly or points that you can transfer to Southwest.

    The Chase Sapphire Preferred Earns Chase Ultimate Rewards Points on Spending Which You Can Transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 Ratio

    They include:

    4.   Book Hotels Through Southwest

    If you’ll be traveling for the holidays and won’t be using points to book some of your hotels, start at SouthwestHotels.com and earn up to 10,000 Southwest points per night.  I had one reader recently earn 29,000 Southwest points on a hotel stay, and these points DO qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass!

    Book Hotels for Holiday Stays Through Southwest.com and Earn up to 10,000 Southwest Points per Night

    When searching for hotels on the Southwest website, look for the blue button on the listing that tells you how many points you can earn.

    5.   Order Flowers

    Some people enjoy holiday flower displays on their tables for Thanksgiving, holiday parties, and more.  Consider ordering your flowers from Southwest’s partner 1800Flowers.com and earn 1,000 Southwest points for each order of ~$30+.  Start at 1800Flowers.com/Rapid Rewards, use code “RR22”, and enter your Southwest loyalty number at checkout.

    6.   Enroll All Cards in Rapid Rewards Dining

    Make sure you’re enrolled in Rapid Rewards Dining, which allows you to automatically earn Southwest points when you dine at participating restaurants.  Once you are enrolled, add all credit or debit cards you might use to pay for a meal to your account.

    Make Sure All Credit Cards Are Enrolled in Rapid Rewards Dining to Earn Automatic Southwest Points When Dining at Participating Restaurants!

    Any time you dine at a participating restaurant, you’ll automatically earn 3 Southwest points per $1 spent (so long as you opt-in to their email communications) without having to do anything else.  You can also earn bonus points along the way when you reach certain thresholds, as well as 10 Southwest points for each online restaurant review you complete.

    Imagine if you could pay for that company holiday party on your card and then expense it back to the company, paying the card off within 30 days!  That’s a lot of points!

    7.   Car Rentals

    Car rentals at the holidays – or any time of year! – can also earn you more Southwest points when you start your booking at Southwest.com.  Simply click the “Car” link at the top of Southwest.com and then “Book a Car.”

    Earn Up to 2,400 Southwest Points by Booking Holiday Car Rentals at Southwest.com

    You can earn up to 2,400 Southwest points on car rentals and also score a discount on the cost.  There are also no cancellation fees when booking a car rental through Southwest.com, though you will have to pay ~$1 per day to earn Southwest points.

    Here’s my series on getting cheaper car rentals.  And be sure to try Autoslash in case the price drops!

    Bottom Line

    Get your game plan together now for earning Southwest points on holiday spending to ensure you earn the most points for as many free future flights as possible!  You can:

    You might as well earn a return on all that spending! 🙂

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)