How long does it take to transfer points from one Southwest account to another?

Points will post within 72 hours. Purchased, gifted, transferred, and donated points do not count toward Tier or Companion Pass status. A credit card must be used to complete point purchase, gift, and transfer transactions.



When you transfer Rapid Rewards points from one Southwest account to another in 2026, the transaction is typically instantaneous, though official terms state it can take up to 72 hours in rare cases. You can perform the transfer through the "Buy or Transfer Points" portal on Southwest.com, where you will be charged a fee—usually around $10 per 1,000 points. This fee is a peer-to-peer "warning": transferring points is often poor value because the cost to move them can sometimes exceed the value of the points themselves. A better "pro-tip" for 2026 is to simply book the flight for the other person directly from your own account; Southwest allows you to use your points to buy a ticket for anyone, which costs you $0 in fees and achieves the same result as a transfer. Note that transferred points do not count toward A-List status or the Companion Pass.

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We value Southwest points at 1.5 cents per point, so if you're paying 1 cent per point to transfer them, you're losing more than half of what your points are worth. Instead, consider booking a flight for a friend or family member using your points to maintain their maximum value.

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If you want to know how many Southwest points you need for a free flight, the answer is that it depends on the cash cost of your flight. The lower the cash cost, the fewer points will be required and conversely, the higher the cash cost of the flight, the more Southwest points you'll need.

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As a result, 50,000 Southwest points are typically worth between $500 and $750 in award flights within the United States or one of the airline's international destinations.

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15,000 Southwest points are worth around $199.5 when redeemed for airfare. While Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points are most valuable when redeemed for Travel, they're also redeemable for gift cards, hotel stays, merchandise, and more.

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5,000 Southwest points are worth around $66.5 when redeemed for airfare. While Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points are most valuable when redeemed for Travel, they're also redeemable for gift cards, hotel stays, merchandise, and more.

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Most frequent flyer programs only allow you to credit mileage to the account of the person flying. Inputting the same frequent flyer number for two different passengers wouldn't work, because the name on the account has to match the name on the ticket.

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Southwest started sending emails with the subject line, “A message from Southwest CEO Bob Jordan” offering passengers who had canceled flights 25,000 points each. This email only went out to the passengers who actually booked the flights but it included codes for everyone on their reservation.

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Southwest Airlines passengers impacted by the airline's mass flight cancellations may find a peace offering waiting in their inbox. The airline is giving travelers 25,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points as a gesture of goodwill, CEO Bob Jordan said in an email to customers Tuesday.

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How much are 10,000 Southwest points worth? 10,000 Southwest points are worth about $150. How much are 25,000 Southwest points worth? 25,000 Southwest points are worth about $375.

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