Earning status with a given airline comes with benefits ranging from early boarding and free ticket changes to lounge access but the path towards securing it is generally an expensive one.
Some recent number-crunching by personal finance platform NerdWallet found that the average required to enter the first status tier with a U.S.-based airline starts at $2,000 spent directly with the carrier or $10,000 through the signature credit card.
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For United Airlines UAL, Premier Silver Status is earned by taking 12 qualifying flights or earning 4,000 points while Delta DAL's Silver requires 5,000 Medallion Qualification Dollars — while there are ways to multiple points earned and speed up collection, both loyalty systems are dollar-to-point.
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Southwest says it 'heard from customers', promises 'new ways to earn points'
Mainstream airlines will usually also have a wider travel platform in which one can earn both miles and status-qualifying points by booking for services such as hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) , which has a Vacations platform in which loyalty members earn and spend rewards points on resort bookings, launched a southwestcruises.com site powered by cruise ship company World Travel Holdings to include itineraries on major lines such as Royal Caribbean (RCL) , Carnival (CCL) , and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) .
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"We've heard from our customers that cruises were of interest to them, and our new partnership with World Travel Holdings gives customers access to all major cruise lines, such as Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean, to complement their travel experience on Southwest," Southwest Vice President of Product Development Phil Gouel said in a statement. "This partnership also gives our loyal members new ways to earn points."
Image source: Shutterstock
Southwest also made these changes to how you earn points
In a further revamp of its Rapid Rewards program, Southwest is also changing up its cash-and-points redemption option to allow travelers to also earn points on the cash portion they paid for a trip. The airline first caught up with other airlines by creating a way to split one's trip between the two forms of payment last April but technical challenges meant that the cash portion one paid would be lost instead of of going towards Rapid Rewards points.
Both when it comes to spendable miles and points that go toward the airline's A-List and A-List Preferred Status, this will change for flights taken after Jan. 1, 2025. Any points earned can also go toward the 135,000-point threshold required to be able to offer a friend Southwest's Companion Pass for the following year.
All these changes to the airline's Rapid Rewards program come down to Southwest's efforts to stay competitive and break through a stretch of unprofitable quarters. After buying up enough shares to be able to call for votes on the airline's future, investment company Elliott Management has been pushing for drastic austerity measures that resulted in a recent shake-up of the airline's board.
While the changes to the Rapid Rewards program make it easier to earn perks, they are a way to attract and please customers that Southwest has been struggling to retain.
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