Southwest just made it a lot easier to earn elite status through 2023

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Traveling For Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling For Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. For more details please see the disclosures at the bottom of every page.

If your travel schedule has been less busy than normal and you’re struggling to requalify for elite status with Southwest, the airline has some good news for you. In two different ways, it has just made earning A-List and A-List Preferred elite status in 2022 (which will last through 2023) considerably easier.

Southwest elite status requirements

Before taking a look at what Southwest has now announced, here’s a quick look at what the requirements are to earn A-List and A-List Preferred elite status:

• A-List elite status requires 25 segments or 35,000 tier qualifying points
• A-List Preferred elite status requires 50 segments or 70,000 tier qualifying points

The earning requirements shown above must be achieved within a calendar year.

How Southwest is making it easier to earn elite status

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Southwest has announced two ways in which it’s making it easier to earn elite status through the end of 2023.

Southwest reward bookings are counting towards elite status

The first measure that Southwest has taken is to say that all reward bookings flown since the start of the year will count towards the A-List and A-List Preferred segment count.

In addition, all reward flights booked and flown by 30 November 2022 will also contribute to a flyer’s elite status segment count.

There is no need to register to earn the retroactive segment credits from flights between 1 January and 19 September 2022 and some flyers have already seen these post to their accounts.

However, to earn elite status credits for reward flights taken in the future (through 30 November 2022), Southwest requires you to register on this page.

Earn double tier qualifying points

The second measure that Southwest has taken is to say that all revenue flights* booked and flown by 30 November 2022 will earn double tier points.

Registration is required (here) as Southwest has confirmed that any travel taken before registration will not qualify for double tier points.

Existing bookings made before this promotion was launched (and so were made before registration) will not earn double tier points. Customers can cancel their bookings (for free) and make new bookings for the same dates (after having registered for this promotion) but as Southwest won’t waive any fare differences, this may turn out to be an expensive way to earn more tier points (or not).

*Tier qualifying points are earned on flights paid entirely with dollars, LUV Vouchers, gift cards, or travel funds, and with no portion of the purchase price paid for with Rapid Rewards points.

Bottom line

Southwest has now announced a couple of measures that should make it considerably easier for flyers to earn A-List or A-List Preferred elite status this year (which will then last through the end of 2023). Double tier points are now available on revenue bookings made and flown by the end of November and segments flown on reward bookings flown between 1 January and 30 November 2022 will count towards the 2022 elite status requirements.

Note: This promotion does not affect how flyers can earn a Companion Pass.