Do Southwest Points Expire? Rapid Rewards in 2026

No, Southwest Rapid Rewards points do not expire. As long as your account is open and in good standing, the points sit there as of August 2026, with no clock running against them.

Southwest removed point expiration in October 2019. Before that, points expired after 24 months without qualifying activity.

There is one real way to lose them, and a few details worth knowing about earning and redeposits. Here is how Rapid Rewards points work now.

Do Southwest Rapid Rewards points expire in 2026?

They do not. Southwest's Rapid Rewards terms state plainly that points do not expire.

That has been the rule since October 17, 2019, when Southwest removed the expiration date entirely, as Business Traveller reported at the time.

The prior policy expired points after 24 months without qualifying activity. That 24-month clock no longer exists, so a year or two away from Southwest does not cost you anything.

This puts Southwest alongside Delta, United, and JetBlue, whose loyalty currencies also carry no expiration. For the wider picture, see our guide to whether airline miles expire.

What happens to your points if you close your account?

This is the one case where a balance disappears. Southwest's terms state that if a member closes their account, the points in it are forfeited.

Points can also be forfeited if Southwest closes an account for fraud or a violation of the program rules, as point.me notes.

So the practical rule is short. Keep the account open and in good standing, and the points keep waiting.

If you cancel an award flight, do your points come back?

Yes. Cancel a flight you booked with points and the points return to the purchaser's Rapid Rewards account automatically.

There is no award redeposit fee and no cancellation fee, a point Upgraded Points documents for both cash and points bookings.

The one deadline: cancel at least 10 minutes before the flight's scheduled departure. Miss that and a no-show can cost you the award value.

One nuance sits alongside the points. The taxes and fees on an award ticket are handled separately: on lower fares they are typically held as a reusable flight credit, and on higher fares they can return to your original payment method.

That behavior varies by fare, so confirm the tax treatment at the moment you cancel rather than assume it. The points themselves come straight back to your balance.

How do you earn Rapid Rewards points by fare type?

Earning is tied to the fare you buy, calculated on the base fare before taxes. Southwest rebranded its fare names starting May 28, 2025, so you will see the new labels now.

Basic replaced Wanna Get Away, Choice replaced Wanna Get Away Plus, Choice Preferred replaced Anytime, and Choice Extra replaced Business Select, per NerdWallet.

The earning rates above come from NerdWallet's Rapid Rewards guide, current as of August 2026. Co-brand credit cards and partners add more points on top, at their own rates.

On the redemption side, Southwest points track the cash price of the ticket. Since March 2025 that pricing is dynamic, so the same route can cost different point totals on different days.

Points vs Travel Funds: what is the difference?

This is the distinction that trips people up. Points and Travel Funds are two different things, and only one of them is at risk of expiring.

Points are the loyalty currency you earn from flying, cards, and partners. Travel Funds are cash-value credit, usually from a cancelled cash ticket, and they carry expiration windows.

The Travel Funds side, including how long a credit lasts by fare, is its own topic. Our guide to Southwest flight credits and Travel Funds covers those expiration windows in full.

One bridge between the two is worth knowing: Southwest lets you convert Travel Funds into points at 78 points per dollar, according to Afar. Converted points then follow the no-expiration rule and can be used for anyone.

For cash fares, the money after a price drop is a separate question from points. Autopilot reprices cash tickets booked directly with Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, or United, and it does not act on award bookings or Southwest points.

On a qualifying cash fare booked directly with one of those five carriers, once you add your trip, Autopilot tracks the fare and reprices the reservation when it drops, and the savings come back as airline credit or a refund.

How many points is a Companion Pass, and can you book for others?

The Companion Pass lets a chosen companion fly with you for taxes and fees on paid and award flights, for as long as you hold it.

You earn it by collecting 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points, or flying 100 qualifying one-way flights, in a calendar year, per Southwest's Companion Pass terms.

Timing is generous. Earn it and the pass is valid for the rest of that year plus the entire following calendar year, so an early-year finish can mean close to two years of use.

Separately, points are flexible on who flies. You can redeem your Rapid Rewards points to book a ticket for anyone, not just yourself, which is one reason the no-expiration policy matters for families pooling travel plans.

The headline holds up in 2026: Rapid Rewards points stay put as long as your account does. The details to remember are the account-closure forfeiture, the 10-minute cancellation window for automatic redeposits, and the clean line between points and Travel Funds.