Southwest Rapid Rewards Can Not Be Redeemed For Gift Cards Due To Covid-19

March 25, 2020

Southwest has temporarily paused their More Rewards feature which allowed redeeming Rapid Rewards points for gift cards and other merchandise. I assume they just don’t have the money to lay out to pay for these rewards so they are pausing the feature. Or else, they are seeing a mass exit from the points currency which they are trying to discourage by forcing people to wait until more normal times.

Due to circumstances resulting from COVID-19, we have temporarily paused the ability to redeem points in More Rewards. We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope to resume normal operations soon. Thank you for your patience and grace during this time.

It’s disheartening to see this move as Southwest points always had a floor of about $.01 value since they could be redeemed for gift cards to places like Amazon or Walmart. Hopefully they’ll bring this option back soon, though I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing changes for a good few months.

Hat tip to ozimandyus

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47 Comments

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Chris (@guest_1185193)

May 1, 2021 12:46

#1185193

Cancelled my South West card just not worth it, very few perks of the card.

SamL (@guest_1156105)

March 9, 2021 13:04

#1156105

What’s the latest on redeeming SWPs for gift cards, i.e. exchange rate, and are useful GCs available?

SamL (@guest_1141455)

February 7, 2021 17:00

#1141455

What’s the latest on gift card redemptions, i.e. exchange rate, and are useful GCs available?

Johnny Love (@guest_1102393)

December 3, 2020 03:55

#1102393

Always used my RR points to redeem for Best Buy gift cards, which have now been discontinued. Will be canceling my Rapid Rewards card and going to Chase Freedom Unlimited, so I can get their much better Ultimate Rewards program.

Mary (@guest_1102017)

December 2, 2020 14:56

#1102017

I am canceling my Southwest visa card. They should have given a heads-up notice that this program was being canceled. Goodbye-bye Southwest

Katie Shepherd (@guest_1080933)

October 28, 2020 16:49

#1080933

So disappointed.They do have gift cards available now however a very disappointing and limited selection. PLUS they now cost 50% more than they did before. They went from being one of the best card offers out there to a very disappointing one. Guess I’ll put my money on other cards were I can still get a good deal.