Southwest Airlines shared data with the SEC that should raise flags about how things are going for its loyalty program. Its fiscal 2025 10-K filing just released shows that over the past 3 years, Southwest has seen a significant trend in customers redeeming fewer awards. A smaller percentage of their seats are taken up by passengers using their points.
The table below shows the number of flight awards redeemed for each of the past three years.
Year ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 Flight awards redeemed (millions) 9.1 10.1 10.9
And now, with those points worth less overall (as part of the broader set of changes made by the airline) we may see even fewer redemptions still.
Meanwhile, Southwest reported liability for total Rapid Rewards points outstanding of $4.3 billion:
As of December 31, 2025, the loyalty liabilities were approximately $4.3 billion, including $3.1 billion classified within Air traffic liability and $1.2 billion classified as Air traffic liability – noncurrent.
Even with fewer awards redemeed, the outstanding points liability went down. Southwest’s FY2024 Form 10-K reported that as of December 31, 2024, loyalty liabilities were approximately $4.8 billion.
Some of this is the result of accounting changes that are goosing current revenue at the expense of future revenue, because their amended credit card deal with Chase lets them book more of the money up front, allocating less towards future travel.
Since they added seat fees and bag fees, and the credit card provides benefits waiving some of those fees, they get to count some of the money towards those things. But that’s not all of what’s going on here. People appear to be earning and redeeming less. That’s concerning!
Since SW cut service from my home airport, I’ve not been able to use either points or travel funds to the same level as in years past. Not a surprise that others have the same issue.
This is just the tip of the iceberg as thousands of long time loyal customers fly less often and decide to fly with other carriers because of the removal of past perks and increasingly higher prices for flights. The airline is now known as Southworst – or – Greedwest, names they have earned.
Maybe less “rewards” are being used because they have become almost worthless. Before Southwest got into the banking business, you could get a free flight after 10 flights, and each flight segment counted as a flight. Or maybe its because people are unhappy with Southwest’s decision to become “average” and used their rewards before the new policies took effect and no longer care to fly Southwest.
“Southwest. Striving to be average”.
The value proposition aside, WN needs to come out and definitively say whether they are going to add a premium cabin or not . Premium class travel is surging and WN has no offering for the premium class traveler. They keep saying they are contemplating new enhancements yet they are sparse with details .F class ? Lounges ? True high end credit card ?
Until they lay out a plan and commit to it , they are a hard pass for me . They won’t be getting my spend via credit cards or travel purchases .
Southwest nerfed the value of points most flights it makes zero sense to redeem. Their points are now near worthless like delta sky pesos
Only a couple data points but I’ve also noticed good redemptions seem harder to come by. I meant to liquidate my Southwest points last year but I ended up with more. I flew them only once but the redemption rate for the route was awful, like 0.6¢/point so I just paid cash. Did have one reward flight of decent value but ended up flying Delta since I wanted to go to a Skyclub for dinner during a connection. Definitely a time and a place to fly Southwest for me, but that window has narrowed a lot.
The flights I have checked, thinking I would use points, have been a game changer. If it costs almost half of the points in my RR account which was around 100,000, why would I do that. They have taken the worst possible ideas and implemented them, mainly to satisfy Predators and Whiners. After flying WN for over 30 years, the changes that Elliot demanded are causing me to back away. I can fly with Self Important Whiners on any airline.
@L737 — “I meant to liquidate my (all) points last year but I ended up with more.” Happens to a lot of us.
As for SW, I feel like 2018 was the beginning of the end… flight 1380, RIP, then, later that same year, they stopped serving those delicious honey-roasted peanuts. *sigh*
@David R. Miller I’ve called them Southworst for years glad to see it catching on.
I am not loyal to any one brand so I always shop when I fly, so I stopped flying Southwest when they became most expensive fare in almost everywhere I went last few years. Still sitting on 130K+ points.. every trip, I check but SW is just too expensive now.. I do like assigned seating change but it’s just not worth it.
@Gary, et. al. —> I’m confused…
First of all, if fewer people are redeeming points with Airline X, the airline is “giving away” fewer seats for no [additional] revenue. Unless this is accompanied by fewer pax overall, why isn’t this in fact a good thing for the airline? Secondly, the long-time “mantra” for using points & miles has been, “earn & burn,” rather than “earn and hoard.” If one sees continual devaluation, wouldn’t the inclination be to “burn” the points before they become worth even less? (Oh, wait. People are still using SkyMiles*, aren’t they?)
OK, specifically as far as WN is concerned…I don’t think anyone would disagree that “they are poor little sheep who have lost their way.” Everything about Southwest that made them unique and wonderful, a “go to” for millions of passengers a year, has now vanished. (At least Delta is still profitable and continues to perform well in the air, despite their aging fleet.)
I started flying Southwest back in the 1980s. However, I all-but-stopped flying them years ago when Virgin America began flight ops. Still, out of some 700 flights I’ve taken in my life, WN accounts for 102 flight segments, or 14.6% (according to flightmemory.com). But the totals for Virgin America and Alaska come to 131 (18.2%) and 176 (25.2%), respectively — and those flights have all taken place since 2007. The *only* reason I fly WN anymore is if my wife insists because they have the only nonstop…
@1990 —> I feel your pain. Of course the honey-roasted peanuts went away due to people’s allergies, but they are still missed.
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* I don’t want to insult México be calling them “Sky Pesos.”
Massively devalued points, and zero differentiation from the rest of the legacies (in fact, they’re WORSE than most due to the [mostly] lack of charging ports and crappy internet). They could’ve still offered one free checked bag to be a differentiator, but nope…they lowered their own bar in the hopes that it would generate additional revenue. Instead, it (almost certainly) drove business (like mine) away to other carriers.
I know I’m not the only one, but they’re now my LAST choice on airline options (completely excluding ULCCs).Steveawacs
Can we finally admit that “rewards” programs are for all intents and purposes a scam? And industries that depend on them need to rethink their operating models?