Southwest Airlines is raising the bar for its entry-level elite status. The airline’s A-List tier, which takes 20 one-way qualifying flights today, becomes Silver on January 1, 2027, and will take 25 flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points. The change is part of a Rapid Rewards overhaul that Southwest posted in October, and it lands on frequent flyers deciding whether to keep chasing status.
Five more flights for the same 35,000 points
Southwest’s 2027 changes page lists Silver at 35,000 tier qualifying points, or TQPs, or 25 qualifying flights. Silver replaces A-List. The airline’s current tiers page puts A-List at 20 one-way qualifying flight segments or 35,000 TQPs.
The points number does not move, so the change falls on people who qualify by flying. A member who flies 20 qualifying one-way flights makes A-List this year and falls short of Silver next year. Reaching the new bar means 25 qualifying flights.
The flights route is the one that gets harder. Members who count segments rather than chase points need five more qualifying flights a year to hold the same entry-level tier, while members who earn through spending see no change in the 35,000 mark.
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The tiers page shows what A-List includes today: Preferred or Standard seat selection at booking, Group 1 boarding, one free checked bag, same-day standby, a 25% earning bonus, Priority Lane and Express Lane access and priority phone support. Not everything counts toward the 20 flights or 35,000 TQPs. Reward flights, partner points other than credit card TQPs and non-revenue travel are excluded unless designated as eligible.
Gold asks for more flights and fewer points
The next tier shifts in the opposite direction on points. Gold replaces A-List Preferred, which now takes 40 flights or 70,000 TQPs. Gold takes 50 flights or 65,000 TQPs. Flights rise by 10, while the points requirement falls by 5,000.
A new top tier, Platinum, sits above both. It takes 140,000 TQPs or 100 qualifying flights, and it carries unlimited Companion Pass trips. Southwest’s guide says TQPs become the single qualifying currency, replacing the separate Companion Pass qualifying points used in 2026.
Southwest’s status tiers guide says points can come from flights, Rapid Rewards credit card purchases, debit card purchases at 1 TQP per $2, Getaways bookings and Southwest Groups travel. On a Rapid Rewards credit card, the changes page says 1 TQP is earned per dollar spent. At that rate, the 35,000 TQPs for Silver equals $35,000 in card spending.
What members keep through 2027
Nobody loses status on January 1. Members who earned A-List or A-List Preferred for 2027 through their 2026 activity move to Silver or Gold automatically and keep that status through December 31, 2027. A-List members who become Silver pay $35 for a second checked bag on flights through 2027, and former A-List Preferred members now in Gold keep a 100% earning bonus through 2027.
Companion Pass holders get similar treatment. Anyone who earned the pass in 2026 keeps unlimited trips through December 31, 2027. After that, unlimited trips come with Platinum, and a Second Milestone reward of three Companion Pass trips comes at 95,000 TQPs or 75 one-way flights.
The perk table shifts too. Checked bags go to one for Silver, two for Gold and three for Platinum. The earning bonus is 40% for Silver, 60% for Gold and 120% for Platinum. A-List members earned 25%, and A-List Preferred members earned 100%, so Gold members earn a smaller bonus than A-List Preferred members do now.
A new First Milestone reward lands at 20,000 TQPs or 15 one-way flights. Members can choose 2,000 Rapid Rewards points or two Preferred Seat Certificates. Cardholders who reach 130,000 TQPs by December 31, 2027 get a one-time 10,000 TQP boost.
Platinum raises the stakes for the heaviest flyers. At 140,000 TQPs, the tier equals $140,000 of Rapid Rewards credit card spending at 1 TQP per dollar, or 100 qualifying flights. Under today’s rules, the tiers page says eligible Rapid Rewards credit cards earn TQPs for each $5,000 in purchases, so card spending counts for more under the new currency.
Seat access separates the tiers. Gold and Platinum members can select any seat at booking, including Extra Legroom, while Silver members get Preferred or Standard seats, the same level of choice A-List carries now. Members who qualified for A-List mainly for seat choice are not giving anything up at Silver, but they are working harder to keep it.
Whether chasing Southwest status still pays
The money question is what a status tier is worth against what it takes to reach it. Silver carries one free checked bag, as A-List does today, and a 40% earning bonus in place of A-List’s 25%. A flyer with 21 flights qualified for A-List this year and would miss Silver next year.
Members who sit just above 20 flights are the group most likely to feel the change. They can add trips, route spending through a Rapid Rewards card, or give up the status. The spending route takes tens of thousands of dollars to match what five extra flights do.
Southwest’s page also lists new ways to use points, with car rental redemptions starting in mid-November 2026, loyalty partner redemptions in spring 2027 and Icon Lounges opening in late 2027. The open question is whether five extra flights, or $35,000 on a card, are worth Silver’s perks.
Is Southwest status still worth the cost?
A flyer who adds trips or card spending to keep status can spend far more than the perks return, and the money leaves quietly. The same household often misses benefit programs with income limits that pay back real dollars each year.
Airline status is a perk, and the bigger household-cost job is a different one. The Benefits Checklist scans 11 benefit programs retirees often miss, with the 2026 income limits, and it comes with a 50-state phone directory and a printable tracker. It is a separate job from Southwest status, and it does not touch Rapid Rewards.
Match a fixed income against 11 benefit programs with the Benefits Checklist →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 21 Ways Retirees Can Raise $1,000 Fast Without a Job
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
