You Can Now Turn Expiring Southwest Travel Funds Into Rapid Rewards Points You Can Use Anytime

There's good news for travelers who are putting a hold on their vacation plans during the coronavirus pandemic, especially if you already booked flights. Southwest Airlines is making it easy for customers to hang on to the possibility of future travel. In fact, you can actually turn Southwest travel funds in to Rapid Rewards points that never expire.

Southwest announced the good news in a press release on Monday, Aug. 10. Since travel funds come with an expiration date, you previously needed to redeem them and travel by that date in order to not lose out. With the uncertain nature of travel during the coronavirus pandemic, it's not so easy to know when it will be safe to fly again. That's where Rapid Rewards points come in handy. The Rapid Rewards program allows you to earn points toward travel with no expiration on points and no blackout dates for flights. If you have travel funds — which you get when you cancel a previous flight reservation — that meet specific qualifications, you'll be able to convert them into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate you would currently be able to purchase a ticket with your points at the time of conversion. You can convert the funds to Rapid Rewards points through Tuesday, Dec. 15 2020.

To qualify to convert to your travel funds to Rapid Rewards Points, you'll need to first make sure you're a Rapid Rewards Member. If you're not a member yet, you can easily sign up for free on the Rapid Rewards Member website to become eligible. Another condition for conversion is that your travel funds must expire by Sept. 7, 2022. You can check when your travel funds expire by heading to the Southwest's Check Travel Funds website.

Other requirements for conversion specify that the first and last name on the travel fund must match what is on your Rapid Rewards Account and that the travel fund must come from a fare purchased on Southwest.com or booked by a Southwest Airlines Customer Representative. You also won't be able to convert travel funds from corporate tickets unless your company specifically requests this for their travelers.

Once you're ready to get your Rapid Rewards points, you can head here to convert your Southwest travel funds. Since conversion is non-reversible, you'll want to make sure you're set on changing your travel funds to Rapid Rewards points.

Switching over your travel funds might not be right for everybody, but with the greater flexibility of Rapid Rewards points, it's a good option if you're still unsure of when you might fly next.

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