How to get Southwest Rapid Rewards status

A-List has five ways in, all scoped to the US market, split between two status matches and three card-spend routes. If you hold United MileagePlus Premier Silver or JetBlue TrueBlue Mosaic 1, Southwest's official status-match chart moves you straight to A-List: registration is open through December 30, 2026. The match itself lands you a promotional A-List valid for 120 days, and to stretch that into a full 12 months you need to complete 3 round trips (or 6 one-way flights) or earn 11,500 tier-qualifying points within that same 120-day window.

The card-spend routes skip flying and matching entirely. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card (Chase) earns 2,500 tier-qualifying points for every $5,000 you spend each year, with no cap. A-List normally requires 35,000 tier-qualifying points a year (or 20 one-way qualifying flights), so roughly $70,000 of annual card spend clears it without setting foot on a plane. Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business gets you there too, at $120,000 in purchases per calendar year, unlocking A-List for the rest of that year plus the following year (plus a $500 Southwest credit through Chase Travel). The personal Chase Sapphire Reserve reaches the same result at $75,000 a year, a benefit added in the card's 2025 refresh. The matches get you there faster if you already carry the right status, but they expire and demand follow-up flying to stick; the cards just keep working as long as you keep spending.

A-List Preferred does have a path, a steeper version of the same card route: the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card earns tier-qualifying points at the same 2,500-per-$5,000 rate, and A-List Preferred requires 70,000 tier-qualifying points a year — about $140,000 of card spend, with no flying required.