As well as earning points to use for free flights, most loyalty programs also offer elite status. This gives great perks when flying. As with point earning and redeeming, this is limited to only Southwest Airlines flights for the Rapid Rewards program. Earning status is straightforward and offers useful benefits for frequent flyers. Offering status for the most frequent travelers is a major benefit of most airline loyalty programs. With the larger airlines in the , this can include global lounge access and preferential treatment when flying with any partner airline, and lucrative complimentary upgrade offers. Such benefits are much more limited with Southwest Airlines and Rapid Rewards but still valuable for frequent airline users. There are just two elite status levels in the Rapid Rewards program, earned with increasing levels of flying or other points earning. These are called A-List and A-List Preferred. They offer increasing benefits when flying. Love learning about points and miles? Read more of our . Status is based on either the number of flights taken on (each flight segment counts) or the total number of qualifying points earned in a calendar year. The following earnings are needed: Qualifying points are different from the total points earned in the program. The following all count as qualifying points: As Southwest Airlines is not part of the major airline , and Rapid Rewards has no other airline partners, benefits only apply on Southwest-operated flights. These are useful for frequent fliers, but there are no big savings as you get with many other loyalty programs – and there are no upgrades (as Southwest Airlines only has one cabin) and no free baggage (as all fares already include this). The benefits of A-List status include: A-List Preferred status adds: Get all the latest here The Southwest Companion Pass benefit is not directly tied to elite status but is also awarded based on flight segments or Qualifying points. This is a great perk (one of the best in the loyalty market) that offers one free ticket for a named companion when you buy a cash or points ticket. It requires one of the following: