Southwest Hotels: How to maximize your earnings

Many airlines offer hotel booking platforms where you can earn extra miles on hotel stays, but the earning rates (typically fewer than 10 miles per dollar) aren’t very appealing. On Southwest Hotels, you can book “Points Plus” properties that earn anywhere from 5 to 25 Southwest Rapid Rewards points per dollar. That’s a lot of points toward your next free flight.

Related: How to redeem your points with the Southwest Rapid Rewards program

When you search on Southwest Hotels, Points Plus properties will automatically pop up at the top of your search results. These hotels offer a flat number of points for your entire stay.

For example, you could earn 5,000 Rapid Rewards points for a two-night stay at Gateway Inn & Cabins near Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state; the points earned on the $428 stay would be worth $67.50 based on TPG’s March 2025 valuation of Southwest points. Or, you could earn 4,000 points on a $486 stay at Mountain Meadows Inn and Chalet; those points would be worth $54 based on TPG’s valuation.

It’s not clear how high these rates go, and they vary depending on your dates and length of stay. The highest I’ve seen is nearly 25 points per dollar for a weeklong stay in Miami Beach, Florida.

Of course, if you book a property that’s part of a chain (like the Wyndham example above), you most likely won’t earn hotel points or get to use any elite perks you have. You’ll have to decide which type of reward is more valuable to you.

If you don’t see anything you like on the Points Plus list, I’d recommend moving on to another platform, since all other properties on Southwest Hotels earn a measly 1 point per dollar. You’d be better off booking through a credit card travel portal such as American Express Travel, Capital One Travel or Chase Travel℠ to earn 5 or more points or miles per dollar.

Related: How to earn Southwest points with the Rapid Rewards Shopping portal

Best credit cards for Southwest Hotels bookings

Any Southwest Airlines credit card will give you bonus points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, including Southwest Hotels. Right now, all three Southwest personal cards — the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card — are offering an elevated welcome bonus of 30,000 bonus points plus a Companion Pass valid through Feb. 28, 2026, after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

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The information for the Southwest Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

You could also book your Southwest Hotels stay with a travel credit card that earns bonus points on travel purchases.

But, as with any booking platform, be sure to shop around. If you find a significantly lower price on another online travel agency or the hotel’s website, that will offset the extra rewards you’d earn through Southwest Hotels.