Southwest’s Tier Qualifying Points (TQP) are “elite” points earned through actual travel on Southwest or through certain Rapid Rewards credit cards that accrue in your A-List meter as you work to earn A-List and A-List Preferred status.
These points reset at the end of each calendar year. Qualifying points are different from the total points earned in the program, and they determine your elite status level.
How Many TQPs Do You Need?
A-List: 20 one-way qualifying flight segments or 35,000 tier qualifying points.
A-List Preferred : 40 one-way qualifying flight segments or 70,000 tier qualifying points.
Earn TQPs via Southwest Flights
Each Rapid Rewards point earned from a flight is equivalent to 1 TQP. Rapid Rewards points are calculated based on the base fare of the flight you purchased. For example, if you were to earn A-list status (35,000 TQPs), you would have to spend a total of $2,916.66 in base fares at Business Select rates (35,000 TQPs = $2916.66 x 12). However, flights booked with Rapid Rewards points do not earn Tier Qualifying Points.
Earn TQPs via Southwest Credit Cards
You can also earn TQPs from spending on Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards. You can earn 1,500 tier qualifying points per $5,000 spent on the card. For example, if you spent $30,000 in a calendar year on a Southwest card, you would earn 9,000 TQPs.
