Southwest Airlines Refer-a-Friend Bonus is Back: Refer Your Kids!

Some airlines and hotel loyalty programs offer bonuses to members who refer-a-friend to join the program.  Southwest Airlines doesn't have a bonus on a regular basis, but once or twice a year, the airline runs a special limited time refer-a-friend promotion.

It's back!

Regular readers know that I love Southwest Airlines for family travel (even notwithstanding the recent partial devaluation of Southwest points earlier this month).  So I couldn't resist sharing the news about the chance for a little Southwest freebie.

If you are a member of Southwest's Rapid Rewards, you probably have an email waiting in your in-box letting you know about this promotion and how to refer friends.  Referrals must be made by June 2, 2015.  The referring friend gets 500 points per referral and the new member gets 250 points.  It's a nominal amount in the grand scheme of things, but something is better than nothing.  Plus, these little promotions can really add up over time.

I'm always amazed by how many traveling parents forget that kids can earn and redeem frequent flyer miles as soon as you buy a seat for them (even infants can earn miles on all U.S. airlines if they have their own seat and aren't traveling as a lap baby).  Parents: this means that now is the time to refer your children for a Rapid Rewards account of their own if you have not done so yet.  What could be better than free bonus points for both you and your little ones?

Perhaps you have had a new baby join the family who doesn't have an account.  Get that baby signed up for Rapid Rewards!  Perhaps you simply haven't flown Southwest with your kids yet and haven't had a reason to open an account for them.  No time like the present, even if you don't have definite plans to fly Southwest right away.  Southwest points don't expire unless the account has 24 months of inactivity, so that is plenty of time for your family travel plans to include Southwest.

We opened a Rapid Rewards account for my now 19 month old during last year's promotion.  As a result of a few long haul flights where we've found it wiser not to travel with him as a lap baby, he has 8700 points to his name.  That translates into approximately $125 in free Southwest travel.  Not bad, right?  Don't miss out on points like this that your kids can accrue, as they really do translate into free travel especially in a program like Southwest's Rapid Rewards where any empty seat can be booked with points.

(If you don't have a Rapid Rewards account of your own and want to get one for you or your kids, feel free to email me at tripswithtykes at gmail dot com and I can send a referral your way.  I have 4 to give and we can share the points love once I run out.)

Need more Southwest Airlines information?  Check out these articles:

• The Complete Guide to Flying Southwest Airlines With Kids
• Photo Tour of Southwest's In-Flight Entertainment System
• Why We Are Flying Southwest More for Our Family's Travels
• Southwest Oversold Flights: How Not to Get Bumped