{"id":20005,"date":"2026-02-04T13:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T19:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/?p=20005"},"modified":"2026-02-04T13:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T19:57:11","slug":"southwest-airlines-updates-assigned-seating-and-2026-rapid-rewards-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/2026\/02\/04\/southwest-airlines-updates-assigned-seating-and-2026-rapid-rewards-promotion\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Airlines Updates: Assigned Seating and 2026 Rapid Rewards Promotion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h3>Assigned Seating<\/h3>\n<p>Southwest Airlines implemented <strong>assigned seating<\/strong> for its flights beginning <strong>January 27, 2026<\/strong>. This change represents a shift from the airline\u2019s previous open\u2011seating model. Travelers can review details about assigned seating, fare types, and other service updates on the Southwest Airlines website: <a href=\"http:\/\/southwest.com\/customer-enhancements\">Southwest.com\/customer-enhancements<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More information: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/download\/special_topics(2)\/Seat-Selection---One-Sheeter-Job-Aid_SWA-2026.pdf\">Seat-Selection&#8212;One-Sheeter-Job-Aid_SWA-2026.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Rapid Rewards\u00ae Promotion Information<\/h3>\n<p>Southwest Airlines has announced a <strong>limited\u2011time Rapid Rewards promotion<\/strong> for early 2026. Participation is optional and subject to Southwest Airlines\u2019 terms and conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Eligible travelers who:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Register for the promotion<\/li>\n<li>Book Southwest flights through <strong>Concur, Shorts, or Fox World Travel<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Complete qualifying flights by <strong>April 15, 2026<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>may earn:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Up to 7,500 Rapid Rewards bonus points<\/strong>, which count toward tier status<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>promotional Companion Pass\u00ae<\/strong>, allowing a designated companion to fly without airline charges (taxes and fees may apply)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Additional Information<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Registration and full promotion details are available at:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/Southwest.com\/NYLO2026\">Southwest.com\/NYLO2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Travelers must include their <strong>Rapid Rewards number<\/strong> in their reservation to receive credit.<\/li>\n<li>Promotional benefits are governed by Southwest Airlines and may change at any time.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/download\/special_topics(2)\/Southwest-Airlines-New-Year-Loyalty-Offer-2026.pdf\">View: Southwest Airlines New Year Promo Details<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Travelers are encouraged to review airline terms and ensure bookings align with <strong>UW travel policies<\/strong> when traveling on university business.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Assigned Seating Southwest Airlines implemented assigned seating for its flights beginning January 27, 2026. This change represents a shift from the airline\u2019s previous open\u2011seating model. Travelers can review details about [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3346,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,95,99,97,100,167,98,28,153],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-front-page-alerts","category-parkside","category-platteville","category-river-falls","category-uw-lacrosse","category-uw-stout","category-uwm","category-vendor-updates","category-whitewater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20005"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20010,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20005\/revisions\/20010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}