Southwest Airlines rapid rewards members will now have the option earn points toward flights by signing up for services on freecreditscore.com, an Experian company, said Angie Russell, manager of partnership marketing at Southwest.
The program gives 3,000 rewards points to Southwest members who make a qualifying purchase on freecreditscore.com, she said. In order to earn the points, users must be enrolled on freecreditscore.com for at least 60 days and choose Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards and their earnings preference.
Russell said that Southwest already has several partners with the rapid rewards program, including TurboTax and several car rental and hotel companies. “We are Experian’s first airline partner,” she said. “We thought it was a unique innovative way to help our users earn points.”
“They have a strong business model, a strong reputation and brand, and we thought this would align nicely with the needs of our members,” she said. “We want our members to be able to earn points for everyday activities” not just vacation or luxury items.
Russell said she was unsure if Southwest looked at any other credit score services before deciding to work with freecreditscore.com, but said it was certainly a thoughtful process. The agreement with Experian was reached after a few months of discussions, she said.
“We’ve looked at each potential partner very closely,” she said. “We select partners that we see having a long-term strategic relationship with.” Russell said she sees this relationship with Experian expanding in the coming months, but didn’t specify any details of future plans.
Ken Chaplin, SVP of marketing at freecreditscore.com said the company chose to work with Rapid Rewards because “it will expose more consumers to freecreditscore.com and help them take charge of their credit.”
Neither Experian nor Southwest Airlines would release any financial aspects of the agreement.
