retroactive points

[kmaterne]

If I join rapid rewards today, will I earn points for the 5 tickets I purchased last week?

[dfwskier · Accepted solution]

You sure will. 

If the flights have not yet happened, you can call to get your Rapid Rewards number added to the reservations. If the flight has happened (in the last year I think), use the contact us button below and pick a method of contacting the ariline to have that happen.

[SWDigits]

Here is the official wording for the information provided by @dfwskier, 12 months is the correct time period:

"To earn points for each Southwest Airlines flight, Member must provide his/her Rapid Rewards account number when making his/her reservation or prior to commencement of travel. No points will be issued to a Member if the name on the government-issued photo identification does not match the name on the Rapid Rewards account.

Member who fails to provide his/her account number can request past flight points for up to 12 months after his/her flight by visiting Southwest.com."

Source: https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=rapid_rewards_program_terms_and_cond...

[chgoflyer]

In case it's not clear: You earn points only for flights you've purchased for yourself. If some of those tickets were purchased for others, those passengers would need to become Rapid Rewards members themselves and request their RR number be added to the itinerary.

If the flights haven't yet taken place, reach out to Customer Relations and ask to have your RR number attached to the itinerary.

If the flights have taken place already (within the past 12 months):

Log into your account, select My Account and choose the Manage tab within My Rapid Rewards.  Choose Request past points in the gray bar and enter the confirmation number from your reservation. After verification of your flight information (up to 5 days), points will be deposited into your account.