Originally Posted by
InkUnderNails
There are three types of points kept in three completely different piles.
Companion Pass Points or CPQP. These are collected from paid flights, credit cards, partners and spending. When you get 110,000 you get companion pass for the remainder of the year and all of the next. At the end of the year, WN takes this stack of points and you start from 0.
Tier Qualification Points or TQP. This is the pile that determines when you get A-List (35,000) or Preferred (70,000). They are harder to get as only flying and specific credit card spend can be used to get these points. There are specials to multiply the points, but you still have to fly. At the end of the year, WN takes away all of these points and you start from 0.
Then there are Rapid Rewards Points. These are the points in your account that you can spend to take flights and other things they come from nearly everywhere: paid flights, partners, CC spend, bonuses. These are yours to keep or spend as long as you have account activity from time to time (23 months as I remember it).