Originally Posted by GotoTravelGal

There are definitely free ways to earn points!
These include starting online shopping you'd be doing anyway in the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal, filling out surveys through their erewards program, booking a hotel you'd be booking anyway through SouthwestHotels.com, $1 for a 2-month subscription to the Wall Street Journal in the shopping portal gets you 700 points right now, people who live in certain states and use certain electric companies can earn Southwest points for paying their bill, everyday expenses put on a Southwest credit card and paying the balance each month, etc. Again, there is an annual fee for the Southwest credit cards so a small cost there, though you could also opt for Chase Sapphire Preferred (no annual fee the first year) get their 50,000 point sign-on bonus with every day spending and then continue every day spending on the card to earn points that transfer instantly to Southwest. Cancel after 12 months. A few examples...