Southwest Airlines is giving Rapid Rewards members free points for proving they are overwhelmed. Upload a screenshot of your phone’s unread notifications by 5 a.m. Central on October 12, 2026 and you get one point per notification, from 500 up to 10,000. A separate five-question quiz adds 500 more through December 10.

The short version

  • Notification Vacation: 1 point per unread notification, 500 minimum, 10,000 maximum per member.
  • It closes at 5:00 a.m. CT on October 12, 2026, or sooner if the 150,000,000-point pool runs dry.
  • Southwest releases about 21,000,000 points a day. Once a day’s share is gone, later entries that day get nothing.
  • Burnout Quiz: 500 points, open until 11:59 p.m. CT on December 10, 2026, from a 37,000,000-point pool.
  • No purchase needed. You must be 18 or older, a U.S. resident and a Rapid Rewards member.

How does the Southwest Notification Vacation promo work?

The Southwest Notification Vacation promotion pays one Rapid Rewards point for each unread notification shown in a screenshot of your phone’s home screen. The Notification Vacation terms say it plainly: “Each unread notification shown in the screenshot equals one (1) Rapid Rewards point.” Everyone verified gets at least 500 points, and nobody gets more than 10,000.

Here is how to enter:

  1. Take a screenshot of your home screen with the red badges showing. Take it during the promotion, on a phone you own or use regularly.
  2. Hide message previews first if your lock screen or banners show private text.
  3. Upload it at notificationvacation.com and log in with your Rapid Rewards number.

One entry per member. Edited, stitched or reused screenshots get thrown out, so do not try to splice three phones together.

Finally, a use for the 4,000 unread emails you have been ignoring since March.

Is the Southwest points giveaway guaranteed?

The Southwest Enter Airplane Mode promotions are first come, first served, not a random drawing. Every eligible, verified entry gets points until the daily allocation or the total pool runs out. The Burnout Quiz terms warn that “Display of a submission confirmation does not constitute verification or guarantee an award.”

That sentence matters. Seeing a thank-you screen does not mean points are coming. Southwest verifies each entry first, and the terms say points generally post within seven days after verification.

The daily cap is the practical issue. With about 21,000,000 points released each day, a run of 10,000-point entries burns through a day’s share fast. Unused points roll forward, but late entries on a busy day get nothing. Enter early in the day rather than at 11 p.m.

What is the Southwest Burnout Quiz worth?

The Southwest Burnout Quiz pays a flat 500 Rapid Rewards points for answering five questions on the Enter Airplane Mode page. It runs until 11:59 p.m. CT on December 10, 2026, but the pool holds 37,000,000 points, which covers 74,000 members.

That sounds like plenty until you see the counter on the page, which already showed more than 120,000 completions this week. Some of those people will not get points. Take the quiz today. It costs you two minutes.

How much are 10,500 Southwest points worth?

Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth about 1.25 cents each in The Points Guy’s October 2026 valuations, so the 10,500-point maximum comes to roughly $131 in airfare. The 500-point minimum is worth about $6.

Southwest prices award flights off the cash fare, so you get roughly the same value whether you book a $79 hop or a $400 cross-country flight. The points also stay put. The Rapid Rewards terms say “Points do not expire,” though closing your account forfeits them.

One catch: these bonus points do not count toward A-List, A-List Preferred or the Companion Pass. They buy flights and nothing else.

Should you buy Southwest points to top up?

Southwest is also selling Rapid Rewards points at up to 50% off through October 29, 2026, which works out to about 1.5 cents per point, according to AwardWallet’s breakdown of the sale. Your discount varies by account, so check the Southwest buy points page while logged in.

At 1.5 cents, you pay more than the points are worth to most people. Buy only to finish off an award you have already priced.

A card is the bigger lever if you fly Southwest often. The Southwest Rapid Rewards cards at Chase currently start at 50,000 points after $1,000 of spending on the $99 Plus card. Our best travel credit cards guide shows where those cards fit, and we explained why one covers Southwest’s $45 checked bag fee for a whole group.

What this means for you

Do both today. The screenshot takes 30 seconds and the quiz takes two minutes. If your phone is a wall of red badges, Southwest is paying you up to $125 or so for something you were going to ignore anyway. If you keep your inbox at zero, you still get 500 points, and the quiz adds 500 more.

FAQ

When does the Southwest Notification Vacation promotion end?

The Southwest Notification Vacation promotion ends at 5:00 a.m. Central Time on October 12, 2026, or earlier if all 150,000,000 points are awarded. The separate Burnout Quiz runs until 11:59 p.m. CT on December 10, 2026.

How many points can I get from Southwest’s Enter Airplane Mode?

Southwest’s Enter Airplane Mode promotions pay up to 10,500 Rapid Rewards points per member. Notification Vacation pays 500 to 10,000 points depending on your unread notifications, and the Burnout Quiz pays 500.

Do I need a Southwest credit card or a flight to enter?

No. Southwest’s Enter Airplane Mode promotions require no purchase. You need to be an enrolled Rapid Rewards member, 18 or older, and a legal resident of the 50 U.S. states or Washington, D.C.

When will the Southwest bonus points post?

Southwest says Enter Airplane Mode points generally post within seven days after it verifies your entry. A confirmation screen does not guarantee an award, and Southwest reverses points from entries it finds ineligible.

Do the bonus points count toward Southwest Companion Pass?

No. Points from Southwest’s Enter Airplane Mode promotions do not count toward A-List, A-List Preferred or the Companion Pass.

The bottom line

These are free points with a short window. Enter Notification Vacation before October 12, take the quiz while the 37,000,000-point pool lasts, and skip the points sale unless you have a specific award to finish.

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