DALLAS, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines' frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards, won first place in three categories and placed in the top five in four others at Inside Flyer magazine's 20th annual Freddie Awards ceremony on Thursday, April 24, in Phoenix, AZ. The airline took home first place honors for Best Award Redemption, Best Award, and Best Member Communications. This is the 10th consecutive year for Southwest Airlines to win Best Award Redemption (every year since the award was created in 1998) and the first year to win Best Member Communications. Southwest Airlines also placed in the top five in four other categories, including: Program of the Year, Best Web Site for southwest.com, Best Customer Service, and Best Elite Level.

"We are very proud of our Rapid Rewards program, and we are honored to be recognized by our Members at the prestigious Freddie Awards," said Ryan Green, Southwest Airlines' Director of Customer Loyalty. "Our Rapid Rewards program is designed to bring value to our most frequent and loyal Customers, and we feel like the changes we made to the Program last year -- adding the Rapid Rewards' A-List and a second redemption option, Freedom Awards -- only add to that value. This recognition further validates those changes, and we will continue to look for ways to improve our award-winning program."

Each year, InsideFlyer magazine invites members of all frequent traveler programs to vote for the programs they feel deliver the best combination of benefits, awards, and returns on loyalty from the traveler's point of view. Winners are determined not only by how many votes a program receives, but by the overall merits of each program as reflected in "value voting," where voters rate their favorite programs on a scale of one to ten. More than 625,000 frequent flyers submitted ballots to Freddie Awards organizers, casting votes for programs worldwide.

It is fast and easy to earn free travel through Rapid Rewards. Rapid Rewards Members earn credits by flying or using the program's Preferred Partners. It takes just 8 roundtrips to qualify for an Award, but Members can accelerate their earnings by using the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa Signature Card, doing business with any of the airline's other Preferred Partners, or by purchasing Southwest's Business Select fares when flying. Plus, once it's earned, Southwest Airlines allows the Member to transfer the Award to anyone. The Award is free but subject to the U.S. government September 11th Security Fee of up to $10 roundtrip.

After almost 37 years of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low fare carriers -- offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the most productive airline in the sky and offers Customers a comfortable traveling experience. Southwest recently updated its gate areas and improved its boarding procedure to make flying Southwest convenient and simple. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), the nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently serves 64 cities in 32 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 34,000 Employees systemwide.