Southwest’s “New” Credit Card Offer: Familiar and Underwhelming
Frank McBride • April 3, 2025
Despite imminent changes at Southwest, these credit card products are not forward looking
I have been following Southwest Airlines’ credit card offers with great interest as this airline is in transition. Like the other main domestic carriers, it will soon have assigned seating and will charge for checking bags. However, from what I can tell, the new products do not necessarily correspond with where Southwest will be a few months from now.
Southwest’s previous offer for personal credit cards, which ended March 31, was intriguing because it offered an easy way to get a coveted Companion Pass which allows two to fly for the price of one (whether paying with cash or miles). The catch was that this Companion Pass would only be good through February of next year. Typically, Companion Passes are good for the remainder of the year in which they are earned and then the entire following year.
With the new month, Southwest has unveiled a new offer for personal cards which is almost identical to the offer I reviewed a little more than a year ago. This personal credit card offer includes three options:
- Southwest RapidRewards Plus
- Southwest RapidRewards Premier
- Southwest RapidRewards Priority
Common Offer Elements for All Three Cards
Apparently, Southwest and Chase want to make this easy. The current welcome bonus is 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points for all three cards. These points are worth approximately $650. You only need to spend $1,000 within three months to earn the sign-up bonus.
The spending bonus structures for the three cards are almost identical.
- 2X or 3X for Southwest purchases (2X for the Plus card and 3X for the Premier and Priority cards
- 2X bonus on purchases with Rapid Rewards car rental partners (most major brands)
- 2X bonus on purchases with Rapid Rewards hotel partners (Hyatt, Marriott, MGM, Choice, Best Western)
- 2X on local transit, commuting
- 2X on internet, cable, phone, streaming
- 1X all other
All cards also offer a 25% discount for in-flight purchases and 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year.
The differences in the three cards revolve around annual fees, annual Rapid Rewards point bonuses, and benefits.
RapidRewards Plus
This card has a $69 annual fee, and cardholders get 3,000 Southwest points (worth about $40) each year upon renewal. You also get two “Early Bird” check-ins per year so that you can board earlier (Southwest currently uses open seating).
RapidRewards Premier
The Premier card’s annual fee is $99 and the annual anniversary bonus is 6,000 points (worth about $80). These cardholders also get two “Early Bird” check-ins each year.
Those spending heavily on this card can get 1,500 tier qualifying points toward “A-list” status for every $5000 spent annually.
RapidRewards Priority
This highest end card in the family has a $149 annual fee and the annual bonus is 7,500 points (worth about $100).
The benefits of this card include four upgraded boardings per year when available. These upgraded boardings guarantee that you will be one of the first 15 people to get on the plane, so you have the best choice of seats and overhead space. You also receive a $75 Southwest travel credit.
As with the Premier card, those spending heavily on this card can get 1,500 tier qualifying points toward “A-list” status for every $5000 spent annually.
My Conclusions
When I reviewed these cards last year, I concluded that, on an ongoing basis, a cardholder could at least break even by flying at least one round trip per year on Southwest. At the same time, I did not see the potential for getting outsized value that you can get with some other co-branded airline cards. While the offers have not changed, I see them as less attractive than a year ago for several reasons.
- The value of a Southwest point has declined and is now around 1.3 cents per point. A few years ago, Ms. Optimizer and I could regularly get about 1.7 cents per point when redeeming these points.
- When Southwest moves to assigned seating in a few months, the Early Bird Check In and upgraded boarding benefit will become irrelevant so cardholders will not be able to use these benefits for the full year of card membership.
- Although there is a 2X bonus for purchases with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, this might not be the best option for points and miles accumulation. Many cards already offer 2X or 3X bonuses for car rental or hotels and co-branded hotel cards tend to offer much better bonuses when staying at their properties.
Once Southwest drops its two free checked bags policy, I understand they may offer free checked bags for Southwest cardholders, and they might position this as a new benefit. Of course, it won’t be and, if the benefit is for only one free bag, it is actually a benefit reduction.
The upcoming changes will make Southwest less distinct from competitors. Already, other domestic carriers are trying to poach Southwest flyers with status matches. It is difficult for me to see where Southwest will fit in the market six months from now. For now, I can see several types of travelers who might benefit from this (not so) new credit card offer:
- Passengers who are currently well served by the flights offered by Southwest, find them to be a good value, and use them with some regularity.
- Passengers who want to add Southwest to a mix of options by easily picking up some points. The $69 annual fee (Plus card) and $1000 in spending to reach the bonus threshold is a quick and uncomplicated way to cover a couple of round-trip flights.
- Of course, the ongoing value of this card drops after the first year.
- Passengers who can combine one of these personal cards with a Southwest business card and use the two sign-up bonuses (50,000 + 80,000) to get most of the way to the 135,000 points needed for a Companion Pass.
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The Southwest Airlines credit cards might or might not fit into a productive travel rewards plan for you. But if flying with Southwest is a potential part of your travel mix, one of the cards discussed in this post might be appropriate. When we design a custom Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you, we take your travel goals, travel habits, spending patterns, and preferences into account. We want to ensure that the cards we recommend for you can quickly generate free travel and provide relevant benefits while keeping your annual card fees under control.
We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.
In case you missed them, here is your "one-stop shopping" for posts from the past week. For some, recent changes with the Resy restaurant reservation platform might limit dining options when using the credit. Learn more here . Perhaps your next US domestic award flight should be booked through . . . Air France. Check out why . The Amex Platinum card might have the highest annual fee for mass marketed cards. Find out if the benefits are worth it for my household here . Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!! We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.
A walk through one household's use of the Amex Platinum card
For some domestic flights, Air France might save transferable miles
Recent changes in the Resy reservations platform might limit use of the Amex dining credit
Changes are a mixed bag but Hyatt regulars won't be happy
Some good news in points and miles (and one warning)
A change in favor of airline passengers (for a change)
The Autograph Journey's transfer partner list grows slowly but steadily
Points and miles free up the travel budget for pilsner, paprika, and pastizzi*
As the summer travel season approaches, this is a friendly reminder to avoid "dynamic currency conversion" (DCC) when making credit card purchases outside of your home country. DCC gives you the option of selecting a payment amount in your home currency rather than in the local currency. Typically, when presented with a credit card reader at a shop or restaurant, the touch screen will show purchase amounts in the local currency and in US dollars (for those with American credit cards) and you have the opportunity to choose. I have been seeing these “offers” for several years now and have learned, after doing a little mental math, they are almost always a bad deal for the purchaser. When presented with a credit card reader, I always choose to pay the amount shown in local currency rather than the amount shown in US dollars. During a recent trip, I was making purchases in Euros, Hungarian Forints, and Czech Korunas. From what I could tell, the option of paying in dollars inflated the cost of the purchases around an average of five percent (5%). Once, a card reader screen acknowledged that making the purchase in dollars added an eight percent (8%) fee. Even a credit card with a foreign transaction fee (which you should avoid using when traveling abroad) would have added only three percent (3%) to the tab. Currency games aside, Visa and MasterCard offer reasonable exchange rates when you choose to pay in the local currency. Upon returning home, our credit card statements showed exchange rates that were quite close to market rates. It is reasonable and fair for the credit card issuers make a fraction of a percent here and there as they are performing a service and accepting currency risk (although very briefly). But, claiming to offer a “preferential” rate to pad their bottom line is disingenuous. Because exchange rates are reasonable, using credit cards while traveling abroad is still worthwhile for a points and miles program as long as you avoid cards with foreign transaction fees. Travel oriented cards can offer 2X and 3X spending bonuses for transportation and restaurants to give you a leg up on saving money and accumulating points or miles for your next vacation.
