Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
November 20, 2024: We’ve refreshed our guide to the Southwest Airlines credit cards.
Southwest Airlines offers five credit cards in partnership with Chase. Each of these offers benefits for flying on Southwest, but two stand out above the rest for most Southwest flyers.
In this post, we’ll show you everything you need to know to compare all of the Southwest credit cards and choose the right one for you.
In this article
Editor’s picks: Which card should you get? Our recommendations.
Which Southwest Airlines credit card or credit cards you should get depends on your objective, but there are a few clear winners in our view.
For most Southwest flyers: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
If you fly Southwest at least twice a year, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is the card to get.
Yes, the card has the highest annual fee among the personal cards, but you’ll easily use the $75 annual Southwest travel credit and you’ll get 7,500 Rapid Rewards points each year, which will get you around $100 of travel on Southwest. The value from these two perks is greater than the card’s $175 annual fee.
If you pay for wifi: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
If you pay for WiFi on Southwest more than about 10 flights a year, get the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card.
Between what you’ll save on WiFi and the value of the cardmember anniversary points, you’ll get more value from these two perks alone than you’ll give up by paying the card’s $199 annual fee. And you’ll get much more value the more times you end up not paying for in-flight wifi.
For getting companion pass from sign-up bonuses: Get a both a personal and business card
If you want to get a Companion Pass from new cardmember welcome bonuses, go for one business card and one personal card.
You’re only eligible to receive a welcome bonus on a Southwest card if you do not currently have a Southwest card and have not received a new cardmember welcome bonus in the past 24 months. And business and personal cards count separately, so you can get one of each.
Be sure that you’ll be awarded the welcome bonuses in the same calendar year, preferably some time in January or February so that you can enjoy almost 2 full years of companion pass.
How to get the most value: Southwest credit card strategy
Getting the most value out of your Southwest credit cards is fairly simple, but here’s our advice on maximizing value.
First, be sure that you use the card’s expiring benefits.
If you have the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, make sure you use your annual Southwest travel certificate at the first opportunity every year.
All cards come with some number of annual anniversary bonus points. While your Rapid Rewards points won’t expire, it’s probably a good idea to use points to pay for your travel once you have accumulated enough points. The chances that your airline points will be more valuable in the future is vanishingly small. Also, be sure that you treat yourself to either EarlyBird Check Ins or upgraded boardings depending on which card you have.
Finally, use the card to book your Southwest flights and pay for your in-flight purchases, but don’t use the cards for most of your spending. Like other airline credit cards, the Southwest cards offer poor rewards rate and you’ll earn more rewards by seeking out other cards for general spending.
Benefits when flying on Southwest: Bonus points, better seating, and qualifying points
Most people will pick up a Southwest credit card for the benefits you’ll get when flying on Southwest. All cards offers a way to get a better seat a few times a year, plus an annual anniversary points bonus and a 25% discount on in-flight purchases on Southwest. Here are the details:
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Annual fee | $69 | $99 | $149 | $99 | $199 |
| Annual anniversary bonus points | 3,000 | 6,000 | 7,500 | 6,000 | 9,000 |
| $75 annual Southwest travel credit | – | – | – | – | |
| 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year | – | – | |||
| 4 upgraded boardings each year | – | – | – | ||
| Up to 365 inflight WiFi credits each year | – | – | – | – | |
| Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points for every $5,000 spent | – | ||||
| 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year | – | – | |||
| $500 fee credit for points transfers | – | – | – | ||
| 25% back on inflight purchases |
Other benefits: Travel perks and consumer insurance benefits
All of the Southwest credit cards offer a standard set of travel benefits that includes lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, extended warranty protection and purchase protection, making them a good choice to use for travel.
The consumer insurance benefits on the business cards are slightly better—purchase protection offers $10,000 per claim coverage vs. $500/claim on the consumer cards. The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card also offers a credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or Nexus, up to $100 every 4 years.
Here are the benefits offered on Southwest credit cards.
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |
| Annual fee | $69 | $99 | $149 | $99 | $199 |
| Lost luggage reimbursement | |||||
| Baggage delay insurance | |||||
| Extended warranty protection | |||||
| Purchase protection | |||||
| Trusted traveler credit | – | – | – | – | |
| 1 year DoorDash Dash Pass membership | |||||
| No foreign transaction fees | – |
Rewards: Earn Southwest points for purchases
All of the Southwest Airlines credit cards earn Southwest Rapid Rewards® points, which can be used to book Southwest flights at Southwest.com.
Typically, airline credit cards aren’t great to use for ongoing spending and Southwest’s credit cards are no different. In pretty much every category, you can earn more valuable rewards with cash back cards. Even if your objective is to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points, using a card in the Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem can earn you more rewards.
Here’s what each Southwest credit card earns for purchases.
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |
| Annual fee | $69 | $99 | $149 | $99 | $199 |
| Southwest purchases | 2x | 3x | 3x | 3x | 4x |
| Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners | 2x | 2x | 2x | 2x | 3x |
| Social media and search engine advertising | – | – | – | – | 2x |
| Local transit and commuting, including rideshare | 2x | 2x | 2x | 2x | 2x |
| Internet, cable, and phone services | 2x | 2x | 2x | – | 2x |
| Select streaming services | 2x | 2x | 2x | – | – |
| All other purchases | 1x | 1x | 1x | 1x | 1x |
Sign-up bonuses: Every Southwest card bonus
We cover all of the current Southwest Airlines credit card welcome bonuses in a dedicated article, but here’s a quick summary of the welcome bonuses that are currently available.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is earned as Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
Annual fee: $99
All information about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Best sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
This bonus is earned as Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is earned as Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is earned as Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is earned as Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
