June 27, 2024: The 85k welcome bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has ended through most channels but it is still available through personal referral links. See below for a referral link from one of our readers. In most places, you’ll now see the business-as-usual 50k point bonus.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card currently offers a bonus to new cardmembers who complete a spending requirement: bonus_miles_full
Here’s what you need to know about the current bonus offer on the Rapid Rewards Plus card.
85k bonus still available through Chase referral links
As of June 27, 2024, the limited-time 85k Southwest bonuses on all personal cards are available through Chase referral links. Chase’s limited-time bonuses are usually available for up to a week through referral links after Chase pulls them from most online channels.
Here is a referral link from one of our site’s readers: Southwest referral link.
We don’t make any money from that referral link, but we’re happy to help out our email newsletter subscribers by sharing their links when we can.
Online welcome bonus: 50k Rapid Rewards points offer.
Here’s the best bonus offer currently available online on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.
Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card sign-up bonus
bonus_miles_full
The Rapid Rewards points you earn with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus card’s welcome bonus count toward the Southwest companion pass.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
3,000 anniversary points after your cardmember anniversary each year.
25% back on all Southwest in-flight purchases.
2 EarlyBird Check-In® per year.
Rewards:
2x on Southwest Airlines purchases made directly with the airline.
2x on Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partner purchases.
2x on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
1x on other purchases.
Rewards are earned as Rapid Rewards points.
Learn more:
See all bonuses available for new Southwest credit cards in our overview of Southwest Airlines credit card welcome bonuses.
How to use Southwest Rapid Rewards points
The Southwest Rapid Rewards points you’ll earn with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card are incredibly easy to use for flights. Here’s what we like best about Rapid Rewards points:
- You’ll get consistent value. On average, you’ll get about 1.3-1.4 cents per point of value from each of your points. (10,000 points can get you a flight with a cash price of around $130-$140.)
- Rapid Rewards points don’t expire.
- If you cancel your flight, you get your points back. Any Southwest flight can be canceled up to 10 minutes prior to departure. If the flight was booked with your Rapid Rewards points, the points will be returned to you account.
To use Southwest Rapid Rewards points for flights, simply select “Points” when booking any flight at Southwest.com. You can also toggle between seeing flights priced in dollars and flights priced in points during the booking process.
My take on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card welcome bonus
As of our last update, the 85k bonus is still available through referral links. We expect this bonus to stick around for about another week based on how Chase has typically updated the offers available under referral links. If the higher bonus is still available, that is the one to get.
One of the things that I really like about the Southwest bonuses is that the points you earn count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass. The best time to earn a Southwest credit card bonus is typically in January—if you can go over the threshold for earning a companion pass in January, you’ll enjoy that benefit for almost two full years.
All of the Southwest personal credit cards usually run the same bonuses. If your only objective is to get a welcome bonus, going for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card will minimize the annual fee you pay. However, if you fly Southwest even a few times a year, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, which carries a higher annual fee ($149) provides much more value.
Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card sign-up bonus
bonus_miles_full
The Rapid Rewards points you earn with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus card’s welcome bonus count toward the Southwest companion pass.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
3,000 anniversary points after your cardmember anniversary each year.
25% back on all Southwest in-flight purchases.
2 EarlyBird Check-In® per year.
Rewards:
2x on Southwest Airlines purchases made directly with the airline.
2x on Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partner purchases.
2x on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
1x on other purchases.
Rewards are earned as Rapid Rewards points.
Learn more:
See all bonuses available for new Southwest credit cards in our overview of Southwest Airlines credit card welcome bonuses.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the 85,000 point sign-up bonus?
The limited-time Southwest 85,000 point sign-up bonuses ended on June 27, 2024. As of our June 27th update, the bonus is still available through referral links.
Do the sign-up bonus points on this card count toward companion pass?
Yes. The bonus points you earn with this card’s new cardmember incentive count toward companion pass.
Should I get the Plus or Priority card?
If you fly Southwest consistently, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card will provide more value on an ongoing basis. These two cards currently have the same sign-up bonus.
