Learn why the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card is great for millennials.
Is the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards credit card worth it? Stick around because I’m giving my honest review!
Responsible credit card spending can be achievable when it aligns with your goals. If traveling is one of your goals and you like flying Southwest Airlines, check out the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card.
What is the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card?
The Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card is a credit card provided through Chase. The credit card helps you earn points inside of your existing Rapid Rewards account. Then you can use the points to purchase flights for free.
Are there different types of Southwest credit cards?
Currently, there are four types of Southwest credit cards:
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Priority
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Premier
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Plus
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Premier Business
In this post, I will be covering the personal cards, and not the business card.
What are the differences between Southwest credit cards?
The biggest difference between the three Southwest credit cards is the points structure. The priority card has the most bells and whistles. You will also earn the most bonus points on your card anniversary.
All three cards offer 2 points for every $1 spent on Southwest purchases. This includes Rapid Rewards Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases. For example, if you rent a car through Dollar, you can enter your Southwest Rapid Rewards account number and earn points.
| Priority | Premier | Plus | |
| Annual fee | $149 | $99 | $69 |
| 2x points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1x point per $1 spent on all other purchases | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Earn 40,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first 3 months your account is open | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Qualifying points towards Companion Pass | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No foreign transaction fee | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bonus points on card anniversary | 7,500 | 6,000 | 3,000 |
| $75 Southwest travel credit each year | ✓ | ||
| 4 upgraded boardings each year | ✓ | ||
| 20% back on in-flight drinks and WiFi | ✓ |
The Priority Credit Card is the elite version of the three. Not to mention, the 7,500 anniversary points are a nice treat. The points roughly translate to $120 in airfare.
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Why we ended up applying for the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card
First of all, we travel a lot. I love traveling. To experience a new city or new culture is like oxygen to me. I need it! Kyle also travels a lot for work, so we wanted to hack his work travel to make it work for us.
Secondly, we live in San Diego, so we have a lot of options to fly. San Diego is a major Southwest hub that has direct flights to a lot of cities we visit. Whether we want to head home to the Midwest or visit the Caribbean, Southwest Airlines hits most of our wants.
Thirdly, Kyle travels often, so he has A-List Preferred status, which earns him 50% more in points. This worked out well for us at the end of 2018. We were close to earning Companion Pass for 2019. But we were just under the 110,000 point requirement. We had a long discussion about the responsibility of adding a third credit card. We decided that Southwest was definitely in our future, so we signed up for the card. The credit card bonus points after signing up put us over the edge.
Companion Pass is easier to achieve
The best part about using this card is that it gave us Companion Pass. We love Companion Pass! This program let’s you dedicate one companion to fly free with you for one year. All you have to pay is the one-way 9/11 sales tax of $5.20. Kyle earned Companion Pass and I’m his companion. That means, every flight we book on Southwest under his name, I get to fly for $11.20 roundtrip. Well worth getting this card!
The last reason why we got this card is because we love Southwest! My aunt is a flight attendant for this airline. I love that they let you have two checked bags for free and there’s no seat assignments. Plus, I often get drink coupons in the mail. Half of the time the flight attendant doesn’t take my drink coupon so it gets boozey 38,000 feet in the air.
The pros of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards
The bonus structure fits within our normal spending habits. When you open the card and spend $1,000 in the first three months of spending, you receive 40,000 bonus points. The 40,000 points are equivalent to roughly $640 in Southwest airfare.
You earn one point for every dollar you spend using the card. The points transfer over to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account every month.
You can earn double points for any Southwest purchases you make. This includes partnership car rentals, hotels, or vacation packages.
Points count towards the Companion Pass! If you are a frequent flyer and use this as your primary card, you are almost certain to get this.
The cons of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards
Each card has a fee. We opted to go with the cheapest card which is the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card. There is a $69 annual fee associated with this card. Knowing that we have Companion Pass because of this card and most one-way flights are more than $69, we are okay paying this fee.
The points are only redeemable via Rapid Rewards on Southwest. You can’t do cash back or use the points to buy gift cards for example.
You can’t transfer points to another Southwest member.
Other interesting perks
You can earn more points by shopping through Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping. This could be beneficial around the holidays because there are a ton of name brands to shop from.
Look for deals that offer at least 2 points for every $1 spent. Otherwise, it’s not worth it. Southwest already gives you one point for every $1 spent with your credit card.
Want to try the Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card?
I’m a big fan of taking advantage of credit card perks. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card is the best travel card for me. Here’s how you know this is the right card for you:
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You travel for work or fun often.
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Southwest Airlines flies to your home airport.
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Flying Southwest Airlines is enjoyable.
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You have a Rapid Rewards account.
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You want Companion Pass for your boo so they can fly free!
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You don’t have ANY existing credit card debt and pay off your cards each month.
If you answered yes to the above, give the Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card a try!
Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I never promote anything that I haven’t tested/read myself, so know that you’re getting only the best recommendations from me and you are supporting Debt Free Millennials. Thank you!
Wanna see how travel works within your budget? My budget spreadsheet helps you see exactly where your money is going every month. It’s all in the Budget Toolkit.
