Southwest Credit Card Welcome Offers: 100K Points

Link: Apply now for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Card

Southwest Airlines is one of the most popular airlines in the United States, thanks to its extensive domestic route network, vouchers that never expire, and two free checked bags. The carrier’s co-branded credit cards are quite popular as well.

Southwest Rapid Rewards card welcome offers

The three Southwest Rapid Rewards personal credit cards are offering a limited-time welcome bonus where you can earn 100,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first five months.

This welcome bonus applies to the following three cards:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (review)
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (review)
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Card (review)

I value Rapid Rewards points at 1.2 cents each. So, to me, the points are worth $1,200.

Eligibility for Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa cards

When it comes to getting approved for a personal Southwest Visa card, you’re not eligible for one of these cards if you are:

• A current cardmember of any personal Southwest Visa Card
• A previous cardmember of any personal Southwest Visa Card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months

See this post for Southwest credit card eligibility restrictions, and see this post for Chase’s general application restrictions.

Differences between Southwest personal credit cards

The welcome bonus on all three of these personal cards is the same, though the annual fees range from $99 to $229. The temptation might be to go for the card with the lowest annual fee, though as I’ll explain below, the premium cards can represent a much better value.

What are the differences between these three Southwest credit cards?

What all three Southwest Visa cards have in common

All three Southwest personal credit cards have one main thing in common, which is 25% savings on inflight drink and Wi-Fi purchases. All the other benefits of the cards differ, so let’s look at those differences.

Southwest credit card annual fees

The three personal Southwest Visa all have different annual fees, as follows:

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card has a $99 annual fee
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card has a $149 annual fee
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card has a $229 annual fee

Southwest credit card anniversary bonus points

As an incentive to hold onto the Southwest Visa, you earn a certain number of anniversary bonus points every year (this happens every 12 billing cycles after you open your card):

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card has a 3,000 point anniversary bonus
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card has a 6,000 point anniversary bonus
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card has a 7,500 point anniversary bonus

I’ll talk more about the value of Southwest Airlines points below, but as a general rule of thumb, you can expect that points can be redeemed for ~1.2 cents toward the cost of a ticket. To crunch the numbers further:

• On the $99 annual fee Plus Card you’re earning $36 worth of points
• On the $149 annual fee Premier Card you’re earning $72 worth of points
• On the $229 annual fee Priority Card you’re earning $90 worth of points

Southwest credit card return on spending

All three personal Southwest Airlines credit cards offer different returns on spending:

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card offers:
  • 2x points on Southwest purchases
  • 2x points at Gas stations and Grocery stores on the first $5,000 in combined purchases per year
  • 1x point on all other purchases
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card offers:
  • 3x points on Southwest purchases
  • 2x points at Grocery stores and Restaurants on the first $8,000 in combined purchases per year
  • 1x point on all other purchases
  • 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $5,000 spent on the card
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card offers:
  • 4x points on Southwest purchases
  • 2x points at Gas stations & 2x points at Restaurants
  • 1x point on all other purchases
  • 2,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $5,000 spent on the card

Benefits through December 31, 2025

While there have been significant changes with the Southwest and benefits on their co-brand cards, you’ll receive the following benefits through December 31, 2025:

For the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card

• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners.
• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend on local transit and commuting, Including rideshare.
• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend on internet, cable, and phone services and on select streaming.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year for 2025 flights.

For the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card

• Earn 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® Cruises.
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In® when available for flights flying in 2025.

For the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card

• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners.
• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend on internet, cable, and phone services and on select streaming.
• 4 Upgraded Boardings each year when available for 2025 flights.

How much are Rapid Rewards points worth?

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based program, meaning that the number of points required for an award redemption is directly tied to how much a ticket would cost in cash.

As a general rule of thumb, you need around 85 Southwest Rapid Rewards points per dollar of airfare, meaning each Southwest Rapid Rewards point gets you about 1.2 cents toward an airfare purchase (which is how I arrive at my valuation of Rapid Rewards points).

There are further things to remember when redeeming points on Southwest Airlines.

First Checked Bag Free with Credit Card

While bags no longer fly free for everyone with Soutwest, having one of their co-brand credit cards will get a first checked bag free for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation.

Southwest offers free snacks & soft drinks

Unlike other airlines, Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge for snacks (the airline doesn’t even sell any snacks, as everything is free), and soft drinks are free. The only thing onboard you can pay for is Wi-Fi and alcohol, and the co-branded credit cards even offer savings on those purchases.

Rapid Rewards points don’t expire as long as your account is open

It’s that simple — as long as your account is open your points don’t expire.

Southwest’s Premier & Performance Business cards

If you’re looking for a business credit card, you’re in luck, because the offers on business cards are excellent as well:

• The $99 annual fee Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (review) has a welcome bonus where you can earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months
• The $199 annual fee Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (review) has a welcome bonus where you can earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 within the first three months; the card offers incredible perks like 9,000 anniversary bonus points, four upgraded boardings per year, a daily Wi-Fi credit on Southwest, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit (up to $100 through 9/30/24 then up to $120 starting 10/1/24), and much more

Bottom line

The Southwest Airlines’ personal co-branded credit cards are offering their standard, solid welcome offers. With this, you can earn 100,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points.

Of the three cards, I think the $229 annual fee Southwest Priority Card is the best option, given the extra perks it offers, which more than justify the annual fee.

Do you plan on picking up a Chase Southwest credit card with this offer?