Southwest Credit Card Bonus: 50,000 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 and I wanted to recap the details.

Southwest Rapid Rewards card welcome offers

All three Southwest Rapid Rewards personal credit cards are offering the same welcome offer: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

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)

Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based frequent flyer program, and personally, I value Rapid Rewards points at 1.2 cents each. So to me, the points are worth $600.

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 $69 to $149. 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 & 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 $69 annual fee
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card has a $99 annual fee
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card has a $149 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 $69 annual fee Plus Card you’re earning $36 worth of points ($33 less than the annual fee)
• On the $99 annual fee Premier Card you’re earning $72 worth of points ($27 less than the annual fee)
• On the $149 annual fee Priority Card you’re earning $90 worth of points ($59 less than the annual fee)

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, local transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming, and 1x points on all other purchases
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card offers 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x points on local transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming, and 1x points on all other purchases; furthermore, earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 spent on the card
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card offers 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x points on local transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming, and 1x points on all other purchases; furthermore, earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 spent on the card

Southwest credit card foreign transaction fees

While the Southwest Plus Card has 3% foreign transaction fees, both the Southwest Premier and Southwest Priority have no foreign transaction fees, making them good options for international travel.

Southwest Priority Visa Card benefits

While the benefits of the Southwest Plus Card and Southwest Premier Card are similar aside from the anniversary bonuses and foreign transaction fees, I wanted to talk about the Southwest Priority Card, which is what I recommend people apply for.

That’s the most premium version of the card and has a $149 annual fee. Is the incremental annual fee worth it over the Plus and Premier versions, which have annual fees that are $50 and $80 lower, respectively?

This card offers three further perks that almost seem too good to be true and, in my opinion, more than justify the incremental annual fee.

Southwest Priority Card $75 annual travel credit

The Southwest Priority Visa Card offers a $75 travel credit every anniversary year, starting your first year (so this isn’t based on the calendar year, but rather is based on every 12 billing cycles).

This can be applied toward any Southwest flight purchase, so the only thing excluded is inflight drink, Wi-Fi purchases, and upgraded boardings.

The statement credit should post to your account the same day the eligible purchase posts to your account.

If you spend at least $75 per year on Southwest, this credit should be worth face value. As far as I’m concerned, that lowers the real “out-of-pocket” on this card from $149 per year to $74 per year.

Four upgraded boardings on Southwest Airlines

Just for having the Southwest Priority Card, you get four upgraded boardings per anniversary year when available.

You’ll be reimbursed for the purchase of up to four upgraded boardings in positions A1-15. This can be purchased at the departure gate or ticket counter on the day of travel. You can use this on four different occasions, or if you prefer, you can use them on a single flight (if you’re traveling with three others).

It can take up to eight weeks for these to be reimbursed, though typically, you’ll find it posts faster than that.

The price of upgraded boardings varies from $30-80 based in the length of the flight and demand, so that benefit could be worth $120-320 annually. This compares favorably to the two EarlyBird check-ins offered every anniversary year on the other cards.

The Southwest Priority Card more than pays for itself

If you fly Southwest with any frequency (even once per year), the Priority Card is a no-brainer. Every anniversary year, you’re getting a $75 Southwest Airlines travel credit plus 7,500 points (which I value at $90).

That’s $165 of value on a card with a $149 annual fee. That’s not even accounting for the upgraded boardings.

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.

Change your Southwest tickets for free

Many airlines have change and cancelation fees on award tickets as a money grab, while Southwest Airlines charges no change fees. If you want to change your ticket last minute (or apply it to a future ticket), you can apply that value forward. That’s awesome.

What I often do is book a Southwest Airlines award ticket as a backup option if I’m hoping for another flight to open up, because I can always cancel it if need be.

Two free checked bags with every Southwest ticket

Southwest is known for offering free checked bags, as you get two free checked bags on all itineraries. Yes, this even includes Rapid Rewards redemptions!

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.

Southwest doesn’t charge for seat assignments

While a lot of airlines will charge for seat assignments, Southwest has a completely different system. The airline has open seating, so the seat you get depends on how early you check-in.

Just check-in online as close to 24 hours as possible and you should have a pretty good boarding “position.” Best of all, you can use your upgraded boardings or EarlyBird check-in to secure the best boarding position.

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 of 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $3,000 within three months; the card offers perks like 6,000 anniversary points every year
• The $199 annual fee Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (review) has a welcome bonus of 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 within 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, and much more

Bottom line

The Southwest Airlines’ personal co-branded credit cards all offer the same welcome bonus. Of the three cards, I think the $149 annual fee Southwest Priority Card is the best of the options, 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?