- Earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
- 6,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary
- 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Earn unlimited points that don’t expire as long as your card account is open
- No foreign transaction fees
- No blackout dates or seat restrictions, Bags fly free® and no change fees
- Redeem your points for flights, hotel stays, gift cards, access to events and more
This card’s generous ongoing perks, including an anniversary bonus, let you earn free flights faster. And if you spend a lot on Southwest flights, it could help you get the airline’s coveted Companion Pass faster, too.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers valuable benefits, including:
Huge sign-up bonus. This card comes with a generous sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. That’s worth $400 when redeemed for Southwest flights,
Anniversary bonus. This card automatically gives you 6,000 bonus points — worth about $60. You don’t have to meet a spending requirement to earn this bonus.
No foreign transaction fees. Unlike its sibling card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card doesn’t charge you extra when you’re making purchases abroad. That makes it an excellent pick for international travelers. Though Southwest mostly flies domestic, it does offer service to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Another goodie for globe-trotters: You can use Southwest’s More Rewards platform to book international flights to other destinations through partner airlines with points.
A way to earn the Companion Pass and A-List status faster.
You can also earn tier-qualifying points — that is, points that help you eventually qualify for A-List status — directly through Southwest when you buy fares for yourself (though you won’t earn these points for purchasing fares for other travelers). The number of points you’ll earn on personal fares varies, depending on which fare type you purchase:
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- Wanna Get Away — 6 points per dollar spent
- Anytime — 10 points per dollar spent
- Business Select — 12 points per dollar spent
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Cons.
The annual fee isn’t waived the first year. Most airline cards waive the annual fee in the first year, but the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers no such break. After you’re approved for the card, you’ll be billed for the $99 annual fee right away.
No luxury benefits. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is a no-nonsense card. It won’t give you premium benefits, such as lounge access or reimbursement for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck.
No flat-rate rewards. Earning rewards is easier when you don’t have to worry about bonus categories. If you’re looking for a more robust rewards rate and are less concerned about loyalty, try the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. It offers an impressive 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and comes with an annual fee of $0 for the first year, then $95. The miles can be redeemed to cover a range of travel expenses.
No transferable points. With the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, you can’t transfer rewards to other loyalty programs. If you’re looking for more flexibility, try the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card instead. On top of a generous sign-up bonus, it also offers 1:1 transfers to several loyalty programs, including Southwest. The annual fee is Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Just keep in mind that the points you earn through this card don’t count toward the Companion Pass or A-List status.
Website to apply the card
