Southwest is taking some of its credit card welcome bonuses into a new stratosphere. Through June 26, 2024, three Southwest credit cards — the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
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The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card — are offering 85,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. It’s a sizable increase from the previous personal Southwest credit card offer, and you’ll only have a few weeks to take advantage of the opportunity.
The new Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card bonus is attractive because those extra points can cover some travel and get you part of the way to a Southwest Companion Pass. You’ll need to compare the three personal Chase Southwest credit card options to find the one that best suits your travel and spending habits.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Regular APR
21.49%. – 28.49% variable
On Chase Bank USA, NA’s Website
New Southwest credit card offers
Starting today, new Southwest Plus Credit Card, Southwest Premier Credit Card and Southwest Priority Credit Card account holders can earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
That’s a 35,000-point increase over the previous bonus of 50,000 points. You’ll need to spend a bit more to reach it — the old offers required $1,000 of spending in the first three months. But $3,000 in three months is still lower than what some of the best airline credit cards demand. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
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The information for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
both require $4,000 of spending in three months to earn the welcome bonus.
Travel site The Points Guy values Rapid Rewards points at 1.35 cents each as of May 2024. That means the welcome bonus could be worth around $1,147 in Southwest flights. Southwest doesn’t have an award chart to help you get a sense of typical redemptions; instead, the price of an award flight is tied to the cash price of the ticket. That means you’ll pay fewer points when flights go on sale. For example, a one-way Wanna Get Away fare from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to Cancún International Airport (CUN) this September costs just 2,822 points on select dates as of early June.
How to redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points
While some airline loyalty programs offer the ability to use miles for flights on partner airlines, Southwest Rapid Rewards is a walled garden. So, when you want to redeem your points for flights, Southwest is your only option. Log into your account and browse fares to pay for travel with points. You can also consider these other options for redemption:
- Pay for hotel stays at more than 400,000 Rapid Rewards partner properties
- Buy gift cards
- Shop for merchandise
- Pay for experiences such as spa packages, rafting and hiking
Plus, if you’re a Southwest credit card holder, you can unlock additional points redemption options:
- Use them for exclusive Rapid Rewards events such as wine tastings
- Convert them to statement credits toward eligible purchases
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Regular APR
21.49% – 28.49% variable
On Chase Bank USA, NA’s Website
Is a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card worth it?
If you’re a frequent Southwest passenger, adding one of the Southwest credit cards to your wallet is a convenient way to accumulate more points for more getaways. And if you’re regularly traveling with a friend or partner, you may be interested in the Southwest Companion Pass. The 85,000-point bonus contributes to the 135,000 qualifying points you need for the pass, putting you more than halfway to the goal.
On top of that, Southwest credit card holders receive a 10,000-point “boost” each year toward the Companion Pass, effectively reducing the earning requirement to 125,000 points. You can expect to get those points within 30 days of opening an account.
There are three different flavors of personal credit cards. Each of them charges an annual fee, and your points-earning ability and other benefits will vary some by card.
The most expensive card is actually the best, according to our rankings: With a 7,500-point anniversary award and a $75 Southwest travel credit each year, cardholders can offset the $149 annual fee on the Southwest Priority Credit Card.
If you’re a small business owner, the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card — our pick for the best airline business credit card from Chase — may also be worth a look. It offers 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. The limited-time bonus bump on the personal credit cards means right now those cards can deliver more immediate value.
What credit score is needed for a Southwest Airlines credit card?
You should have at least a good credit score (a FICO score of at least 670) when you apply. Ideally, you might even want to be in the excellent credit score range to increase your odds of approval.
That said, Chase looks at factors beyond your credit score to decide if it will approve you, including the number of cards you’ve opened recently. The Chase 5/24 rule applies to the Southwest credit cards, meaning if you’ve opened five or more cards from any issuer in the past 24 months (except some small-business cards), odds are you won’t be approved.
There is one other caveat to consider for approval: You can only have one personal Southwest credit card at a time, and you won’t be approved if you’ve received a welcome bonus from any Southwest personal card in the past 24 months.
Alternatives to a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card
If you’re thinking about one of the Southwest Rapid Rewards cards, you should also consider Chase credit cards that earn transferable Ultimate Rewards® points. For example, the Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are offering a strong welcome bonus of 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Regular APR
21.49% – 28.49% Variable
On Chase Bank USA, NA’s Secure Website
These travel credit cards allow you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest Rapid Rewards and over a dozen other Chase airline and hotel partners, including United MileagePlus, World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy. While you won’t get Southwest-specific perks with these cards, you’ll have much more flexibility in how you redeem your rewards.
Small-business owners might also consider our top Chase business credit card for travel, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. It also earns transferable Ultimate Rewards points, and it offers a whopper of a welcome bonus: 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by CNN Underscored Money: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
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The information for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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