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Southwest is smaller than the “big three” US airlines (American, Delta, and United), but it remains a great choice for many travelers thanks to customer-friendly policies like two free checked bags per customer and no change fees. Plus, Southwest points never expire — so even if you’re not traveling right now, you don’t have to worry about losing your hard-earned rewards.
Here’s what to know to help you decide which Southwest credit card is best for you.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Best for occasional Southwest flyers: Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card
Best Southwest card with a sub-$100 annual fee: Southwest Premier Card
Best for frequent Southwest flyers: Southwest Priority Card
Best Southwest card for small-business owners: Southwest Premier Business Card
Best Southwest card for premium perks: Southwest Performance Business Card
Compare Southwest credit cards
If you fly Southwest, a co-branded credit card can be a great way to earn extra Rapid Rewards points to use for free flights, and the points you earn from these cards can also help you earn the Southwest Companion Pass. When you have a Companion Pass, your designated companion can fly with you for almost free (just pay taxes and fees) on paid and award tickets.
Southwest has three Rapid Rewards personal cards: the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
The first major difference you’ll notice between these three cards is in their annual fees. The Plus card charges a $69 annual fee, while the Premier and Priority cards charge $99 and $149, respectively.
The anniversary bonuses are also different for each card:
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: 3,000 anniversary bonus pointsSouthwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: 6,000 anniversary bonus pointsSouthwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: 7,500 anniversary bonus points
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card now offer two EarlyBird Check-Ins per year (which normally costs $15 to $25 and allows you to automatically check-in 36 hours prior to departure) and 25% back on inflight purchases.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card holders get a few extra perks (but don’t receive the EarlyBird Check-In benefit):
$75 Southwest annual travel creditFour upgraded boardings per year when available25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi
Both the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card do not charge a foreign transaction fee, and both cards can earn you Tier-Qualifying Points (TQPs) toward Southwest A-List status. You’ll earn 1,500 TQPs for every $10,000 you spend on the cards in a calendar year, and there’s no limit to the number of TQPs you can earn (previously, there was a cap).
A-List status requires 35,000 TQPs earned in a calendar year, and gets you benefits like priority boarding and a 25% points bonus on paid flights.
With all three cards, you can earn 80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months).
Southwest points are worth, on average, 1.4 cents apiece based on Insider’s points and miles valuations — but the exact value you’ll get depends on the specific route and flight you book. With 50,000 points, you can expect to get roughly Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card in Southwest airfare.
Each card also earns bonus points on:
Southwest and Rapid Rewards purchasesLocal transit and commuting (including rideshare)Internet, cable, and phone servicesSelect streaming
You’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
Southwest personal credit cards comparison
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Annual fee
$69
$99
$149
Welcome bonus
80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months)
80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months)
80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months)
Rewards rate
2x points on Southwest purchases
2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases
2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
1x point per dollar on everything else
3x points on Southwest purchases
2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases
2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
1x point per dollar on everything else
3x points on Southwest purchases
2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases
2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
1x point per dollar on everything else
Anniversary points
3,000
6,000
7,500
Foreign transaction fee
Yes
No
No
Other benefits
Two EarlyBird Check-Ins per year
25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi
Earn tier-qualifying points toward A-List elite status
Two EarlyBird Check-Ins per year
25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi
Earn tier-qualifying points toward A-List elite status
$75 annual Southwest travel credit
4 upgraded boardings per year when available
25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi
Review
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card review
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card review
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority credit card review
Southwest has two co-branded business credit cards: the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card charges a $99 annual fee, while the Performance Business card is more expensive, at $199. However, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card has a better anniversary bonus, giving 9,000 points on each cardmember anniversary compared to the 6,000 points you’ll get each year with the Premier Business card.
Read Insider’s guide to earning and redeeming Southwest points to find out how to maximize your rewards.
The biggest difference between these two cards is their ongoing earnings potential. While you’ll earn 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases and 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners with the Premier Business Card, you’ll earn 4 points per dollar and 3 points per dollar in these categories, respectively, with the Performance Business card.
And with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card you’ll earn 2 points per dollar on the following business expenses as well:
Social media and search engine advertisingInternet, cable, and phone services
Both cards also earn 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and offer up to $500 in fee credits for points transfers (for example, to other members) each year.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card also gives cardholders up to $100 for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, four upgraded boardings per year (when available), and inflight Wi-Fi credits. It’s offering a sign-up bonus of Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card.
As with the personal Southwest credit cards, the points you earn from the Southwest small-business cards count toward the Companion Pass.
If your business spends a lot of money each year on social media advertising or internet, cable, and phone services, you’ll definitely want to go with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. You may also want to choose the Performance Business card if you fly four or more times each year. In that case, you could take full advantage of the four upgraded boardings per year and some of the other inflight perks.
However, if you don’t spend a lot of money in the bonus categories, your earnings potential will drop. And if you only fly once or twice a year, you may not get the most value out of the additional day-of-flight benefits.
If you decide the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card don’t make sense for you, you may want to consider one of the consumer Southwest credit cards discussed above.
Or, because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest and other airline and hotel partners when you have Chase travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, one of these cards could be a better pick if you value flexibility. However, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to Southwest will not count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass.
Southwest small business credit card comparison
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Annual fee
$99
$199
Welcome bonus
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Rewards rate
3x points on Southwest purchases
2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners
2x points on rideshare
1 point per dollar on everything else
4x points on Southwest purchases
3x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners
2x points on rideshare
2x points on social media and search engine advertising
2x points on internet, cable, and phone services
1 point per dollar on everything else
Anniversary points
6,000
9,000
Foreign transaction fee
No
No
Other benefits
Two EarlyBird Check-Ins per year
25% back on inflight purchases
Earn tier-qualifying points toward A-List elite status
Earn tier-qualifying points toward A-List elite status
$100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
4 upgraded boardings per year when available
Inflight Wi-Fi credits
Review
Southwest Premier Business card review
Southwest Performance Business Credit Card review
How to decide which Southwest credit card is right for you
If your main goal for getting a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card is to earn a sign-up bonus, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card could be a great choice. It offers the same sign-up bonus as the other two cards and a similar earnings rate, and it has the lowest annual fee.
But if you plan to use your Rapids Rewards card for multiple years, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card cards offer better value. Both offer anniversary bonuses that are double or more than what you’ll get with the Plus card. And the two more expensive cards are better for international travelers because they don’t charge foreign transaction fees.
When comparing the Premier and Priority cards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card easily comes out on top. Its higher annual fee is easily reduced by $75 in annual Southwest travel credit. It also has a better anniversary bonus and offers additional inflight perks and discounts.
In short, if you’re looking for an airline card to earn free flights in the short term, you may want to choose the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card. Otherwise, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offers the best long-term value.
Finally, note that you can’t have two personal Southwest credit cards at the same time, and you can’t open a new personal Southwest card if you’ve earned a sign-up bonus on any personal Southwest card within the last 24 months. So choose your card carefully.
Additionally, all of the Southwest cards are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule, which means you won’t get approved if you’ve opened five or more cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months.