The Southwest Airlines credit cards are some of my very favorites! I have gotten so much value out of the points I have earned on them. My favorite was probably taking my whole family to Maui. What makes these cards even better is that by opening a personal and business card you can earn the Southwest Companion Pass which allows you to fly someone for free with you! Make sure to check out this post about the Southwest Companion Pass if you want to learn more about it.

I love Southwest Airlines for families, especially families with young children like mine. Not only have I flown my family to Hawaii, but we have also done multiple trips to California and we also have an upcoming trip to Pheonix. I can’t stress enough how good Southwest has been for my family…low price fares, generous return and price change policy, and free bags!

Update: All the Southwest personal cards have limited-time offers of 75,000 points after you spend $5,000 in three months. These offers end 7/11/22.

 

Things To Know About the Southwest Airlines Credit Cards

1. Southwest cards are issued by Chase so they will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. Remember, the Chase business cards won’t count towards your 5/24 but if you are over 5/24 you won’t be approved for one.
2. You can only hold one personal Southwest card at a time
3. You can get the bonus on a Southwest personal card again as long as it has been more than 24 months since your last bonus on any Southwest personal card
4. You need to wait 30 days after canceling before applying for the exact same card
5. You can hold both business cards at the same time
6. You can get the bonus on a business card again as long as it’s been 24 months since you last got a bonus on that specific business card and you no longer have the card.

 

Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards

All five (yes, five!) of the Southwest Rapid Reward credit cards have seen some new benefits added to them. I love the two Earlybird Check-in benefits! What’s great is these additional benefits didn’t result in higher annual fees…which usually isn’t the case. You can read about each card below. If you decide to apply for one we would be so grateful if you used our affiliate links by clicking on the name of the card you’d like to apply for.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus

• 75,000 points after spending $5,000 in 3 months 
• $69 annual fee
• 3,000 points on your cardmember anniversary
• 2x the points on Southwest purchases, Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental bookings, local commuting, transit, and rideshare, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming, and 1x on all else.
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• 2 Earlybird Check-in per year

 

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier

• 75,000 points after spending $5,000 in 3 months
• $99 annual fee
• 6,000 points on your cardmember anniversary
• no foreign transaction fees
• 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental bookings, local commuting, transit, and rideshare, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming, and 1x on all else.
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• 2 Earlybird Check-in per year
• 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $10,000 spent

 

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority

• 75,000 points after spending $5,000 in 3 months
• $149 annual fee
• 7,500 points on your cardmember anniversary
• 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental bookings, local commuting, transit, and rideshare, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming, and 1x on all else.
• no foreign transaction fees
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit
• 4 upgraded boardings per year, when available
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $10,000 spent

 

Southwest Premier Business Credit Card

• 60,000 points after spending $3,000 in 3 months
• $99 annual fee
• 6,000 points on cardmember anniversary
• 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental bookings, local commuting, transit, and rideshare, and 1x on all else.
• no foreign transaction fees
• 2 Earlybird Check-in per year
• 25% back on inflight purchase
• 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $10,000 spent
• $500 fee credit for transferring points (Southwest charges to move points to another Rapid Reward account- this benefit give you $500 of free transfer credits)

 

Southwest Performance Business Credit Card

• 80,000 points after spending $5,000 in 3 months
• $199 annual fee
• 9,000 points on cardmember anniversary
• 4x points on Southwest purchases, 3x on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental purchases, with 2x points on local transit, commuting, and rideshare, social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable, and phone services, and 1x on all else.
• 4 upgraded boardings per year, when available
• inflight WiFi credits
• Global Entry or TSA Precheck reimbursement
• no foreign transaction fees
• 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $10,000 spent
• $500 fee credit for transferring points (Southwest charges to move points to another Rapid Reward account- this benefit give you $500 of free transfer credits)

 

Bottom Line

The Southwest Airlines credit cards are a huge part of my travel hacking game. Thanks to the welcome offers on these cards we have been able to score a lot of nearly free flights.