Southwest Rapid Rewards Preferred Credit Card Review: Full Details
Southwest Express Rewards Preferred Credit Card Overview
the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Preferred Credit Card is Southwest Airlines’ most rewarding personal credit card, offering $75 in annual Southwest credit and 7,500 anniversary bonus points. With the most benefits of any airline service, this is the card you should get if you’re a loyal Southwest customer. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card review based on the opinions of the TPG editorial board and not influenced by the card issuer.
Southwest Airlines has a lot of fans – largely due to its flexible change/cancellation policy and offering of two free checked bags to all passengers. Unlike other airlines, Southwest doesn’t offer lounges, premium cabins, or even seats with extra legroom.
But it offers a complete set of these co-branded credit card to help frequent flyers accomplish their Southwest travel goals.
This card won the award for Best Airline Co-Branded Credit Card in the TPG Award 2023.
the Southwest Priority Pass have a suggestion credit score 670 and above and is the highest-end personal credit card in the Southwest product line.
But are its benefits valuable enough to warrant the $149 annual fee? And is now the right time for you to apply? Let’s find out.
Pros and cons of the Southwest Preferred Credit Card
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Welcome offer Southwest Preferred Credit Card
New Priority is given to the Southwest Cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 40,000 bonus points and a $400 statement credit after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first four months of account opening. This offer ends December 16.
According to TPG November 2024 valuationThis welcome offer is valued at up to $960 when a statement credit is included. Bonus points will also get you closer to earning the Companion Pass, which requires earning 135,000 points in a calendar year.
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To get the most out of the Companion Pass for 2025 and 2026, it’s best to wait to apply for the card until December. Then, after your December statement date, complete the minimum spend requirement to receive bonus points in December. 1. This will get you the Companion Pass for 2025 and 2026 (instead of the rest of 2024 and 2025 if your rewards come in December).
Note that Southwest cards must comply Chase’s 5/24 Rule. If you’ve opened five or more credit cards in the past 24 months (from all banks, not just Chase), you may not be approved.
Additionally, you cannot open a new personal Southwest card if you already have one. You also won’t be able to receive a new welcome bonus from your personal Southwest card if you’ve received one in the past 24 months.
Related: 15 lessons from the 15-year Southwest Companion Card
Benefits of the Southwest Preferred Credit Card
the Southwest Priority Pass offers the following benefits, with the first two more than offsetting the annual fee:
- Anniversary Bonus: On your card anniversary each year, you will receive 7,500 Instant Rewards points, valued at $105 based on TPG November 2024 valuation.
- Annual Southwest Travel Credit: During each year of card membership, you will receive a $75 travel credit that can be used on most Southwest purchases, including tickets (excluding boarding upgrades and in-flight purchases).
- Save 25% on flights: Get 25% back (in the form of a statement credit) after you use your card for drinks and in-flight Wi-Fi.
- Increase ranking points: Earn 1,500 TQP that counts toward A-List and A-List Priority status for every $5,000 you spend in a calendar year.
- Four boarding upgrades per year
In addition to benefits specific to the Southwest, the card also offers lost baggage reimbursement, Baggage delay insurance, Extended warranty protection And Purchase protection.
These perks were valuable to one TPG reader who said they frequent the Southwest center:
“Great travel and insurance benefits along with Southwest perks like free upgrades and the opportunity to earn lots of points. It’s a point I’d choose as long as I lived close to the heart of Southwest.” — Trisha M via TPG News survey
Note: Responses submitted by readers have not been edited, reviewed or approved by the publisher and do not reflect TPG’s views on these tags.
There is also no card foreign transaction feesso this is a good choice to spend abroad.
Related: How to get airline elite status
Earn points with the Southwest Preferred Credit Card
This is the amount you will earn with Southwest Priority Pass:
- 3 points per dollar on purchases at Southwest
- 2 points per dollar spent with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
- 2 points for every dollar above transit and local travelincluding ride-hailing applications
- 2 points per dollar on internet, cable and phone services; select streaming
- 1 point per dollar above all other purchases
This airline credit card offers a wider variety of bonuses than other cards airline credit cardin spite of Top travel card often even more profitable.
You’ll earn 4.2% back on Southwest purchases and 2.8% back on select purchases (according to TPG’s November 2024 report valuation), which isn’t a bad return for a co-branded credit card.
However, this may not be the best Southwest card for you if you don’t regularly book Southwest flights or prefer to use other portals for hotel and car rental reservations.
Related: Credit cards with the best rewards for each bonus type
Redeem points with the Southwest Preferred Credit Card
Redeem reward points as quickly as Southwest Priority Pass very simple. Southwest award prices are tied directly to the cash value of the ticket, meaning the number of points you need for a flight will fluctuate, but you’ll rarely encounter a situation where you can’t use your points. Additionally, you can resubmit your award without penalty if your plans change.
While Southwest points won’t get you flying in a first class suite, they can provide great value. For example, you can fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Chicago-Midway (MDW) for as little as 4,701 points one-way, depending on the time of year. Meanwhile, other airlines often charge 10,000 miles or even more (assuming you can find space).
If you book tickets to one of the Southwest flash saleyou can score less than 2,500 points one-way. You can even fly to exciting far-flung destinations like Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Mexico with your Southwest points.
For example, TPG credit card editor Emily Thompson recently took advantage of one of these sales to book round-trip tickets between Nashville (BNA) and San Jose, California (SJC) for under 25,000 points. If you’re flying to one of Southwest’s destinations, you can find plenty of spots.
Related: Why I choose Southwest every time
What cards compete with the Southwest Preferred Credit Card?
Southwest Airlines offers three personalized cards, so you can choose the one that works best for you.
- If you want Southwest benefits at a more modest cost: The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premium Credit Card is the mid-tier card in the Southwest lineup, with an annual fee of $99. Its benefits include 6,000 anniversary bonus points, two EarlyBird check-ins per year, and 25% back on in-flight purchases. To learn more, read our Full review of the Southwest Premier card.
- If you want a Southwest card with an even lower annual fee: the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card There is an annual fee of $69 and an anniversary bonus of 3,000 points. You’ll also receive two EarlyBird Subscriptions per year and 25% back on in-flight purchases. To learn more, read ours Full review of the Southwest Plus card.
- If you want to convert points for use with Southwest and other airlines: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to Southwest and many other airlines for flight redemptions. You will receive many protections when traveling, one $50 hotel credit annually for hotel bookings made through Chase Travel℠ and strong earning categories with an annual fee of $95. To learn more, read our Full review of Sapphire Preferred.
Information about the Southwestern Rapid Premier Awards has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
For more options, see our full list of travel credit card.
Related: Compare Southwest Express Rewards Preferred, Premier, and Plus credit cards
Is the Southwest Preferred Credit Card worth it?
If you fly Southwest at least a few times per year, you’ll be ahead of the pack Southwest Priority Pass. The card’s daily earnings rate isn’t the most lucrative, but impressive built-in perks like boarding upgrades, a $75 annual travel credit, and a 7,500-point anniversary bonus easily make up for it for that. However, if you fly southwest less often, you might prefer a different flight Our other favorite airline cards.
Bottom line
The Southwest Priority Card is Southwest Airlines’ most rewarding personal credit card, allowing you to earn the most points and get the most benefits from any airline service. If you fly Southwest frequently, this is the best Southwest card for you.
However, if you don’t fly Southwest often or want to keep your annual costs lower, you may want to choose one of the other options. Southwest co-branded card or that one card Earn transferable rewards.
Register here: Southwest Fast Rewards Priority Credit Card
Related: How to choose the travel credit card that’s right for you
