From no bag charges in your first two checked luggage to versatile fares that always undercut greater rivals, there are many causes to decide on Southwest Airways over Delta, United, or American Airways.
Add yet one more to the listing: the handful of bank cards designed particularly for loyal Southwest flyers. And people for vacationers who won’t take into account themselves Southwest loyalists, however who positively wish to hold their air journey choices open.
Which Southwest Airways bank card is the perfect? That depends upon what you search for in a travel credit card.
Greatest Southwest Airways Credit score Playing cards
These are the perfect Southwest Airways bank cards available on the market proper now.
You’ll discover proper off the bat that each one are co-branded with Chase, Southwest’s prime monetary establishment associate. Likewise, you’ll discover that each one have comparable rewards packages that favor purchases with Southwest Airways.
Past these options, every card is a bit completely different. They every do no less than one factor very well, and we’ve decided that our “greatest total” decide is the one that gives the perfect bang in your buck.
Or mile, because the case could also be.
Greatest General: Southwest Speedy Rewards® Precedence Credit score Card
The most effective bank card for Southwest flyers is the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. As probably the most beneficiant of the three Southwest private bank cards, it’s excellent for anybody who repeatedly flies with Southwest Airways.
Why select Southwest Speedy Rewards Precedence? Key advantages embrace:
- $75 Southwest journey credit score annually you stay a cardholder in good standing
- 4 upgraded boardings annually (when obtainable)
- Earn 1,500 tier qualifying factors (TQPs) for each $10,000 spent in purchases annually — TQPs depend towards A-Record standing, and there’s no restrict to what number of you’ll be able to earn
- 25% again on eligible in-flight purchases
- Earn 50,000 bonus factors after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Right here’s what else you’ll be able to anticipate from the Southwest Speedy Rewards Precedence card:
- 7,500 bonus Speedy Rewards factors after your cardmember anniversary annually
- 3x factors on eligible Southwest purchases, together with airfare, in-flight purchases, and Southwest present playing cards
- 2x factors on eligible native transit and commuting purchases, together with rideshare, tolls, parking garages, and extra
- 2x factors on eligible web, cable, cellphone, and choose streaming companies
- 2x factors on purchases with Speedy Rewards lodge and automobile rental companions
- 1x factors on all different eligible purchases
- $149 annual price
Greatest for Early Examine-in: Southwest Speedy Rewards® Premier Credit score Card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card comes with two EarlyBird check-ins annually you stay a cardholder in good standing. That’s a $30 worth annually when totally exploited.
With EarlyBird, you get automated check-in and a greater boarding place. Meaning earlier entry to overhead bins, that are notoriously aggressive on Southwest Airways flights. So if you wish to keep away from gate-checking your bag — or storing it many rows away out of your seat — Speedy Rewards Premier is your card.
Further options:
- Earn 50,000 bonus factors after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- 6,000 bonus Speedy Rewards factors after your cardmember anniversary
- 3x factors on eligible Southwest Airways purchases
- 2x factors on eligible native transit and commuting purchases
- 2x factors on eligible web, cable, cellphone, and choose streaming companies purchases
- 2x factors on Speedy Rewards automobile rental and lodge associate purchases
- 1x factors on all different eligible purchases
- $99 annual price
Greatest for Low Annual Payment: Southwest Speedy Rewards® Plus Credit score Card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card is probably the most inexpensive of the three Southwest shopper bank cards. The annual price is simply $69, decrease than most competing co-branded and general-purpose journey bank cards.
That’s not all you get from the Southwest Plus card, in fact. Right here’s what else you’ll be able to anticipate:
- Earn 50,000 bonus factors after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- Two EarlyBird check-ins annually ($30 worth)
- 3,000 bonus factors after your cardmember anniversary
- 25% again on eligible in-flight purchases
- 3x factors on eligible Southwest Airways purchases
- 2x factors on eligible commuting and native transit purchases
- 2x factors on eligible purchases of web, cable, cellphone, and choose streaming companies
- 2x factors on eligible purchases with Speedy Rewards automobile rental and lodge companions
- 1x factors on all different eligible purchases
- $69 annual price
Greatest Entry-Degree Enterprise Card: Southwest® Speedy Rewards® Premier Enterprise Credit score Card
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is the perfect Southwest enterprise bank card for enterprise house owners who don’t journey usually sufficient to justify a triple-digit annual price.
At $99, the annual price is affordable — and offset a number of occasions over by a sign-up bonus that guarantees 60,000 bonus factors after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Right here’s what else the Southwest Speedy Rewards Premier Enterprise card affords:
- Two EarlyBird check-ins annually (value $30)
- 6,000 anniversary factors annually
- 25% again on eligible in-flight purchases
- 3x factors on eligible Southwest Airways purchases
- 2x factors on eligible commuting and native transit purchases
- 1x factors on all different eligible purchases
Greatest Premium Enterprise Card: Southwest® Speedy Rewards® Efficiency Enterprise Credit score Card
For enterprise house owners with greater budgets, the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is the perfect Southwest Airways bank card available on the market.
Sure, it has the next annual price ($199), however that’s a small value to pay for a powerful slate of advantages. In actual fact, that is probably the most beneficiant Southwest card round, because of:
- Earn 80,000 factors after you spend $5,000 on purchases inside the first 3 months of account opening.
- 9,000 anniversary bonus factors annually
- 4 upgraded boardings (when obtainable)
- 365 Wi-Fi credit annually — mainly, as much as one $8 credit score in opposition to in-flight Wi-Fi daily of the yr
That’s not all. With Southwest Speedy Rewards Efficiency, you additionally take pleasure in:
- 4x factors on eligible Southwest Airways purchases
- 3x factors on eligible purchases with Speedy Rewards automobile rental and lodge companions
- 2x factors on eligible commuting and native transit purchases
- 2x factors on eligible purchases of web, cable, cellphone, social media, and search engine promoting companies
- 1x factors on all different eligible purchases
- Worker playing cards at no additional value
- As much as $500 in credit in opposition to level switch charges charged once you use your card to switch factors to a different Speedy Rewards member
- No overseas transaction charges
- As much as $100 credit score in opposition to TSA PreCheck or Global Entry utility price yearly
Methodology: How We Choose the Greatest Southwest Credit score Playing cards
These bank cards all have one massive factor in frequent: They’re designed for individuals who repeatedly fly with Southwest Airways.
However they’re not an identical. Removed from it. To compile and type this listing, we take a look at a number of key components that transcend the truth that all of those playing cards earn Southwest Speedy Rewards factors — though what number of factors they earn and on what kinds of purchases each issue into our evaluation.
Rewards Program
The rewards program is vital to any rewards bank card’s worth proposition. To judge it, we ask questions like:
- What’s the rewards charge on purchases the perfect person cares most about — on this case, Southwest Airways purchases?
- What’s the rewards charge on different kinds of purchases?
- How broad are these different buy classes?
- Does the rewards program reward small companies, people, or each?
Often, we additionally take into account how a lot factors are value at redemption. However as a result of all these playing cards earn the identical loyalty foreign money — Southwest Speedy Rewards factors — that query is moot.
Advantages for Southwest Flyers
Past its rewards program, every of those playing cards affords doubtlessly invaluable advantages and perks for Southwest flyers. Relying on the cardboard, these embrace:
- Upgraded boarding positions, often restricted to a sure quantity per yr
- Annual Southwest price credit
- Reductions on sure in-flight purchases, resembling drinks and Wi-Fi
- Bonus level awards in your account anniversary
- Utility price credit in opposition to expedited entry credentials (TSA PreCheck and International Entry)
All else being equal, we want Southwest playing cards with extra beneficiant advantages.
Signal-Up Bonus
Every of those playing cards has a sign-up bonus for brand new cardholders. And every of these bonuses is kind of beneficiant by journey rewards card requirements.
However the particular quantity issues — 80,000 bonus factors will get you extra airfare worth than 50,000 factors, all else being equal.
Annual Payment
How a lot will this card value us earlier than we earn a single reward level?
That’s the query we ask about each bank card we consider. One other, extra direct solution to ask it’s: “What is that this bank card’s annual price?”
Every of the playing cards on this listing has an annual price. The bottom annual price is $69; the best is $199.
Spend sufficient and also you’ll don’t have any bother offsetting these charges, however they’re value watching when you’re an occasional Southwest flyer or only a low spender typically. That’s why we are inclined to want playing cards with decrease annual charges — though beneficiant rewards and frequent flyer advantages do have an effect on that choice.
Different Charges
The annual price may seize probably the most consideration, however it’s not the one bank card price value listening to. Others embrace:
- International transaction charges
- Stability switch charges
- Money advance charges
- Late and returned fee charges
All issue into our evaluation right here.
Vary of Perfect Customers
When evaluating a bank card, it’s necessary to grasp the use instances for it. The extra versatile the cardboard is and the higher the variety of potential customers it speaks to, the higher. So we’ve ranked these Southwest playing cards by how broad their attraction is more likely to be.
Southwest Credit score Card FAQS
Nonetheless have questions on the perfect Southwest bank cards? You’re not alone. Southwest’s Speedy Rewards loyalty program is difficult, and every of those playing cards places its personal spin on it. So we’ve rounded up a few of the most typical questions right here.
What Is the Southwest Companion Move?
The Southwest Airways Companion Move is well known as the perfect companion airfare deal for home vacationers in the USA.
Yeah, it’s that good. With Companion Move, you’ll be able to select one particular person — like a partner or little one — to fly with you on Southwest Airways freed from airline expenses for a restricted time frame. You do nonetheless need to pay authorities taxes and charges for the particular person, however these account for a comparatively small share of home airfare — they begin at $5.60 per ticket.
Companion Move is sweet for the rest of the yr by which it’s earned and for the whole calendar yr that follows. You should use it everytime you buy Southwest airfare and once you redeem factors for Southwest airfare.
The catch is that Companion Move is the top of Southwest’s A-Record standing loyalty program, so it isn’t straightforward to get.
How Do You Earn a Companion Move?
To earn Companion Move, it is advisable to do one of many following in a calendar yr:
- Full 100 qualifying one-way flights with Southwest
- Earn 125,000 qualifying factors, often known as Tier Qualifying Factors
The second possibility sounds simpler than the primary, however that’s not essentially true. That’s as a result of not all Speedy Rewards factors depend as Tier Qualifying Factors for Companion Move.
Factors earned on bought Southwest flights depend as Tier Qualifying Factors, as do factors earned on purchases with sure Southwest companions (together with some in style lodge manufacturers). You additionally obtain 1,500 Tier Qualifying Factors for each $10,000 you spend in your Southwest bank card.
Confused but? This Southwest Airlines guide has extra element. The underside line is that nonetheless you go about it, you’ve gotten to spend so much — or fly loads — to earn Companion Move.
Is There a Southwest Airways Credit score Card With No Annual Payment?
Not for the time being. Essentially the most inexpensive Southwest Airways bank card is the Southwest Airways Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card. Its annual price is $69.
Who Can Get a Southwest Airways Credit score Card?
Any U.S. resident who meets credit score, revenue, and prior cardmembership standards is eligible for a Southwest Airways bank card.
Credit score and revenue requirements range by card, however you typically want a good credit score or higher and a low debt-to-income ratio to qualify for a Southwest card.
There may be a time-based restrict in your eligibility for a Southwest Airways bank card. In accordance with Chase, which backs all of the Southwest co-branded playing cards, you’re restricted to 1 new private Southwest card each 24 months. That is true even when you utilized for, acquired, after which closed a private Southwest bank card account.
It’s unclear if this rule is ironclad or if Chase makes exceptions on a case-by-case foundation. What’s extra clear is that the rule doesn’t apply to Southwest’s enterprise playing cards — you’ll be able to apply for a Southwest enterprise bank card proper after making use of for a Southwest private card, or vice versa.
When you’re not sure about your eligibility, contact Chase’s customer support division.
How one can Select the Greatest Southwest Credit score Card
Selecting a brand new airline credit card could be thrilling — and likewise overwhelming. Thankfully, when you’re set on a co-branded Southwest Airways bank card, you solely have so many choices to select from.
5, to be actual.
OK, that’s not too many. However it’s a great distance from 5 down to 1 when every possibility appears so interesting.
My recommendation: Take a step again and take into consideration what’s most necessary to you in a bank card. Or, on the very least, in a Southwest bank card.
Maybe that’s a unbelievable rewards program. Or extra-valuable facet perks and advantages. Or a low annual price. Or a juicy sign-up bonus.
Regardless of your choice, there’s a Southwest card for you.
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