Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card Review: Is It Worth the Annual Fee?

Southwest Airlines offers several co-branded credit cards that let users earn points and enjoy frequent flyer perks, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card is the least rewarding of them all. However, with the lowest annual fee ($69) of any Southwest credit card, it’s the most affordable way to earn Rapid Rewards while enjoying some airline perks.

The first-year bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card is a huge incentive to sign up, especially since Southwest points are worth an average of 1.4 cents each. These points count toward the Southwest Companion Pass, which lets you book a companion for just the cost of airline taxes and fees each time you fly for up to two years.

After the first year, however, the value of the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card drops dramatically. Compared to other travel cards, the ongoing perks and rewards are unimpressive.

• Annual fee: $69
• Foreign transaction fee: 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
• Regular purchase APR: 21.49%-28.49% variable
• Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Rewards: Receive 3,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 2 Early Bird Check-In® each year, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more.
• Other benefits:
  • 3,000 point anniversary bonus
  • 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost
  • Two Early Bird Check-Ins
  • 25% back on inflight purchases
• Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

• Sign-up bonus (3.7 out of 5)

  How large is the sign-up bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card? New cardholders can earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. These points can be used to book airfare with the airline, and they also count toward Companion Pass status. This offer is worth around $700 in Southwest airfare, making the card well worth it for the first year.

    Who’s eligible to apply?

  This offer isn’t available for individuals who already have a personal Southwest card, as well as previous members who have received a sign-up bonus from any personal Southwest card in the last 24 months. Note, this rule doesn’t apply to Southwest business credit cards. The Chase 5/24 rule may also disqualify you if you’ve opened too many cards recently.

  Should you apply now?: The sign-up bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card is decent at the moment, but you may want to wait to apply if you’re hoping to get the biggest bonus possible.

  Recent offers for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
  Date	Number of points
  July 2024	50,000 points
  June 2024	85,000 points
  February 2024	Companion Pass + 30,000 points
  December 2023	50,000
  October 2023	75,000
  March 2023	50,000

  Tip: If you wait until the bonus offer reaches 85,000 points, you could be more than halfway toward the earning threshold for the Southwest Companion Pass. That’s because earning the pass requires you to fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying points within a calendar year.

• Earning rewards (3.3 out of 5)

  How do you earn points with the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card? There are a variety of ways to earn bonus points with the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card. You’ll get 2x points on categories like transit and streaming services and a 3,000-point anniversary bonus.

  Rewards earned: Receive 3,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 2 Early Bird Check-In® each year, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more.

  The Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card has very similar bonus categories to other personal Southwest cards. Aside from a smaller anniversary bonus, you’ll earn points at nearly the same rate as the other cards.

  But its rewards pale in comparison to general travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. These cards will give you a higher return overall because they offer better bonus categories and they let you transfer your rewards to airline and hotel partners. The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card even lets you transfer points to your Southwest Rapid Rewards loyalty program account.

  Rewards earned per $1 spent*

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card: $0.035
  • Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: $0.034
  • United℠ Explorer Card: $0.015
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card: $0.015
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card: $0.015
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card: $0.015

  *Based on LendingTree’s value methodology

• Redeeming points (3 out of 5)

  How do you redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card points? Southwest Rapid Rewards points are easier to redeem than most airline miles and offer additional benefits. All Southwest customers get two free checked bags on every flight, points don’t expire and there are no blackout dates. Southwest also has one of the most flexible rebooking and cancellation policies of any airline.

  The program is very straightforward since most flights give you the same value of around 1.4 cents per point for Wanna Get Away fares. In general, Wanna Get Away fares will give you the most bang for your buck, since they are the least expensive option in terms of both cash and points. While the number of points varies by flight, it’s not uncommon to find deals starting at around 7,500 miles one-way. Also note that award costs are based on the cash price for airfare, so you can lock in the best award prices during Southwest’s frequent sales or any other time cash prices for airfare are low.

  

  Several non-travel redemption options are available with Southwest points as well, including:

  • Gift cards
  • Merchandise
  • Stays at more than 70,000 hotels
  • Certain experiences
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards Access Events

  → Learn more about the Southwest Rapid Rewards program

• Other benefits (2 out of 5)

  What other benefits does the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card offer? Aside from its sign-up bonus and rewards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card offers a few decent perks for its $69 annual fee:

  • 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost: Get 10,000 qualifying points each calendar year toward the Southwest Companion Pass.
  • Two Early Bird check-ins each year: Automatically checks you in ahead of Southwest’s 24-hour check-in to score you a better boarding position.
  • 25% back on in-flight purchases: Get a discount on drinks and Wi-Fi on Southwest when you pay with your credit card.
  • Baggage protection: Up to $3,000 per passenger for lost luggage, and up to $100 per day for three days for baggage delays over six hours.
  • Extended warranty: Add an extra year to an existing warranty, for eligible warranties of three years or less.
  • Purchase protection: Covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account
  • DoorDash membership: Get unlimited deliveries with no delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders for a year

  However, the other co-branded credit cards from Southwest offer a better overall value, including larger anniversary bonuses and no foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad.

  	Southwest Plus Card	Southwest Premier Card	Southwest Priority Card
  Anniversary bonus	3,000 points	6,000 points	7,500  points
  10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost
  Two Early Bird Check-ins
  25% back on in-flight purchases
  No foreign transaction fees
  Earn tier-qualifying points on spending
  $75 annual travel credit
  Four upgraded boardings

  → Find the best credit card for Southwest Airlines

 

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card has the same sign-up bonus with a slightly higher annual fee of $99, but it has a few additional perks that make it worth it. These benefits include 6,000 anniversary bonus points (instead of 3,000), and unlimited tier-qualifying points toward elite status with the airline.

Since it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, it’s the better option for people who travel internationally often and make a lot of overseas purchases.

 

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card is geared to Southwest enthusiasts who want as many benefits as possible when they fly with the airline and are willing to pay a $149 annual fee. Members get better perks like a 7,500-point anniversary bonus each year upon account renewal, a $75 annual credit with Southwest and four upgraded boardings per year.

This card also refrains from charging foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad, which makes it a solid choice for frequent Southwest flyers who take a lot of international trips.

 

If you want to have more flexibility when it comes to redeeming rewards, you should consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. It has much better bonus categories, including 5X points on travel booked through Chase, 3X points on dining, online grocery purchases and select streaming services, 2X points on other travel and 1X points on all other purchases.

Its points are much more valuable since you can redeem them in so many ways. You can transfer them to more than 10 different airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio, including Southwest Rapid Rewards. You can also redeem points for 25% more travel through the Chase portal, or for flexible options like statement credits, merchandise or gift cards. Still, it’s important to note that points earned with this card cannot be used toward Companion Pass status.