This card is a boon for Southwest fans. Still, travelers looking for more flexibility may not get as much value.
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Bottom line
This high-tier Southwest card remains popular among Southwest loyal travelers for good reason. Its ongoing rewards are solid, its welcome offer is generous and it offers solid travel perks. But for cardholders looking for flexibility, this card might be a miss.
on Chase's secure site
Rewards rate
2X–3XAnnual fee
$99Intro offer
Earn 50,000 pointsRegular APR
18.24% - 25.24% VariableRecommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)This card is an easy choice to make for travelers who live in a city served by Southwest Airlines. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card can help you rapidly earn rewards for free or discounted Southwest flights. You’ll pay a slightly higher $99 annual fee than with its sibling card the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, but you’ll be well on your way to earning A-list status in the Southwest Rapid Rewards loyalty program. Cardholders will earn 3X points on Southwest purchases; 2X points on Southwest hotel and car rental partners; 2X points on local transit and commuting (including rideshare); 2X points on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming services; and 1X points on everything else.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card stands out among the best travel rewards credit cards in a few ways. Cardholders earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. This bonus is worth a substantial $750 according to The Points Guy’s latest points valuation — a drop boost from the card’s former 75,000-point welcome offer.
Unfortunately, Southwest no longer offers the Companion Pass as a welcome bonus. Still, all points earned count toward that Companion Pass (you’ll need 125,000 qualifying points or 100 qualifying one-way flights to qualify on your own) — with a points valuation of 1.5 cents per point, cardholders should see some value in this card’s welcome offer. Keep in mind that you can’t earn the sign-up bonus if you’ve earned one on a different Southwest card in the past 24 months.
Earning points and redeeming points is simple with this card. Its primary points value lies in earning Rapid Rewards points that can be applied to earning a Southwest Companion Pass.
Despite being a tiered rewards program, the earnings are limited. Cardholders will earn an elevated 3X points on all Southwest purchases, this includes airfare and inflight purchases. Get 2X points on internet, cable, phone and select streaming services and 1X points on everything else.
The good news for cardholders? Your earnings aren’t capped by a spending limit. You’ll earn points on every Southwest flight you take.
You can redeem your Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier points for hotel stays, car rentals, experiences, gift cards and more through the Rapid Rewards Shopping portal — though you’ll get the most value from redeeming them for Southwest flights. There are three ways to redeem your points for airfare: Wanna Get away tickets, Business Select tickets and Anytime tickets.
You’ll need at least 35,000 Tier-Qualifying Points or 25 one-way flights per calendar year to qualify for Southwest’s A-List status — which comes with perks like priority boarding, a 25 percent points bonus on each flight and no charge for same-day standby flights. Luckily the Premier card gets you a small head start toward Southwest elite status.
Southwest’s international destination options are relatively limited. Most Southwest flights abroad land in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Despite this, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card makes an excellent international traveling companion to those destinations and beyond. It doesn’t charge any fees for foreign transactions, and travelers can use Southwest’s More Rewards portal to book hotels and rental cars with points.
The generous 6,000-point anniversary bonus goes a long way toward helping travelers reduce the cost of owning this card. You’ll receive this 6,000-point bonus (valued at around $90) every year you hold your Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card. The bonus comes at no extra cost to you.
Though the annual fee is pretty standard for this type of card, cardholders should be pleased with how easily they can offset the $99 annual fee. The 6,000-point anniversary bonus valued at around $90 covers nearly the entire cost of the annual fee on its own. Thankfully outside of the annual fee and the balance transfer fee ($5 or 5 percent of the transaction, whichever is greater), the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card is light on fees. The 18.24 percent to 25.24 percent variable APR is middle-of-the-road compared to other travel cards, but be sure to pay your balance in full each month to avoid paying interest.
Southwest — both the airline and its co-branded credit cards — have a loyal customer base, for good reason. With the right planning, travelers can get a lot from this budget airline and its loyalty program. But are Southwest credit cards — the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card or its siblings — right for you? It depends on what you’re looking for from your card.
on Chase's secure site
Annual fee
$99Intro offer
Earn 50,000 pointsRewards rate
2X–3XRecommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)on Chase's secure site
Annual fee
$69Intro offer
Earn 50,000 pointsRewards rate
1X–2XRecommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)on Capital One's secure site
Annual fee
$95Intro offer
75,000 milesRewards rate
2X–5XRecommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card has many of the same benefits as its sibling card with a lower annual fee. You’ll get the same welcome bonus, and all points earned count toward a Companion Pass. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus does offer a slightly lower rewards rate 2X points on Southwest purchases; 2X points on Southwest hotel and car rental partners; 2X points on local transit and commuting (including rideshare services); 2X points on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming services; and 1X points on all other purchases.
The Rapid Rewards Plus card also makes for a less appealing international travel companion as it charges a 3 percent foreign transaction fee. But if your travel plans only include domestic travel, the lower $69 annual fee may put the Rapid Reward Premier card behind in the race to your wallet.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a flat-rate travel card that helps cardholders earn miles to be redeemed through its travel partners. It offers much more flexible redemption options than its counterpart, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card. Its welcome bonus of 75,000 points — valued at roughly $750 when redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal according to The Point’s Guy’s latest valuation (though the value of the points can increase if redeemed with a Capital One travel partner) — is on par with the Rapid Rewards Premier’s welcome bonus, also valued at roughly $750. That said, the Venture bonus does have a hefty spending requirement of $4,000 within three months of account opening.
If you’re looking to redeem your points on Southwest flights for as much value as possible, the Rapid Rewards Premier card is a no-brainer. On the other hand, if being able to redeem your points with as much flexibility as possible on multiple airlines, the Capital One Venture Rewards card is a better bet.
Because Southwest doesn’t have any airline transfer partners, Rapid Premier cardholders are limited in how they can redeem their points. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, on the other hand, can transfer points at a 1:1 rate to many hotel and airline partners. If you enjoy flying Southwest but require flexibility in your travel plans, the Sapphire Preferred is a good choice for pairing. Sapphire Preferred cardholders also get a 25 percent boost in points when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card is definitely worth it for travelers who prefer to fly Southwest. The card’s welcome offer and ongoing rewards are a boon for anyone working towards earning free or discounted travel on Southwest airlines. However, your options to redeem are limited. Points become less valuable when transferred to Southwest hotel and rental car partners, and your options for redeeming for airfare are limited to Southwest flights, so travelers who value flexibility should look elsewhere.
As a staff writer for Bankrate and CreditCards.com, Sarah offers sound advice that will improve your financial life and help simplify topics like travel hacking and credit card rewards.
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
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