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Your Best Credit Cards has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Best Credit Cards and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on Your Best Credit Cards are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. Your Best Credit Cards does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Commissions do not affect or prioritize placement within our Card Explorer results and not all cards displayed earn us a commission. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.

* Suggested credit score ranges are supplied by QuinStreet, not from the issuers, and are guidelines, not a guarantee of approval.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

The Goldilocks card for occasional Southwest flyers.

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(3.9) Our Review
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Your Best Credit Cards has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Best Credit Cards and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on Your Best Credit Cards are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. Your Best Credit Cards does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Commissions do not affect or prioritize placement within our Card Explorer results and not all cards displayed earn us a commission. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.

* Suggested credit score ranges are supplied by QuinStreet, not from the issuers, and are guidelines, not a guarantee of approval.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

The Goldilocks card for occasional Southwest flyers.

BONUS OFFER

Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

💵 Your Projected Rewards Value
Year 1 tbd
Year 2 tbd

Key facts

Annual Fee:

$99

AVG Point Value:

$0.014 (Learn More)

Min. Credit Score for Approval:

670-739 * Good

Ongoing APR:

21.49%-28.49% Variable

Balance transfer fees

Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Foreign Transaction Fee:

0%

With a $99 annual fee, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is the mid-tier personal Southwest credit card. Cardholders enjoy two EarlyBird Check-Ins per year, 25% back on inflight purchases, and points earned count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass.

If you have this card, bank policies restrict you from being approved for the following cards: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.

Reward multipliers

In addition to the sign-up bonus, the Southwest Premier Credit Card earns:

  • 3x Rapid Rewards points per dollar on Southwest purchases.
  • 2x Rapid Rewards points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases; local transit, commuting, and rideshare; and internet, cable, phone services and select streaming services.
  • 1x Rapid Rewards points on all other eligible purchases.

Earns bonus points for spend in the following bonus categories:

Applies only to tickets purchased directly from Southwest. Other airfare earns 1X.

3x
Airfare

Estimated Rewards Value: 4.2%

2x
Transit

Estimated Rewards Value: 2.8%

2x
Cable / Internet / VOIP Phone

Estimated Rewards Value: 2.8%

2x
Cellular Phone Service

Estimated Rewards Value: 2.8%

2x
Streaming Services

Estimated Rewards Value: 2.8%

1x
Everything Else

Estimated Rewards Value: 1.4%

Key features

1

Unique Card Benefits

Two EarlyBird Check-In passes each year

Cardholders of the Southwest Premier Card get two EarlyBird Check-Ins each year. You can use these to avoid setting an alarm for 24 hours before departure and scrambling to check into your flight. Instead, you’ll be automatically checked in and score an earlier boarding position.

6,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points every cardmember anniversary

Cardholders get 6,000 bonus points each year that they renew their Southwest Premier Card. Southwest points have a fixed value of around 1.4 cents, meaning you’re getting $84 in value. That almost completely offsets the card’s annual fee of $99.

Redeem your anniversary bonus points on Southwest Airlines flights. Southwest Premier credit card

2

Free Checked Bags

All travelers get two standard-sized standard-weight checked bags for free every time they fly Southwest.

3

Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver

Simply decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge a car rental purchase to your Southwest credit card to get a theft and collision damage waiver.

Note that this coverage is secondary to your personal insurance for rentals in the United States.

4

Extended Warranty

Get an automatic one-year extension to manufacturer warranties of three years or less.

5

Purchase Protection

Southwest card purchase protections cover up to $500 per claim for damage or theft to new purchases for up to 120 days after purchase.

6

Trip Protections

The Southwest Premier Card includes lost luggage insurance of up to $3,000 per passenger. Plus, Southwest Airlines credit cards offer baggage delay insurance of $100 per day for up to three days.

7

Roadside Assistance

Get help anytime you have a roadside emergency. Just call 1-800-847-2869 to dispatch the help you need, anything from a tow or jumpstart to a tire change, lockout service, winching, or gas delivery.

8

Travel and Emergency Assistance Services

Chase’s Benefits Administrator can help connect you with legal or medical referrals or other travel and emergency assistance if you run into a problem away from home.

9

No Fees for Authorized Users

Add an authorized user for no additional annual fee to earn Southwest points on their everyday spending.

10

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Southwest Premier Credit Card doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees.

11

Free Access to Credit Score

Chase offers free credit score monitoring through Chase Credit Journey.

Earn more rewards by combining credit cards

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
? Best Combo
See how much more you'll earn in rewards when you combine these two cards.
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Pros & cons

  • Two Early-Bird Check-Ins each year
  • 6,000 bonus points every account anniversary
  • Solid spending category bonus
  • Rapid Rewards points aren't valuable for anything other than flying Southwest.
  • The Southwest Priority Credit Card is likely a better fit for frequent Southwest flyers.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Learn How to Apply

Our review

The Southwest Premier credit card is Southwest’s mid-tier personal card. It balances offering some perks while still charging less than a $100 annual fee.

Cardholders will be reimbursed for up to two EarlyBird Check-In purchases each year, get 25% back on inflight purchases on Southwest Airlines, plus get 6,000 bonus points each card anniversary.

Get a better boarding position using EarlyBird Check-Ins reimbursed by your Southwest credit card. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

The Southwest Premier Card offers some of the broadest spending bonus categories of any card with an annual fee under $100. Cardholders will earn 3x points on Southwest purchases and 2x points on Southwest Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners; local transit, commuting, rideshare; internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming services.

Points earned count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass. Plus, primary cardholders earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points toward A-List Preferred Status for every $10,000 spent on the card each year.

The Southwest Premier Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, unlike the Southwest Plus Card. Add in the higher earning rate on Southwest purchases, higher anniversary bonus, and ability to earn Tier Qualifying Points toward A-List Preferred Status, and the Premier Card easily justifies its $30 higher annual fee.

Lastly, this card is great for getting a good piece of the way to a Southwest Companion Pass with the bonus offer, since the signup bonus points count. Read our guide on earning a Southwest Companion Pass for up to two years via new account bonuses.

Frequently asked questions

1

Does the Southwest Premier Card offer an annual travel credit?

Only the Southwest Priority Credit Card offers an annual travel credit. Priority cardholders get a $75 Southwest annual travel credit each year. That perk alone could make it worth getting the Priority Card instead of the Premier Card. Just note that the Priority Card charges the highest annual fee of the Southwest personal cards.

2

Which merchants qualify as Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners?

Southwest Airlines credit cards earn bonus points on Southwest Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases.

Southwest Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners include Southwest Hotels, Best Western, Radisson, Choice, Hyatt, Marriott, MGM, RocketMiles, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, Payless, and Thrifty.

Earn bonus points on Rapid Rewards car rental partner purchases, such as electric car rentals from Hertz.

3

Can you earn Tier Qualifying Points through a Southwest Credit Card?

Earn unlimited Tier Qualifying Points by spending on the Southwest Premier or Priority Credit Card. Cardholders earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points per $10,000 spent on the card.

While we don’t recommend it, you can earn A-List Preferred Status just through the Tier Qualifying Points earned through Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards.

4

Does the Southwest Premier Card charge foreign transaction fees?

You can earn Southwest points on overseas purchases without having to worry about paying a foreign transaction fee.

Note that not all Southwest credit cards waive foreign transaction fees.

For example, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

5

Can you earn bonus points on travel purchases on the Southwest Premier Card?

Southwest Premier cardholders earn 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases, and 2x points on local transit, commuting and rideshare purchases.

6

How long does it take for sign-up bonus points to post to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account?

Per the terms and conditions, it can take up to eight weeks for your sign-up bonus to post to your Rapid Rewards account. However, points typically post much quicker than that in practice.

Your Southwest sign-up bonus may take eight weeks to reach the Rapid Rewards program.

7

Does the Southwest Credit Card offer primary rental car insurance?

Personal Southwest credit cards offer secondary rental car insurance on rentals within the United States. If you’re looking for a Southwest credit card with primary rental car insurance, consider the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card – which offers primary car rental coverage when renting for business purposes.

You can also see all credit cards with primary car rental coverage.

8

What are the benefits of getting a Southwest business card instead?

If you’re a small business owner, consider getting the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card to get 4x points on Southwest purchases, 3x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners, and 2x on social media and search engine advertising.

Plus, you’ll get perks like four Upgraded Boardings, up to 365 Wi-Fi statement credits, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit.

9

Should you consolidate debt on Southwest credit cards?

We don’t recommend that you consolidate debt on a Southwest credit card. Southwest cards charge punitively high balance transfer APR, even for those with a high credit score.

10

Is it better to get a Southwest credit card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card?

Southwest credit cards offer Southwest-specific perks like EarlyBird Check-In and the ability to earn points toward the Companion Pass and Tier Qualifying Points toward A-List Status.

The benefit of getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Southwest and 10 other airline partners, making the points you earn much more flexible.

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