Please note: The Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card * The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is currently unavailable through this site.
Pros:
- Earn 3 points for every dollar you spend on Southwest? purchases, 2 points on local transit and commuting (including ride-shares), internet, cable, phone services and select streaming services, hotels and car rentals booked through the Rapid Rewards travel site and 1 point for all other purchases.
- 6,000 bonus points every year on your card holder anniversary starting with the second year you have the card.
- 25% discount in the form of a statement credit back on in-flight purchases.
- Two EarlyBird Check-In? credits per year.
- Earn tier-qualifying points toward A-List elite status.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Cons:
- Not as many travel protection benefits as other Chase credit cards.
- No introductory rate on purchases or balance transfers.
- $99 annual fee.
Current welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Best for: Southwest flyers who want a credit card with no foreign transaction fees and the opportunity to earn tier-qualifying points toward Southwest’s A-List elite status.
*The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card * The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. has been collected by CNN Underscored Money. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel? value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO? credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Digging into the Southwest Premier credit card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card * The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. costs just $99 per year, making it the mid-tier option within the airline’s family of credit cards. With a sub-$100 annual fee, it’s easy to try out the card to see if it works for your family.
While the card costs $30 more a year than the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Plus Credit Card (which has a $69 annual fee), it’s fairly easy to offset that extra cost. That’s because starting with the second year you have the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card * The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. and every year thereafter, you’ll earn 6,000 bonus points on your card holder anniversary. Those 6,000 points are worth $84 when redeemed for the airline’s “Wanna Get Away” fares, which effectively offsets almost the entire annual fee each year.
You’ll also earn more points on Southwest travel spend with the Southwest Premier Credit Card card, along with the opportunity to earn qualifying points toward A-List elite status and no foreign transaction fees. Unfortunately, though, you’ll be missing out on many of the benefits that come along with the more expensive Southwest Rapid Rewards? Priority Credit Card*, such as travel statement credits, upgraded boarding and a discount on in-flight drinks and Wi-Fi.
But the real benefit of the Southwest Premier Credit Card card is that all points earned count towards the qualifying points needed to earn the coveted Southwest Companion Pass?. With the Companion Pass, a friend or family member can fly with you for free (plus taxes and fees) an unlimited number of times throughout the life of the pass, which expires Dec. 31 the year after the pass is earned.
Currently, you need 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year to earn a full-length Southwest Companion Pass, which expires on Dec. 31 the year after the pass is earned. However, if you have one of the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card on the first day of the year, you’ll receive a 10,000 boost per year. All points earned with the Southwest Premier Credit Card card count as qualifying points needed to earn the pass, including the 50,000 bonus points from the welcome offer (50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening), along with any points you earn from using the card. Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth about 1.4 cents per point when redeeming on a “Wanna Get Away” ticket.
So after earning the welcome bonus on the Southwest Premier Credit Card, you can earn the remaining Companion Pass-qualifying points with the everyday purchases you make on the card, as well as Southwest flights and partner activity, such as purchases made through the Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal, car rentals and hotel stays.
Advantages of the Southwest Premier credit card
Points earned on the Southwest Premier Credit Card card never expire, and you’ll never have to worry about blackout dates or seat restrictions when redeeming your points. That’s because the number of points required for a free flight on Southwest is directly tied to the cash cost of the ticket, so a low-priced ticket means a lower number of points required for the seat. Southwest also doesn’t charge any change or cancellation fees when altering a ticket booked with points, so if your plans change, it’s easy to get your points back for free.
Additionally, all purchases you make with the Southwest Premier Credit Card card can help you earn A-List or A-List Preferred elite status on Southwest. With every $10,000 in purchases on the card, you’ll earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs). Thanks to a recent enhancement, there’s no longer any limit to the number of qualifying points you can earn this way, which means you can theoretically earn Southwest elite status solely by using your Southwest Premier Credit Card credit card.
To earn A-List status, you need to earn 35,000 Tier Qualifying Points in a calendar year, while A-List Preferred requires 70,000 TQPs. While we don’t recommend putting that much spending on your credit card solely to earn status, this is a great way to combine points earned from flying with points earned with your credit card.
The Southwest Premier Credit Card card also now comes with two EarlyBird Check-In credits per year. With EarlyBird Check-In, Southwest will automatically check you into your flight prior to the traditional 24-hour check-in window. Since Southwest doesn’t offer assigned seats but instead awards boarding positions based on the earliest check-in time, you’ll end up having a better boarding position and the opportunity to select your preferred seat with EarlyBird Check-In.
Normally, EarlyBird Check-In is an add-on option that typically costs between $15 and $25 each way, so if you take advantage of the two credits on the Southwest Premier Credit Card card, you could save as much as an additional $50 each year.
Other perks of having the Southwest Premier Credit Card card include 25% back in the form of a statement credit on in-flight purchases, shopping protection benefits and no foreign transaction fees.
Disadvantages of the Southwest Premier credit card
The Southwest Premier Credit Card card isn’t great when it comes to bonus categories. While it now earns 3 points for every dollar you spend on Southwest? purchases and 2 points per dollar on select other purchases, most of your everyday purchases will still only earn 1 point per dollar.
Since Southwest points are generally worth 1.4 cents apiece when redeemed for the carrier’s Wanna Get Away fares, that means you’re only earning an effective 1.4% return on most of your purchases.
Other travel cards can earn a better return. For instance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card earns 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and select online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), and 2 points per dollar on all travel purchases (or 5 points per dollar if purchased through Chase Travel?). You then have the flexibility to transfer your Chase points to Southwest at a 1-to-1 ratio, or to one of the other 13 airline and hotel partner loyalty programs.
Another downside of the is that you won’t get the same travel protection benefits that come with many other Chase credit cards. While the offers car rental collision insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance and travel accident insurance, it doesn’t offer some of the better benefits, such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance as well as trip delay insurance. Additionally, the car rental insurance is secondary to your personal car rental insurance, while other cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card, offer primary car rental insurance.
Also, keep in mind that there are several restrictions when applying for Southwest credit cards. With all three Southwest personal credit cards — the Plus, Premier and Priority — you’re only eligible to get the card if you don’t already have another personal Southwest credit card, and haven’t received a welcome bonus on any of the three cards within the past 24 months. And with all Chase cards, you won’t get approved if you’ve opened five or more credit cards across all banks in the last 24 months (also known as Chase’s “5/24” rule).
Other credit cards similar to the Southwest Premier
Within the Southwest family, there are actually five different credit cards — three personal and two business cards — so there are four other Southwest cards to consider.
On the personal side, the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Plus Credit Card has slightly fewer benefits than the Southwest Premier Credit Card but a lower annual fee. The anniversary bonus points on the Southwest Premier Credit Card can make up for the difference in cost, but only if you keep the card for at least a few years.
Or, if you’re a Southwest frequent flyer who’s looking for a card with lots of benefits, then you’ll want to consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Priority Credit Card. The earning rates on the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Priority Credit Card are the same as the Southwest Premier Credit Card, but you’ll get a $75 Southwest annual travel credit, four upgraded boardings per year and 7,500 bonus points (worth $105 toward Wanna Get Away fares) on every card holder anniversary starting with the second year you have the card.
Finally, if you’re looking for a card that provides more flexibility but still offers the opportunity to redeem points on Southwest, you might want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve?. Points from both cards transfer to Southwest, along with many other travel partners, such as JetBlue, United and Hyatt, at a 1-to-1 ratio. But keep in mind that points earned on these two cards won’t count toward the Southwest Companion Pass like they do on Southwest credit cards.
Should you get the Southwest Premier credit card?
If you’re looking for a Southwest card solely to earn the Southwest Companion Pass — and you don’t need a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees — then you might consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Plus Credit Card instead of the Southwest Premier Credit Card, since it’s cheaper and currently comes with the same welcome bonus. And if you want a card with additional perks when you’re flying on Southwest, the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Priority Credit Card is the way to go.
But if you fly Southwest just a few times per year and don’t need all of the benefits that come along with the Southwest Rapid Rewards? Priority Credit Card?, but you also want a Southwest card that can help you earn elite status and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees when you’re traveling overseas, then the?Southwest Premier Credit Card?card is definitely one to consider.
All information about Southwest Rapid Rewards? Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
