I Chose Southwest as a Preferred Airline for My American Express Incidental Credit!

You read that correctly. I picked Southwest — the “no fee airline” — as the preferred carrier of an American Express card’s annual airline incidental credit perk.

I hold two American Express cards with annual airline incidental credits:

• American Express Platinum Card® ($200 annual airline incidental credit)
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express ($200 annual airline incidental credit)

Delta was my preferred airline for all three cards during the past several years.

But I changed it up this year after writing yesterday’s post. I’m experimenting with Southwest as my preferred airline on the American Express® Gold Card. (Update: the airline incidental credit benefit is no longer offered as part of the Amex Gold Card.)

Why Didn’t I Choose Delta For All Three?

I fly Delta for about 85% of my travel.

Now that purchasing Delta gift cards is officially done-zo for statement reimbursement, the Amex credit is harder and harder to use.

Why?

Between my Medallion status and Delta Amex credit cards, I never pay for checked baggage.

I usually upgrade to Comfort+ right after booking (at least, if an exit row falls into C+ or a good bulkhead is available). And I end up in first class from time to time. So I rarely pay for cocktails.

The Amex credit on those items is thus unnecessary.

However, I kept Delta as the preferred airline for my American Express Platinum Card® and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Because my daughter is now two years old and gets charged for Sky Club admission, I’ll use the Platinum cards to offset those entrance fees. (We’ll burn through our Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card Sky Club guest passes before summer.) Plus, we’ll use the credit for Flight Fuel snacks on longer flights.

About $25 of my Amex Gold $100 credit went unused last year on Delta. That’s why I made a slight change this year.

Why I Selected Southwest for My Amex Incidental Credit

The other 15% of my travel is mostly aboard Southwest. A couple of my clients (who arrange their contractors’ travel) love the airline of LUV. Southwest’s prices and flexible-ish cancellation and rebooking policies are very business-friendly.

Plus, my wife and I have family in the San Francisco Bay Area and close friends in Las Vegas. As much as we love Delta, it’s far easier for us to fly Southwest from Burbank than LAX.

I usually don’t check bags when I travel alone. Even when flying Southwest — which allows two free checked bags per paying passenger — I almost always carry on. Even when I fly with my wife and daughter, Southwest’s baggage allowance is more than enough for the three of us. So the Amex airline incidental credit can’t help me there.

(Note: Southwest ended its free checked bag policy for most passengers in May 2025. The first bag now runs $35, the second $45 — which actually makes the incidental credit more useful for Southwest flyers than it was when I wrote this.)

I also won’t need the Amex incidental credit to cover cancellation or change fees. Southwest doesn’t charge them. The only amount one pays when modifying a reservation is a fare difference — if any.

I’ve read reports that inflight WiFi doesn’t credit, so I’m on the hook for those purchases.

So where exactly will the credit go?

Boarding Position — Then and Now

When I wrote this in 2020, EarlyBird Check-In was the incidental credit use case for Southwest — pay to auto-check-in 36 hours before departure, get a better A/B/C boarding position, score the exit row. That product and that whole boarding system are both gone now.

Southwest ended open seating on January 27, 2026. The airline now assigns seats at booking, with eight boarding groups tied to your fare bundle, elite status, and seat type. If you want a good seat on Southwest today, the levers are your fare class and Rapid Rewards status — not a credit card workaround.

What has replaced the EarlyBird angle — at least for me — is Extra Legroom seats. Southwest now offers dedicated extra-pitch rows bookable in advance. Priority cardholders, A-List members, and A-List Preferred members can snag one within 48 hours of departure at no extra charge when seats are open. I’ve flown a few of these now and wrote up my honest take here — the short version is that the legroom is legitimately impressive, more than Delta Comfort+, and the dedicated overhead bin space is real.

Inflight Beverages

Southwest’s drink prices have climbed since 2020: spirits now run $9, beer $7, and wine $8. Still reasonable by airline standards — and still a plausible use of an incidental credit if the purchase codes correctly.

One thing worth knowing: Southwest has been running periodic free drink days — promotional windows where inflight alcoholic beverages are complimentary for all passengers. I covered one of those here. On those days the incidental credit angle is moot — but it’s a nice perk to know about. Also, Extra Legroom seat passengers now receive one complimentary premium drink as part of their seat benefit, so if you’re in that tier, you may not need to spend anything on beverages at all.

Not to mention, my in-laws are big Southwest fans. One of them is an authorized user on my Gold Card, so they can enjoy free drinks for a few Southwest flights.

Did I Make a Good Decision?

I guess we’ll find out by the end of December. In the meantime, what do you think of my choice?

— Chris