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Southwest Airlines’ trio of personal/consumer Rapid Rewards credit cards is back with limited-time offers.
And, yes, Southwest card members have free first checked bag, seat selection, and “priority” boarding privileges. One of the cards is a must-have if you fly Southwest at least two or three times a year and value where you sit on the plane.
(All information about the Chase cards below was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. None of it was provided by or reviewed by Chase.)
Southwest Credit Card Welcome Offers
Here are the limited-time promotions:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
- Earn 90,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases within three (3) months of being approved for card membership. This offer expires on July 1, 2026.
- This is the card I hold
- $229 annual fee
- Apply here on Chase’s site
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Earn 85,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after you spend 2,000 in eligible purchases within three (3) months of being approved for card membership. This offer expires on July 1, 2026.
- $149 annual fee
- Apply here on Chase’s site
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Earn 80,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after you spend $1,000 in eligible purchases within three (3) months of being approved for card membership. This offer expires on July 1, 2026.
- $99 annual fee
- Apply here on Chase’s site
What’s the Best Card to Get?
Short answer? the one that works best for your budget and travel needs.
My recommendation: the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
I got this card last year and it’s earned back its $229 annual fee several times over.
- First, I earned 135,000 bonus points to score the Southwest Companion Pass for about 5 months in 2025 and all of this year. My wife traveled for free with me on award bookings during the Thanksgiving holiday period and Mother’s Day weekend, plus a recent trip to our nieces’ graduations. (Actually, we paid $5.60 in fees each way. But we saved tens of thousands of points.) She’s my companion to go see my North Dakota State Bison football team later this fall.
- Next, the Priority Card is the only personal/consumer card that allows members to choose a seat at the time of booking—even on a Basic economy ticket. Plus, you can select a “preferred” seat for free. (Those are generally seats in the front half of the plane.) Within 48 hours of your flight’s departure, you can select a complimentary Extra Legroom seat, inventory permitting. Both my wife and I enjoyed our Extra Legroom experiences.
Southwest Credit Cards
Each gives cardholders 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost each year.
I don’t love cards’ bonus earnings for non-Southwest purchases. They top out at 2X. You’re much better off spending on a Chase points card (think the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, 150,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. , Chase Freedom Flex®, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, etc.) and transferring those points to Rapid Rewards.
New twist: the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card no longer charges foreign transaction fees! They must’ve heard me complain. 🙂
Per the offers’ terms, a respective card isn’t available to either current Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card members or previous Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card members who received a new cardmember bonus within the past 24 months. The fine print also states, “This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.”
Here’s a quick peek at each Southwest card:
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
-
- 4X on Southwest Airlines purchases
- 2X on gas stations
- 2X on restaurants
- 1X on all other eligible purchases
- Free first checked bag for you and up to eight others on your reservation (and your designated Companion Pass passenger)
- Complimentary Preferred Seat at booking
- Select a Preferred seat at booking at no additional charge (average value: $70/round trip)
- Enjoy unlimited upgrades to an Extra Legroom seat within 48 hours prior to departure, at no additional charge, valued, on average, at $150 round trip, when available.
- Group 5 boarding for you and up to eight others on your reservation
- 7,500 bonus points given to you each year upon card renewal. Just because.
- 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost each year
- Unlimited Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs)
- Earn 2,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 you spend on the card each year. There is no limit on the number of TQPs you can earn!
- 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases
- No blackout dates or seat restrictions.
- $229 annual fee.
- Apply here on Chase’s site
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- 3X on Southwest Airlines purchases
- 2X on grocery stores and restaurants (first $8,000 in combined purchases per year)
- 1X on all other eligible purchases
- Free first checked bag for you and up to eight others on your reservation (and your designated Companion Pass passenger)
- Complimentary Preferred or Standard Seat within 48 hours of departure, when available
- Group 5 boarding for you and up to eight others on your reservation
- 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost each year
- Receive 6,000 bonus points each year upon card renewal (starting the second year of card membership)
- Unlimited Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs)
- Earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 you spend on the card. There is no limit on the number of TQPs you can earn!
- 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases
- No blackout dates or seat restrictions.
- $149 annual fee.
- Apply here on Chase’s site
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
-
- 2X on Southwest Airlines purchases
- 2X on grocery stores and gas stations (first $5,000 in combined purchases per year)
- 1X on all other eligible purchases
- 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost each year
- Receive 3,000 bonus points each year upon card renewal (starting the second year of card membership)
- Free first checked bag for you and up to eight others on your reservation (and your designated Companion Pass passenger)
- Complimentary seat assignment within 48 hours of departure
- Group 5 boarding for you and up to eight others on your reservation
- 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases
- No blackout dates or seat restrictions.
- $99 annual fee.
- Apply here on Chase’s site
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
