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Southwest Credit Card Lineup Gets a Revamp
It was inevitable, right? With all the changes over at Southwest, especially the addition of seat selection and baggage fees, the Southwest credit cards had to be refreshed to accommodate additional benefits like bag fee waivers.
Unfortunately, perhaps also inevitable with all the inflation we’ve seen the last 5 years, the cards will all have their annual fees raised.
Currently the Business cards have a $199 fee (Performance) and $99 fee (Premier) while the personal cards range from $69 (Plus) to $99 (Premier) to $149 (Priority).
The Business Performance card has the biggest annual fee increase – $299 instead of $199 or an increase of $100. The Business Premier goes from $99 to $149. The personal cards go up $80 for the Priority, $50 for the Premier, and $30 for the Plus.
To soften the blow here a bit for new cardmembers, though, all of the personal cards will sport limited time offer wherein new Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority, Premier, or Plus Consumer Credit Cardmembers can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 5 months from account opening. This is the best offer this year on these cards.
I confirmed with Chase that there have been no changes at all in terms of bonus offer eligibility which remains at 24 months since your last bonus on any personal card to get a new personal Southwest card (and you can’t hold any of the 3 personal cards). And then you can still get / hold one or both business cards in addition. So there’s no overall change to the strategy to get up to two years of companion pass with 1-2 credit cards – at least not yet… Plus, these personal card offers get you within 25,000 Companion Pass qualifying points if you aren’t eligible for a business card.
You can grab these offers at the links below.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Let’s take a look at the updated annual fees and benefits below.
FYI, Chase tells me that existing earning categories across the Card portfolio, including the ability to earn 2X points on internet, cable and phone services, Rapid Rewards Hotels and Car Rental Partners and more, are available through December 31, 2025.
Plus and Premier Consumer and Business Cardmembers continue to have access to their two EarlyBird Check-In®s, and Priority and Performance Cards continue to have access to their four Upgraded Boardings for flights operating in 2025.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card ($229 Annual Fee)
New benefits:
- Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost. For a group of 4 this would be a savings of up to $280 roundtrip ($35 per bag per trip).
- 4X points on Southwest Airlines eligible purchases, previously 3X points
- 2X points at gas stations and restaurants, with no annual cap
- Standard or Preferred seat selection at booking, when available for the Cardmember and up to eight passengers traveling on the same reservation (for flights operating in 2026)
- Unlimited upgrades to Extra Legroom seats within 48 hours prior to departure, when available and at no additional charge, for the Cardmember and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation
- Earlier boarding – the Cardmember, and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation, can board in Group 5
- 2,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually, previously 1,500 TQPs
- Find additional benefits and details here.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card ($149 Annual Fee)
New benefits:
- Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost. For a group of 4 this would be a savings of up to $280 roundtrip ($35 per bag per trip).
- 2X points on first $8,000 in combined spend at grocery stores and restaurants each anniversary year
- Standard or Preferred seat selection within 48 hours prior to departure, when available, for the Cardmember and up to eight passengers traveling on the same reservation (for flights operating in 2026)
- Earlier boarding – the Cardmember, and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation, can board in Group 5
- One promotional code for a 15% flight discount each anniversary year (except Basic fare)
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card ($99 Annual Fee)
New benefits:
- Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost. For a group of 4 this would be a savings of up to $280 roundtrip ($35 per bag per trip).
- 2X points on first $5,000 in combined spend at gas stations and grocery stores each anniversary year
- Standard seat selection within 48 hours prior to departure, when available, for the Cardmember and up to eight passengers traveling on the same reservation (for flights operating in 2026)
- Earlier boarding – the Cardmember, and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation, can board in Group 5
- One promotional code for a 10% flight discount each anniversary year (except Basic fare)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Find full list of benefits and additional details here
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card ($299 Annual Fee)
New Benefits:
- Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost. For a group of 4 this would be a savings of up to $280 roundtrip ($35 per bag per trip).
- 2X points on spend at gas stations and restaurants, with no annual cap
- 2X points on all hotel purchases
- 2X points on local transit, rideshare and commuting
- Standard or Preferred Seat Selection at booking, when available, for the Cardmember and up to eight passengers traveling on the same reservation (for flights operating in 2026)
- Unlimited upgrades to Extra Legroom seats within 48 hours prior to departure, when available and at no additional charge, for the Cardmember and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation
- Earlier boarding – the Cardmember, and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation, can board in Group 5
- 2,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually, previously 1,500 TQPs
- Find additional benefits and details here
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card ($149 Annual Fee)
New benefits:
- Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost. For a group of 4 this would be a savings of up to $280 roundtrip ($35 per bag per trip).
- 2X points on first $8,000 in combined spend at gas stations and restaurants each anniversary year
- Standard or Preferred Seat Selection within 48 hours prior to departure, when available, for the Cardmember and up to eight passengers traveling on the same reservation (for flights operating in 2026)
- Earlier boarding – the Cardmember, and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservations, can board in Group 5
- 2,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually, previously 1,500 TQPs
- Promotional code for a 15% flight discount each anniversary year (except Basic fare)
- Find additional benefits and details here
I don’t personally fly Southwest so it’s a bit hard for me to have outsized feelings on the changes, however, it was inevitable that early boarding and free checked bags needed to become a part of the co-branded card’s value proposition.
I do, at first glance, find it interesting that the lower annual fee business card comes with a 15% off flight discount each year while the more expensive one seems to not have one. Then again, the more expensive Performance card does offer the unlimited upgrades to extra legroom at T-48 for you and up to eight more people on the same reservation.
Same on the personal side where the Plus gives a 10% discount yearly, the Premier gives a 15% discount yearly, and the Priority gives none at all – but gives the same unlimited upgrades to extra legroom for you and up to 8 additional passengers on the same itinerary 48 hours before the flight when available.
All of the cards get an identical waiver of the first checked bag only – for you and up to 8 people on the same reservation.
And while Priority cardholders that buy on SW a lot will love the 4X on Southwest flights, the rest of the multipliers added don’t move the needle much when you consider the range of available cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards which can be transferred 1:1 to Southwest (and elsewhere).
As an example the Premier Business will now offer 2X points on first $8,000 in combined spend at gas stations and restaurants each anniversary year.
While Chase does lack a great personal card for gas, it already gives you 3X dining on the Sapphire Reserve, the Freedom Unlimited, and the Freedom Flex. (Note you do need one of the annual fee Ultimate Rewards earning cards to be able to transfer, so an Unlimited on its own would not work).
So even if you did want the Rapid Rewards points, that would be a 50% better way to earn them on dining.
I also have to note a number of benefits went away across the various cards, like $75 Southwest statement credits on the personal cards as well as the free Wifi on the Performance Business and the up to $500 in credits for points transfers. So they did take away quite a bit while adding the new benefits and upping the annual fees.
But overall, the refresh probably ticks all the boxes to keep the cards very relevant for frequent Southwest flyers amid all of the changes to the airline itself.
Thoughts?
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