Best Southwest Airlines credit cards of 2024

Southwest Airlines is a top choice among budget-conscious travelers, and we’re here to help you pick the best Southwest credit card for your lifestyle and flying habits. 

The airline’s unique blend of affordable pricing, straightforward rewards and a generous baggage policy makes it a hit among individuals, families, and business travelers. With more than 4,000 daily flights to 121 airports across 11 countries, there’s a reasonable chance Southwest Airlines flies to your favorite destinations. 

There are three co-branded personal Southwest credit cards and two Southwest business credit cards, all issued by Chase. The bank also offers general travel rewards cards that earn flexible rewards you can transfer at a 1:1 rate to Southwest Rapid Rewards®.

Best Southwest Airlines credit cards

• Best overall: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | Learn more
• Best for occasional Southwest flyers: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | Learn more
• Best for a low annual fee: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Learn more
• Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card | Learn more

Best overall: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card charges the highest annual fee among personal Southwest cards, but it also offers the best (and most valuable) benefits with the airline to more than offset the yearly cost for Southwest loyalists. 

Why we like this card: If you frequently fly on Southwest Airlines, there’s no better card than the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card to earn rewards and access benefits with the airline. 

At first glance, the Southwest Priority earns the same bonus rates as the mid-tier Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card. But it’s the Priority card’s benefits that set it apart from other Southwest cards. 

Cardholders receive a $75 Southwest® annual travel credit each year good towards eligible Southwest Airlines purchases using their card. 

Because of Southwest’s open seating policy, many travelers choose to purchase upgraded boarding, allowing them to board in positions A1-A15. The Premier card reimburses cardholders for the purchase of up to four upgraded boardings per anniversary year. Also, you’ll receive 7,500 anniversary points each year. 

Other airline-specific perks include 25% back on in-flight purchases and a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points annually (earning the Southwest Companion Pass requires 100 qualifying one-way flights or 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year).  

That said, while there’s a lot to love about the Southwest Priority card, it comes with just a couple travel protections—lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance—a less robust list than one might expect from a card with a $149 annual fee. 

Check out our full review of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card.

Best for occasional Southwest flyers: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

For casual travelers who fly Southwest up to a few times annually, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers moderate Southwest perks and high earning power with a reasonable $99 annual fee.

Why we like this card: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card earns the same bonus rates as Southwest Priority but with a lower annual fee, which is easily covered through its benefits. It’s a great option if Southwest is just one of the airlines you enjoy flying or you only book a few flights per year.

Cardholders receive 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year, which automatically check you in for flights before the airline’s 24-hour check-in period for an earlier boarding position. Also, every card anniversary, Southwest drops 6,000 points in your Rapid Rewards account. 

And, for every $5,000 you spend using your Priority card, you’ll earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status (A-List status requires 20 qualifying one-way flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year.) This status includes perks such as priority boarding, a dedicated lane at the Southwest check-in counter and a special A-List customer service phone line.

You also enjoy 25% back on in-flight purchases and a boost of 10,000 Companion Qualifying points per year. 

Check out our full review of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card.

Best for a low annual fee: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card offers entry-level airline perks and rewards with a $69 annual fee, the lowest among all Southwest credit cards.

Why we like this card: If you enjoy flying Southwest but don’t want to pay an expensive annual fee, like those charged for Chase’s higher tier Southwest cards, consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card. 

The Southwest Plus offers a lower rewards rate on Southwest purchases and fewer benefits than the other personal Southwest credit cards, but there’s still enough value to offset the smaller annual fee and warrant a look. As a cardholder, you receive 3,000 anniversary points each year. It still comes with 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year, 25% back on in-flight purchases and a 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost annually. 

However, if you travel internationally, beware this card’s 3% (of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars) foreign transaction fee—a particularly unfortunate fee for an airline card to levy.

Check out our full review of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card. 

Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card earns flexible rewards good toward travel bookings through the issuer’s portal, cash back, and other redemptions—including transfers to Southwest Airlines and other airline and hotel partners.

Why we like this card: The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a frequent flyer on “Best Of” lists and for good reason. While it’s not the most luxurious travel rewards card, it offers an incredibly valuable blend of flexible rewards, card benefits and travel protections, all for a  $95 annual fee. 

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you gain entry into Chase Ultimate Rewards®, the issuer’s versatile rewards program. The card earns above-average rates in categories like travel, dining and streaming services. Points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for cash back, but use your Sapphire Preferred redeem points for travel bookings through Chase Travel and you’ll get 25% more value per point.

Though the Sapphire Preferred doesn’t come with any Southwest-specific benefits, you can transfer your points at a 1:1 rate to 14 airline and hotel partner programs, including Southwest Rapid Rewards. 

This card also comes with a more robust list of travel protections than the co-branded Southwest cards do: trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement, and primary rental car coverage. 

Finally, cardholders can receive up to $50 in statement credits each anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠. 

Check out our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

What is the Southwest Rapid Rewards® program?

Southwest Rapid Rewards is the airline’s loyalty program. Through Rapid Rewards, you can earn points on qualifying flights and other select purchases. Rapid Rewards points are redeemable for flights, hotel stays, gift cards, merchandise experiences, events and statement credits to reimburse eligible expenses. 

Rapid Rewards members receive benefits like no blackout dates and unlimited rewards seats. Points earned through the program don’t expire, so you can use them as they’re earned or save them up until the time is right for that big trip you’ve been looking forward to.  

As a member, you can unlock additional airline perks through the program’s two elite status tiers, which are A-List and A-List Preferred. Rapid Rewards status comes with benefits like priority boarding, free same-day standby and same-day changes, dedicated A-List member support and access to Priority Lanes and Express Lanes at the airport. 

Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is arguably the most coveted companion pass offering available. With the companion pass, you can designate one person to fly with you free of charge when you purchase or redeem rewards for a flight (though you’ll still have to pay taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 one way).

Timing is everything with the Southwest Companion Pass. Once you earn the pass, it is good for the remainder of the current year plus the next full calendar year. Earning the pass as early in the year as possible gives you the highest potential value. 

Southwest offers a few ways to earn a companion pass. The most challenging path to a companion pass is booking 100 qualifying one-way flights. Another option is to earn 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year. Welcome bonuses count towards this total, making getting a new card and earning the bonus one of the quickest ways to qualify for a companion pass. 

How to choose the best Southwest credit card

Finding the best Southwest card from the range of choices depends largely on your travel and spending habits. If you regularly fly Southwest and want access to the airline’s best benefits, one of its top-tier cards makes the most sense. If not, the entry-level Rapid Rewards Plus card is probably a better choice. Southwest personal cards earn points in the same spending categories, though the Plus card has a less generous earning rate than its bigger siblings on Southwest purchases.

Another factor to consider is the card’s annual fee. Paying an annual fee isn’t a bad thing, especially if you can squeeze considerable value out of the card through rewards and benefits. Annual fees range from $69 to $149 for Southwest Airlines personal cards and $99 to $199 for Southwest Airlines business cards. 

Alternatively, if you like flying Southwest but aren’t exclusively loyal to the airline, a travel card that lets you transfer points to Southwest may be the sweet spot for your travel habits. Consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you’re an occasional traveler, or its big brother the Chase Sapphire Reserve® if you’re a frequent traveler in need of extensive perks.  

How to maximize the value of your Southwest credit card

Follow these tips to get the most out of your Southwest Airlines credit card. 

• Use your card for daily spending: Use your card for Southwest and other purchases to earn more Rapid Rewards points. 
• Earn the welcome bonus: The quickest way to boost your Southwest points balance is to plan ahead and ensure you can meet the spending requirement needed to earn your new card’s welcome bonus. 
• Qualify for a companion pass: If you frequently travel with the same person, earning the Southwest Companion Pass is a great way to save money on flights. 
• Redeem your points for flights: Rapid Rewards points are redeemable in several ways, but award flights will almost always offer the most value. 
• Use your card benefits: Southwest cards offer incredible value through the card benefits included, but they are only valuable if you use them every year you own the card. For example, making an eligible Southwest purchase (such as a ticket) on your Priority card and triggering the $75 Southwest® annual travel credit each year effectively recoups half your annual fee in one fell swoop.   

Frequently asked questions

Is a Southwest credit card worth it?

Having a Southwest credit card is a great option if you regularly fly Southwest and the airline offers flights out of your home airport and to your preferred destinations. Each Southwest card offers enough value to offset its fee, provided you use it to earn rewards and take advantage of card benefits. If you don’t fly Southwest, or typically don’t fly when you travel, a different airline rewards card or a hotel card may be more useful to you.

Which banks issue Southwest credit cards? 

Chase is the credit card issuer for all Southwest co-branded credit cards. It’s also the primary issuer with cards that earn rewards that transfer to Southwest Rapid Rewards, thanks to its famous Sapphire family of travel rewards cards. (Points can also be transferred from a Marriott credit card to Southwest Rapid Rewards, and some Marriott cards are Chase-issued while others are by American Express.)

How do you transfer Chase points to Southwest Rapid Rewards? 

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest and other travel partners through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Navigate to the “Transfer to Travel Partners” section within your online account, select Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards from the list of travel partners, enter the number of points you want to transfer in increments of 1,000 and complete the transfer. 

Does my Southwest credit card pay for Global Entry?

Not if you have one of the personal Southwest cards. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is the only Southwest credit card that offers an application fee credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS. The benefit reimburses cardholders up to $100 every four years for application fees for one of these three trusted traveler programs. 

Can you have multiple Southwest credit cards?

You could technically have all five Southwest co-branded credit cards, but it doesn’t necessarily make sense to have that many, especially if you lose out on welcome bonuses. Southwest bonus guidelines for personal cards state that “this product is available to you if you do not have a current Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months.” 

You’re also subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule—an unwritten by widely known rule which essentially boils down to the fact that Chase will reject your application for one of their cards if you have opened five or more credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months. 

Having one personal and one business Southwest card could make sense if you want more than one Southwest card and you operate a small business of some kind.

Does Southwest offer free checked bags?

Yes. Whereas many other airlines will charge you to check a bag, unless you have a co-branded card that specifically offers a free checked bag as a benefit, Southwest offers travelers two free checked bags—provided your bags don’t exceed the weight and size limits.

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Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.