Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card Review 2024

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card packs in plenty of perks. If you’re considering applying for it, here’s the most important thing to know: Although it comes with an annual fee of $149, it also comes with a $75 annual travel credit that can be used for flights on Southwest. If you max out the travel credit each year, that can significantly reduce your overall cost. It also might make this card more palatable than its $99-annual-fee sibling card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*.

The other key detail of this card—and any other Southwest Rapid Rewards card—is that the airline has no travel transfer or airline network partners. In other words, you’ll be earning rewards on this card with the expectation that you’ll use them to book future flights on Southwest. You cannot redeem your earnings for a statement credit.

Cushioning that prickly point are the card’s four upgraded A1 to A15 boarding positions per year (if available on the day of travel). If you’ve ever boarded a Southwest flight, you know that the process isn’t similar to other airlines—anyone can stake their claim on any open seat. The card’s included four free upgraded boarding passes can help you tame your unruly onboarding experience. Purchasing an upgraded boarding pass can cost $30 to $80 depending on your flight. With the upgraded boarding perk, you can charge the fee to your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card at the departure gate or ticket counter and receive a statement credit.

Keep in mind that if you currently have either of the other two Southwest credit cards or received a bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card or the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card* in the past 24 months but closed the card, you’re not eligible to open the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. In that case, you could request a product change from Chase to upgrade your card.

• $149 annual fee
• Redeem $75 in Southwest Airlines travel credits per year
• Earn 7,500 Rapid Rewards points every year on your cardmember anniversary
• Earn 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases, 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental purchases, 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming and 1 point per dollar on other purchases
• Get reimbursed for upgraded boarding up to four times per year
• No foreign transaction fees

Earning Rewards

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card earns 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases, 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental purchases, 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

The card also offers a welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The Southwest Companion Pass® is a benefit that allows you to bring a designated plus one on any Southwest flight for just the cost of taxes and fees, and this card can help you earn that benefit more quickly.

There’s no limit to the number of points you can earn, but this card isn’t the best option for your everyday spending due to its low regular earning rate.

Redeeming Rewards

The Rapid Rewards program is a revenue-based program and you can redeem your points directly through the airline’s website. There are no blackout dates, which means that any seat can be booked with rewards as long as it’s available to be booked with cash. In general, you can expect around 1.3 cents per point in value when used on Southwest flights.

Although Southwest doesn’t partner with any other airlines, Rapid Rewards points can be used to book international flights on dozens of airlines to destinations that the carrier doesn’t service. However, the value of your points drops dramatically when used this way.

Additionally, Rapid Rewards points can be used to book hotel nights and car rentals via the airline’s travel portal or redeemed for merchant gift cards, but again, the points aren’t worth as much if you do this. We don’t recommend redeeming your points this way.

Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, we look at the bonus categories and calculate what an example American household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $116,000 annually and has $36,177 in annual purchases that can reasonably be put on credit cards.

• $75 Southwest annual travel credit: Note that this applies only toward flights and not priority boarding passes or in-flight purchases.
• 25% in-flight purchase discount: Get a statement credit for drinks or Wi-Fi purchases made with your card while in-flight.
• Purchase protection: Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Extended warranty protection: Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
• Lost luggage reimbursement: If your luggage is damaged or lost by the carrier, you’re covered up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Baggage delay insurance: Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over six hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for three days.

If you’re approved for the Visa Signature version of this card, you’ll also receive:

• Travel and emergency assistance services: Call your benefit administrator while away from home if you need legal, medical or other travel emergency assistance services at a cost.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 21.49%-28.49% variable
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $149
• Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater.
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: $0

Here’s how the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card stacks up against its siblings:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*

If you tend to travel a lot, you likely also need a place to lay your head at night. You might find that the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card* could be a better fit for your wanderlust. The $95-annual-fee card earns 6 points per dollar at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3 points per dollar spent each year (up to $6,000) on combined grocery stores, gas stations and dining purchases and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases.

Bonvoy points can also be transferred to over two dozen airline frequent flyer programs, including Southwest, typically at a 3:1 ratio. Plus, for every 60,000 points transferred from Bonvoy to an airline, you’ll get a 5,000 mile bonus. This could make the Boundless card a more flexible travel pick since you don’t have to remain loyal to one airline.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*

Travelers looking for a rewarding all-purpose travel credit card might opt for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*, which earns 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

The points earned on this card are worth at least 1.25 cents each when used for travel through Chase Travel, but you can often squeeze a lot more value out of them by transferring them to one of Chase’s many airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 rate, including Southwest. This card also comes with a long list of travel protections like trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement, travel and emergency assistance services and primary rental car collision damage coverage.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card vs. United℠ Explorer Card

Another option to consider beyond a Southwest-branded card is the United℠ Explorer Card. For a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95, the card earns 2 miles per dollar on dining including eligible delivery services, hotel stays and United® purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

United Airlines is part of Star Alliance, which means you can use your miles to book award flights on more than two dozen airline partners. You’ll also get up to $100 as a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years, 25% back as a statement credit on in-flight purchases, a first free checked bag perk, priority boarding and access to expanded award availability.

Read more: Best Credit Cards of 2024

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is an ideal pick for the Southwest loyalist who can maximize the card’s perks. But if you’re seeking greater flexibility and think you may occasionally fly on other airlines, you may want to seek a card with greater range.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards