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We give the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card three out of five Stars. For a relatively small annual fee, you’ll be able to make your traveling experiences more rewarding, and earn the chance to bring along a friend for a whole year. But it doesn’t quite stack up to the other cards in the Southwest Airlines family.
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card is one of many cards offered through the airline. It’s the lowest annual fee card, but therefore carries the fewest benefits.
It still can be somewhat useful. It’ll help you earn a Companion Pass faster, which is an additional ticket for one person of your choosing to fly with you for an entire year.
Although they have higher annual fees, the other Southwest Airlines cards offer better perks, including travel credits that bring their effective annual fees down.
So for around the same price as this card, you could gain better perks and a travel credit, all the while earning extra points towards a Companion Pass. It’s a good idea to check out the other options before settling on this one.
Here’s an overview of all the cards co-branded with Southwest Airlines:
Card | Annual Fee | Rewards |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (This review) | $69 |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (Review) | $99 |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Review) | $149 |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | $99 |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | $199 |
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If you prefer a different airline or don’t want to be tied to one at all, take a look at our favorite travel cards.
If you do have plans to leave the U.S., there are other travel cards available with no foreign transaction fee, including the other Southwest cards above.
You can earn 2X points per dollar for all purchases made through Southwest Airlines, or with Southwest’s hotel and car rental partners. You’ll get 1X point for everything else.
If you redeem your points through Southwest they’ll likely be worth around 1.3 cents, or more. At that rate, you’ll get a cash back equivalent of around 2.6% for the 2X categories and about 1.3% everywhere else.
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The points you earn — whether you’re spending with Southwest or anyone else — will also count towards a Southwest Companion Pass. However, you’ll need to either fly 100 one-way flights or earn 125,000 points in order to unlock it.
That’s a tall order, but if you manage to reach it, every time you purchase or redeem points for a flight, you’ll get a free ticket for a friend or family member. You’ll have the opportunity to take someone along for the remainder of the year you hit the spending cap, and for the full duration of the following calendar year.
The welcome bonus with this card is pretty great, and has a relatively low spending requirement to reach.
There are no limits to the points you can earn.
Your points, on average, are worth about 1.3 cents according to our research, but you might be able to find more (or less) value depending on the flight you’re using them to book. Just like ticket prices, redemption values may fluctuate.
You have a few options available when it comes to how to use your points. You can redeem them for:
You’ll get the best value when redeeming for flights through Southwest or its travel partners. There are no blackout dates for Southwest award flights.
We found most award flights produce a point value of around 1.3 cents, which isn’t too high but it’s still pretty good.
Rental Car Partners | Hotel Partners |
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Alamo | Southwest Hotels |
AVIS | Best Western |
Hertz | Radisson Rewards |
Budget | Choice Hotels |
Dollar Car Rental | Rocketmiles |
National Car Rental | MGM Resorts International |
Payless Car Rental | Mariott Bonvoy |
Thrifty Car Rental | World of Hyatt |
Take a look at a few point value calculations we’ve done for different flights, which all come out to around 1.3 cents:
Flight | Cash | Point Cost | Point Value |
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Rochester to Denver | $481.48 | 36,417 + $5.60 | 1.32 cents |
Cleveland to Philadelphia | $508.48 | 38,523 + $5.60 | 1.32 cents |
Orlando to Chicago | $516.48 | 39,147 + $5.60 | 1.32 cents |
Houston to Phoenix | $578.48 | 43,983 + $5.60 | 1.32 cents |
Chicago to Indianapolis | $242.48 | 17,775 + $5.60 | 1.36 cents |
How you redeem your points will affect their value, making them worth more or less. If you’re planning your trip far enough ahead, you may be able to wait to book and look for a better deal. If you can’t find a good point value, consider paying with your card and saving your points for later.
The benefits attached to the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus card are minimal unfortunately, but you will gain some useful travel and shopping protections. Some cards will be issued with expanded Visa Signature benefits, while others will be issued the less impressive Visa Platinum benefits. Check the Guide to Benefits that comes with your card to make sure you understand which benefits your specific account has.
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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15.99% - 22.99% Variable | 15.99% - 22.99% Variable | 24.99% Variable |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
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$69 | 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. | Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater. |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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None | None | Up to $38 |
Take note of the foreign transaction fee, which is rare to find on airline cards. If you’re going to be traveling outside the country, it’d be a good idea to consider a travel card that doesn’t carry a fee.
There are other cards in the Southwest Airlines family that you may wish to look at first, like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Review).
Its annual fee is a bit higher, but it offers a $75 annual travel credit that effectively drops it to $74.
That’s pretty close to what the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card asks, but the Premier offers more cost-saving benefits. It also doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee, so you won’t have to worry about using your card overseas.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card can be pretty rewarding, if you fly with Southwest Airlines. The bulk of its value comes from the ability to expedite the unlocking of a Companion Pass, and earning more points to fund your travels.
It’s probably best used as a beginner travel card, as it doesn’t have very many benefits like travel credits or priority boarding. However, you’d be better off choosing the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Review), which offers more for your money.
But if you like the Plus card and start to travel more often, you could upgrade to better cards in the Southwest Airlines family. For a more sizable annual fee, you’ll get some handy benefits to make your traveling experiences more enjoyable and cost effective.
Just follow the link below. You’ll be able to securely get to the credit card issuer’s site where you can fill out an application. You’ll typically hear back instantly if you’ve been approved or not.
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card is designed for people with good credit.
If you’re within 670–739 for FICO or 700–749 for VantageScore, you’re considered to have good credit.
But having good credit doesn’t mean you’re definitely going to get the card. When deciding if you’re eligible for a card or not, credit card issuers take more into account than just your credit scores, like income.
You’ll have a better chance the higher your scores, but even people within the recommended range might not get the card. And, people outside the range still have a shot.
Include your Rapid Rewards account number when you apply and your credit card account should be linked to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account. Otherwise, you’ll need to contact Chase card services in order to connect your Rapid Rewards Plus card to your Rapid Rewards account.
Take a look at some of the places you’ll earn Rapid Rewards points, and how to get the best value for them.
On average, your points are worth around 1–1.5 cents. Based on our research, you’ll often find a 1.3 cent value when redeeming through Southwest Airlines, or its travel partners.
No, your points won’t expire.
The annual fee for this card is $69. There are other cards in the Southwest Airlines family with higher fees but greater benefits.
For example, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Review) has an annual fee of $149 but also features an annual $75 travel credit. So that effectively drops the fee to $74, putting it on par with the Rapid Rewards Plus card’s fee but offering stronger perks.
You might find similar situations with some of the other Southwest Airlines credit cards.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Review) is perhaps the best personal credit card in the Southwest Airlines family.
It features stronger benefits than the Rapid Rewards Plus, but has a higher annual fee. However, one of those benefits, along with a larger anniversary point bonus and 20% back on in-flight purchases, is a $75 annual travel credit. That credit effectively drops the Priority’s annual fee to $74.
That’s pretty close to what the Rapid Rewards Plus card asks, but the Priority offers much more. The reward programs are the same, so all of the redemption options outlined above still apply here, which means you’d be getting a better card for practically the same price.
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securely on the issuer's website
The JetBlue Plus Card is another example of a co-branded airline travel card.
It features higher rewards than the Rapid Rewards Plus card, and is focused on JetBlue. So your points can be earned and redeemed for JetBlue flights, where they could be worth anywhere from 1–1.5 cents in most cases. You’ll get more useful benefits here, like a big in-flight discount and 10% point refund when you redeem for award flights.
It’s hard to say exactly what kind of shopping and travel protections are attached, but they’ll probably end up being similar to the Rapid Rewards card. If you prefer JetBlue, this card can be pretty rewarding and would save you some money.
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Review) is an example of a general travel card, not tied to any airline.
The main focus of this card is the reward program, which includes some excellent redemption options. The bonus categories differ quite a bit from the Plus card, and their redemption options are far from equal. The Sapphire Preferred earns on all things travel, and isn’t consigned to a single airline. There’s also a dining category, and you’ll earn 5X points per dollar on Lyft rides.
Through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal, your points will be worth 1.25 cents for travel. That’s pretty comparable to what you’d get with the Rapid Rewards card if you redeem through Southwest Airlines. But with the Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer your points to Chase’s travel partners for a much higher value, potentially 2 cents or more, giving you a 4% cash back equivalent or more.
You’ll also gain the Shop through Chase and Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection benefits, both of which could provide more savings than what the Rapid Rewards Plus card offers.
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Chase boasts a very rewarding program for point redemption, called Chase Ultimate Rewards. While you’ll get a slight bonus (25%) to your point value if you redeem for travel expenses through that program, you can find an even better deal by transferring your points to Chase’s travel partners.
And, one of Chase’s travel partners is Southwest, so even if you choose this card over the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card, you would still be able to redeem your points for Southwest airfare.
securely on the issuer's website
The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) is a high-end card that first popularized the high fee, high reward travel card trend.
The annual fee is far greater than what the Rapid Rewards Plus asks, but its benefits far outshine that card as well.
Don’t be intimidated by the large fee; the Platinum Card features several annual credits that can drop it all the way to $50. That’s even less than the Rapid Rewards Plus. The credits include $200 for Uber, $100 for Saks, and $200 for incidental fees on an airline of your choice (through 2021).
Not only that, but you can earn over double the rewards when you book through Amex Travel. You can also get more for your points when you transfer them to Amex’s travel partners. You could see 2 cents or more, which is far better than the 1.3 cents you’d often get from the Rapid Rewards card.
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If you can redeem your points for 2 cents or more, you could earn a minimum 10% cash back equivalent in the 5X categories. To do so, transfer your points to Amex’s travel partners and look for a great deal.
American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
Is the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card your go-to travel companion? How do you like it? Let us know in the comments below!
Read more 5 Southwest Credit Card Offers That Could Help You Fly for FreeFor rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus card will make your flights more rewarding. You’ll get 2X points per dollar on purchases made with Southwest Airlines and its Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, and 1X point everywhere else.
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