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We give the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card five out of five Stars because it can provide cardholders with valuable travel perks and more airline bonus points than a normal Southwest member would get.
For budget-conscious travelers who are Southwest Airlines loyalists, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card could be a good choice, with valuable rewards and benefits.
This card offers 2X points per dollar spent on Southwest flights and bookings through hotel and car rental partners, in addition to the 1X point you’ll earn on all other purchases. If you value those miles at 1.5 cents each, which is about average, you’d be getting a cash back equivalent of 3% at Southwest.
There’s also a solid introductory offer, Earn a Companion Pass through 2/28/2022 plus 30,000 points for spending $5,000 in the first 3 months.
Cardholders will get benefits like a $75 annual travel credit for use on future trips, four upgraded boardings per year, when available, and 7,500 bonus points each year on your anniversary of opening the card.
The Rapid Rewards Priority Card has many extra benefits, including the ability to redeem bonus points for airfare, gift cards, car rentals, cruises, and hotel stays. It might be an expensive option for some due to its $149 annual fee, but the credits and bonus points you get will offset that quite a bit. Whether or not it’s the right card for you will depend on your spending and travel habits, as well as your relationship to Southwest Airlines.
There are several co-branded Southwest credit cards, including business cards.
Card | Annual Fee | Rewards |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (Review) | $69 |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (Review) | $99 |
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (This 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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Keep reading to learn more about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card and find out if it should be your new go-to travel rewards card.
This card can earn the equivalent of about 1% to 4% cash back on purchases with the normal redemption methods, depending on how you earn and redeem the points. And you may find a better value than that if you get a great point redemption.
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If you redeem them through Southwest Airlines or Southwest’s partners, those points can be worth as much as 1.5 cents or more. That means you could earn the equivalent of 3% cash back in the 2X categories, and 1.5% cash back for other purchases.
If you get a value of 2 cents per point you’d be earning a 4% cash back equivalent at Southwest, with 2% back everywhere else. You can rack up points quickly by booking your travel primarily through Southwest and its partners.
However, other purchases — such as gas, groceries, or anything from retail stores — will only get you 1X point. Other rewards credit cards offer more cash back for that kind of spending, so if that’s a priority you might want to look for another card to supplement this one.
Membership points don’t expire and there are no blackout dates, so you don’t have to worry about your points disappearing.
The points you earn with this rewards program also count towards the famous Southwest Companion Pass, which lets you designate one person to fly free with you all year long.
There are several different ways to redeem your points.
Points are generally worth 1 to 2 cents each. So if you were to redeem 40,000 bonus points you could take home a $400 gift card, at the low end.
However, how you redeem your points can affect their value and can make them worth even more. For example, a Wanna Get Away fare from Orlando to Philadelphia is 9,998 points, or $152 when paid for normally.
That means each point is worth about 1.5 cents when redeemed. For Anytime or Business Select fares – where the cost can easily be $500 or more – the cost worked out to about 1.5 cents a point, too.
That’s a good deal for budget travelers, though how much your points are worth is dependent on your travel dates, destination, and ticket fare class.
We recommend looking for flight redemptions to get the best value for your points. If you’re not going to get at least 1.5 cents per point, it probably makes sense to wait to use your points until you find a better deal.
Most of the value you get from the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card is from the benefits, rather than the travel rewards. Depending on which benefits you use, you can easily get several hundreds of dollars of value, offsetting the annual fee.
Some of the biggest highlights are the $75 credit and 7,500 bonus points, along with upgraded boarding positions and the ability to earn Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs). That’s on top of more typical travel benefits, like lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance.
This card is available at either the Visa Platinum or Visa Signature level. If you’re approved for a credit limit of $5,000 or more, you’ll get the Visa Signature card. Otherwise, you’ll get the Visa Platinum card. Visa Signature cardholders get slightly better versions of some of these perks, along with access to one additional benefit — Travel and Emergency Assistance.
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 | Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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$149 | $0 | Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance 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 | Up to $39 | Up to $39 |
The fees on the the Rapid Rewards Priority Card are straightforward. There is no intro APR offer, so any purchases you make will start accruing interest at the rate above unless you pay off the statement balance in full each month. There is no benefit to doing a balance transfer since there isn’t a promotional low-interest offer.
There are no foreign transaction fees, making it a good option for those who travel internationally. (Looking for other cards to bring outside the country? See the best cards with no foreign transaction fees.)
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card might be a smart choice for Southwest Airlines devotees. If you do most of your travel with this no-frills carrier, you’re likely to get a lot of value out of the card.
With a valuable introductory bonus, you might be able to book a full round-trip using just your bonus points, offsetting the cost of the $149 annual fee. Plus, the annual anniversary bonus of 7,500 points and the ability to upgrade your boarding position bring that cost down even further.
Between the $75 travel credit and 7,500 bonus points, the annual fee can be completely offset, making the card basically free to use. That’s an excellent deal that Southwest fliers should be aware of.
However, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card is not for everyone. For business travelers or for those used to travel benefits with other cards, the Southwest Priority Card’s benefits might feel anemic. You don’t get any luxury perks, like airport lounge access, which might make other cards a better alternative for you.
You can apply now for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card securely on the Chase website.
Once you submit, you’ll usually receive a decision from Chase within minutes. In some cases it could take longer, if they need additional information or verification of income.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card is designed for people with good credit.
If you’re within 670–739 for FICO or 700–749 for VantageScore, you’re thought to have good credit.
But that doesn’t mean approval is a sure-fire thing. When credit card issuers weigh your application, they take more into consideration than credit scores. So even if you’re in the recommended range, you might not be accepted. That goes for the opposite as well: If you’re in a lower range, you might still get it.
Yes, cardholders will get four Upgraded Boardings per year, typically valued from $30 to $50 each. Upgraded Boarding gets you into a nice seat from A1 through A5.
A few of the most valuable other benefits include: a $75 annual Southwest travel credit, an annual 7,500 bonus points, and 20% back for in-flight purchases.
Take a look at the complete list of the benefits you can expect to receive.
Typically points will be worth around 1.5¢ each, but you may be able to find greater value by certain redemptions through Southwest Airlines or Southwest’s partners.
Look for bookings that will provide 2¢ per point, or more, to really get the most from your card. But these could be hard to find, and you may have to save up points for a while.
Check out an in-depth look at how this card earns points, and how to redeem your points for higher values.
No, your Southwest reward points won’t expire.
The annual fee for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card is $149.
There are several Southwest credit cards, with different fees and benefits. You can compare the different Southwest Airlines card offers here.
Curious about the other terms? We’ve outlined all of them so you can know exactly what’s happening behind the scenes.
securely on the issuer's website
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Review) features luxury travel benefits for a high annual fee.
The true value of the Delta Skymiles Reserve is found in its benefits. You’ll get Delta Sky Club and Centurion Lounge access, and an annual companion ticket for your flights, all of which hold considerable value.
There’s a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application credit included too, but no other credits to help lessen the blow of the high annual fee.
If you could live with either Delta or Southwest, you’ll have to ask yourself: Will you trade an annual travel credit and lower annual fee for more rewards, airport lounge access, and an extra ticket?
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The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (Review) has a strong intro bonus and some valuable benefits for travelers.
In addition to being just as rewarding as the Southwest Priority card, the Citi / AAdvantage card offers some helpful perks like a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, as well as the more valuable Admirals Club membership. The latter will get you and up to ten authorized users airport lounge access (with two guests for free).
The annual fee is pretty high however, with few credits to bring it down. But, it’s a hefty metal card that still provides pretty good rewards and useful benefits for frequent travelers.
So, if you could fly with either airline, you’ll have to decide which card you’d get more value from: the Southwest card with a lower annual fee and $75 travel credit, or the Citi AAdvantage with a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit and airport lounge access, along with other perks, but at a higher annual cost.
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Review) is good for people who don’t stick to one airline in particular.
Where this card shines is the rewards and flexible redemption options. There’s a bonus if you redeem your points for travel expenses through Chase Ultimate Rewards, upping the value to 1.25 cents per point.
You can also transfer your points to Chase’s hotel or airline partners. From there, you may even be able to find a value of 2¢ or more, increasing your cash back equivalent to upwards of 4%.
You’ll get a plethora of travel protections, but there aren’t any annual travel credits to help offset the annual fee, so the Southwest card can end up costing you less per year despite its higher annual fee.
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Chase features one of the most rewarding rewards programs of any card issuer. While you’ll get slightly increased value from redeeming your points for travel expenses, you can find a far greater value by transferring your points to Chase’s travel partners.
By doing so, you could find a point value of 2–4 cents, or even more, increasing your cash back equivalent. One of the travel partners is Southwest, so even if you choose this card over the Southwest Rapid Rewards card, you can still redeem your points for Southwest airfare.
The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) began the high-end travel card trend.
While the annual fee is much higher than that of the Southwest Rapid Rewards card, it comes with several credits that effectively bring it down to a more manageable level.
These include $200 in Uber credits, a $100 Saks credit, and a $100 hotel credit* that can be used over and over again. These annual credits drop the annual fee to about $250. And the benefits are slightly better, making your travel experience that much more comfortable. *Eligibility for this offer is limited. Enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.
It’ll be a far more flexible and rewarding option than the Southwest card, earning more than double on flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel.
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Depending on the spending category and how you redeem, you can earn a cash back equivalent of 10% or even more. That assumes you’re spending in the 5X category and redeeming for 2 cents per point, using point transfers to Amex’s travel partners.
When you transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to hotel or travel partners, you can usually find more value than what you’d get through normal redemption methods. The greater the value you find, the larger cash back equivalent you’ll receive. To maximize the value of your points, try waiting until you’ll get a rate better than 1.5 cents each.
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Do you use the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card for travel? Let us know how you like it by leaving a comment below!
Looking to get more out of every trip? See some other great card options in the Best Airline Credit Cards.
If you love flying with Southwest, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card could upgrade your flights and help you relax. For an annual fee of $149, you’ll earn 2X points per dollar on all Southwest Airlines purchases and receive helpful travel perks like an annual travel credit and 7,500 annual bonus points.
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