Southwest Airlines has officially provided an end date for its well-known open seating policy: Starting July 29, 2025, customers booking flights for Jan. 27, 2026, or later will either have to choose their seat or be assigned one, if booking a standard fare.
Along with this shift in Southwest's seating arrangements, the airline is also switching up how it boards its planes. To help complement these changes, Southwest credit cards got some adjustments, and all of the cards offer some form of elevated seat selection and faster boarding.
How do I ensure I can choose my own Southwest seat?
With Southwest finally switching to assigned seating, there are still several ways you can qualify to pick your own spot. Owning a Southwest credit card will allow you to pick your seat, regardless of the fare you bought, with more premium cards including preferred and extra legroom choices. Plus, you and up to eight other passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
If you're looking for the lowest-cost way into this system, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (see rates and fees) has an annual fee of just $99 a year. While the card only allows standard seat selection (available within 48 hours), you'll still receive your first checked bag for free, for you and up to eight other passengers on your reservation, which more than offsets the annual cost. Plus, the card earns 2X points on gas and groceries, on the first $5,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year, getting you value even while you're not necessarily flying.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is an affordable card that makes sense for the occasional Southwest traveler.
- Valuable welcome bonus
- 3,000 bonus points every card member anniversary
- Not especially rewarding for common expenses such as groceries or dining
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 3,000 anniversary points each year.
- Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases
- Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and grocery stores on the first $5,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year
- Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost.
- Select a Standard seat within 48 hours prior to departure, when available.
- Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
If you hold either the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (see rates and fees) or Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees), you can qualify for unlimited upgrades to extra legroom seats (when available) within 48 hours of departure, for no additional cost.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is a perfect fit for serious Southwest fans who can easily maximize its benefits like upgraded boardings and an annual travel credit.
- Valuable welcome bonus
- 7,500 bonus points every card member anniversary
- $75 annual Southwest travel credit
- Limited value when you're not traveling with Southwest
- High annual fee
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 7,500 anniversary points each year.
- Earn 4 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases, including flights, inflight, and Southwest gift cards.
- Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and restaurants
- First checked bag free for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation.
- Select a Preferred seat at booking, at no additional charge, when available.
- Cardmembers and up to 8 passengers in the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
- Welcome bonus counts toward earning a Southwest Companion Pass
- Up to 365 in-flight Wi-Fi credits every year
- Four Upgraded Boardings per year (when available)
- Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA PreCheck® credit every four years
- High annual fee
- Limited value when you're not traveling with Southwest
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 9,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
- Earn 4X pts on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and restaurants
- Earn 2X points on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel
- Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- First checked bag free for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation.
- Cardmembers and up to 8 passengers in the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
Here are Southwest's seating options:
- Basic: A standard seat will be assigned at check-in
- Choice: Select a standard seat at booking
- Choice Preferred: Select a preferred or standard seat at booking
- Choice Extra: Select an extra legroom seat (or any other) at booking
While three out of the four fare options allow you to select your own seat, the "basic" option, which is the lowest-costing, does not; with this, your seat will be automatically assigned at check-in.
It's also worth noting that anyone with Southwest tier benefits, A-List or A-List Preferred, will also gain access to seating benefits. At a minimum, you'll be able to select a preferred seat at booking. A-List members may qualify for an extra legroom seat (if available), and A-List Preferred will have extra legroom seats available at booking.
More on Southwest Airlines assigned seating
Open seating is just the newest Southwest policy to be removed, the airline having done away with its "Bags Fly Free" policy in May of 2025 which had allowed up to two free checked bags.
Southwest Airlines is also making some changes to the physical seats in its airplanes, introducing new Extra Legroom seats. These will serve as a more premium option and come with earlier access to bin space, enhanced snacks and complimentary premium beverages
New boarding process
Along with Southwest's new seating policies, the airline will also be changing how it boards travelers. Gone are the three groups of A, B and C, and the scramble to get a good spot in line. This system will be replaced by numbered groups, one through eight, and your group is determined by your seat type, rewards status and more.
If you have a co-branded Southwest credit card, the latest group that you could be boarding in would be group five, but you could also qualify for an earlier group depending on your status. A-List members will board with group five or earlier, while A-List Preferred members will board in the first two groups.
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