The Southwest Rapid Rewards® credit card welcome bonus mentioned below is no longer available.
Consumers looking for an effective way to make their next summer trip more affordable can score a good deal if they move fast.
For only a short while longer, Southwest is offering an elevated 65,000-point welcome bonus after spending $2,000 on purchases in your first three months on the following consumer credit cards:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
The bonus offer will be removed before the end of the day on July 14, 2021.
While this latest offer first announced on May 27 requires $1,000 more in spending from the previous offer in the same 3-month timeframe, it comes with 25,000 additional points. Those extra points can inch you closer to getting the Southwest Companion Pass, which requires 125,000 points, and is even easier to earn in 2021.
Southwest's Companion Pass allows you to bring along a companion for nearly free (you'll just pay taxes and fees) on an unlimited number of Southwest flights.
Which Southwest credit card should I get?
Not only do the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus, Premier and Priority Credit Cards have the same welcome bonuses, but they also share the same rewards-earning structure: Earn 2X points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases, including Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases. Then, earn 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
What differentiates the three cards from one another is their different annual fees (see in our table below) and added perks. Only the Premier and Priority have no foreign transaction fees.
The Priority card comes loaded with the most perks but also has the highest annual fee of the three cards at $149. It offers an annual $75 Southwest travel credit, a 20% discount on in-flight purchases when you fly Southwest and four upgraded boardings per year (when available).
Here is a complete breakdown of the different cards, their annual fees and perks:
Both Southwest Rapid Rewards newbies and former cardholders can earn the 65,000-point welcome bonus if they meet the below two requirements:
- They aren't a current Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card member, and
- They haven't received a new cardholder bonus for any personal Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card in the past 24 months (Southwest business card welcome bonuses won't disqualify you)
As a benefit of the Rapid Rewards program, your points never expire and all points earned count toward the Companion Pass.
