Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card Review 2023

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The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is offering a promotional Companion Pass as part of its welcome bonus. It's also packed with travel benefits that can be worth hundreds each year.

Of all the Southwest personal credit cards, this card has the highest — but easiest to justify — annual fee.

If you can make use of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card's many benefits and perks, it's well worth the annual fee — especially with its limited-time welcome bonus offer, which includes a promotional Companion Pass.

Otherwise, have a look at other Southwest cards like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, which have lower annual fees but the same excellent welcome bonus offer.

Chase Southwest Priority Credit Card Review: Is the Chase Southwest Priority Credit Card the Best Credit Card for You?

When it comes to customer-friendly perks and policies, Southwest is among the most generous of US airlines. The carrier allows two free checked bags, and doesn't charge a fee to change or cancel your flight. If you fly Southwest even occasionally, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card can improve your travel experience, with benefits like an annual $75 travel credit and upgraded boarding up to four times per year.

Once you have the Companion Pass, a friend or family member can fly with you for free (just pay taxes and fees) on both paid and award flights.

Southwest points don't expire, so even if you're not flying right away, there's no pressure to redeem your points, and the card's anniversary points and travel credit can make the $149 annual fee worthwhile. But before you decide on this card, be sure to check out the rest of the Southwest credit cards — the other two personal cards come with an identical bonus but lower annual fees (and fewer benefits).

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Southwest Priority Credit Card Rewards

Welcome bonus

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is offering a limited-time welcome bonus of 30,000 points and a Companion Pass® good through 2/28/24 after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

The points alone are worth around $420 in flights, based on Insider's points and miles valuations. And you can potentially get much more value when you use the promotional Southwest Companion Pass that comes with the bonus offer.

How to earn points

 Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card cardholders earn:

• 3x points on Southwest purchases (including flights, inflight purchases, Southwest gift cards, and Southwest Vacations packages)
• 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases (see the full list here)
• 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare (and also passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, rideshare, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages)
• 2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube TV)
• 1 point per dollar on everything else

How to use points

Southwest has a vast domestic route network (including Hawaii), and the airline also flies to a number of international destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. 

Southwest doesn't have an award chart — instead, the number of points required for an award flight is tied to the price of a paid ticket. You can expect to get an average value of 1.4 cents per Southwest point, based on Insider's points and miles valuations, when you redeem them for award travel. With Rapid Rewards, there are no blackout dates and no seat restrictions; as long as there's a seat available for purchase, you can book that seat with your points. 

Using your Southwest points to book award flights online is straightforward — once you log into your Rapid Rewards account, just search for flights as if you were looking for a paid ticket. You can toggle between the cash price and the points cost, so you can easily compare the two.

If you're not flying Southwest right now, there's no harm in holding on to your points until you're ready, because they'll never expire. However, Southwest credit card holders do have other options for redeeming points through the More Rewards program, including merchandise, gift cards, car rentals, hotels, cruises, and experiences. The value you'll get per point varies, but it's usually a poor value compared to redeeming for Southwest flights.

You can even use Southwest points through Chase Pay Yourself Back at a rate of up to 1 cent per point. Currently, you can redeem them toward either the annual fee or any dining purchases made in the last 90 days (up to $200 in total reimbursements, ends March 31, 2023).

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card Benefits and Features

Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card welcome bonus currently includes a promotional Southwest Companion Pass, which is valid until February 28, 2024. To earn a Companion Pass, you'd usually need to earn 135,000 qualifying Southwest points in a calendar year (Southwest credit card holders also receive a "boost" of 10,000 qualifying points each year).

The promotional Companion Pass from this welcome offer isn't valid as long as a regular Companion Pass. A standard Companion Pass is valid for the rest of the year it's earned, plus all of the following year. But if you still want to try for earning a longer Companion Pass the old-fashioned way, the 30,000 points from the welcome offer plus points earned from spending on the card all count.

The Companion Pass is one of the best deals in the travel world — especially if you fly around the US, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. It allows you to bring a companion on any paid or award flights for just the cost of taxes and fees (typically $5.60 for domestic flights).

You can use the Companion Pass for an unlimited number of flights while it's valid. Even if you take 100 flights a year, your companion can join you. It's effectively an unlimited buy-one-get-one certificate for the duration of the pass.

$75 annual Southwest Airlines travel credit

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card has a $75 annual travel credit, which is valid for any Southwest purchase except upgraded boarding and in-flight purchases. Just buy a Southwest ticket, pay with the Priority card, and get a $75 credit back on your credit card statement automatically with no hoops to jump through.

If you'll spend at least $75 on Southwest flights anyway, this credit is an easy way to offset the $149 annual fee, effectively bringing it down to $74.

Anniversary points bonus

Each year when you renew your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you'll receive 7,500 points, which are worth around $105 in Southwest airfare. That's enough to offset much of the $149 annual fee.

Upgraded boardings

This card will reimburse you for the purchase of four upgraded boardings with Southwest every year. This is different from Southwest Early Bird Check-In, which you purchase at booking or add afterward; upgraded boarding is sold at the gate when there is extra space available in the A1-A15 boarding group.

Since Southwest seating is famously first-come-first-served, upgraded boarding can be a great way to avoid a middle seat. This normally costs $30 to $50 per flight, but with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card you won't pay anything for the first four Upgraded Boardings each year.

Inflight purchase discount

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card also offers a 25% rebate on inflight purchases — including premium drinks, Wi-Fi, movies, and messaging — when you pay with your card.

You don't get a free checked bag with this card, but you don't need one, because Southwest is the rare airline that offers two checked bags for free.

Fast-track to Southwest A-List elite status

If you're aiming for Southwest's A-List or A-List Preferred elite status, this card can also help you move up to the next level. For every $10,000 in eligible net purchases on the card, you'll earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs), with no maximum number of TQPs you can use. This is the only way to earn TQPs other than flying on a paid Southwest ticket.

Car rental insurance

When you use your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card to pay the full cost of your car rental and decline the rental company's collision damage waiver, you'll get coverage for damage due to collision or theft on most rental cars in the US and abroad.  This coverage is secondary to your own personal policy in the US, but primary insurance overseas (or if you don't have your own insurance).

Purchase protection and extended warranty

Nearly anything you purchase will be covered against damage or theft for 120 days with the card's purchase protection, up to $500 per claim and up to $50,000 per account. And if it has an eligible manufacturer's warranty of three years or less, paying with this card will grant you an additional year of warranty coverage.

Lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance

When traveling, your luggage is also covered: If you use the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card to pay for your flights and your bags are delayed over six hours, you'll be reimbursed for necessities (up to $100 a day for three days).

And if your bags are lost or damaged, you're covered for up to $3,000 per passenger.

Other travel protections

If you're approved for the Visa Signature version of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you'll get access to travel and emergency assistance services, which can help arrange things like medical and legal referrals when you're away from home. Just be aware you're responsible for the cost of any services arranged.

All cardholders are eligible for travel accident insurance, which covers accidental death or dismemberment when you use your card to pay for your air, bus, train, or cruise transportation. Visa Signature cardholders get up to $500,000 in coverage, and Visa Platinum members get up to $250,000.

You'll also get access to a roadside dispatch hotline, which can arrange services like towing and jumpstarts when you're on the road. Again, you'll be responsible for the actual cost of the service, which gets billed to your card. 

Free DoorDash DashPass subscription

Through December 31, 2024, you can activate a complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription for 12 months which gets you no delivery fees and reduced service fees when you order from DoorDash and Caviar delivery services. 

GoPuff credits

Through December 31, 2023, cardholders are eligible for $10 per month in Gopuff credits when they add the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card as their default payment method in the Gopuff app. Gopuff is a service that offers fast delivery of necessities like groceries, snacks, drinks, personal supplies, and more.

The credit automatically posts to your statement after you make a qualifying Gopuff purchase. Be aware there is minimum order amount of $10 with a $3.95 delivery fee per order. 

Chase Southwest Priority Credit Card Annual Fee and Other Costs

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card has a $149 annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees, so you don't have to worry about extra charges when you travel internationally. If you carry a balance, keep in mind the card charges a 20.49% - 27.49% Variable APR.

There are also fees for:

• Cash advances: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater
• Balance transfers: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
• Late payments: Up to $40
• Returned payments: Up to $40

How the Chase Southwest Priority Credit Card Compares

Chase Southwest Priority Credit Card vs other Southwest personal cards

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority vs other airline credit cards

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology: How we reviewed the Chase Southwest Priority Credit Card

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card has a higher annual fee than any other Southwest personal credit card — and the majority of other airline credit cards, as well. Because of this, it was examined more critically than similar cards. However, because of the card's valuable and relatively easy-to-use ongoing benefits, it rated a solid 3.75 stars out of 5 stars. That's higher than any other Southwest personal credit card.

Read more about how we rate credit cards at Insider.