Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card review

How to apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

Apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card if you’re at least 18 years old in Alabama and Nebraska or 21 in Puerto Rico, you have a valid Social Security number or Taxpayer Identification number. Here’s how to apply:

1. Learn more about how to apply for Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.
2. Complete the application with personal information like your full name, contact details and financial details.
3. Review your information and submit your application.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card benefits

• Signup bonus. Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months.
• Rewards. Earn 2x points on Southwest Airlines purchases, 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshares, 2x points on internet, cable, phone and select streaming services, and 1x points on all other purchases. You can redeem points for flights, car rentals, hotel stays, gift cards, merchandise and experiences.
• 3,000 points each card year. You’ll receive these points after your card anniversary. According to our valuation, they’re worth an average of $48.
• EarlyBird Check-In passes. Each card anniversary you can take advantage of 2 EarlyBird Check-In passes. These allow you to automatically check in to your flight ahead of the standard check in and are valued at up to $25 each.
• Travel and purchase coverage. When you make eligible purchases with your card, you’ll be protected by lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, extended warranty protection and purchase protection.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card drawbacks

• Signup bonus eligibility. You may not be eligible for the signup bonus if you already own a Southwest credit card or if you’ve received a new Southwest card signup bonus within the last 24 months. This doesn’t apply if you own a business card or an employee card.
• No intro APR period. You won’t get a 0% intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers.
• No priority boarding. Card membership won’t help you board your plane sooner. If this is a perk you value, consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card instead.

Is the annual fee worth it?

The card has a $69 annual fee that’s not waived for the first year.

To break even on it with rewards alone, you’ll need 4,313 points according to our valuation. That’s $2,157 spent on Southwest purchases or $4,313 spent on other purchases. Prior to this card’s refresh, you would have needed to perform some amount of spending to make up for the rest of the value supplied by the card’s anniversary points.

Thanks to the EarlyBird Check-In passes however, you’ll inherently create enough value to offset the card’s annual fee so long as you travel and use those 2 passes.

I see a Travel with Transfarency benefit on the card page. Is that a card-exclusive perk?

On the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card page, you’ll see benefits like $0 first and second checked bags, $0 change fees and no hidden fees.

These benefits are included with every Southwest flight, even if you’re not a Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card member.

Compare airline credit cards

Southwest Credit Cards are valuable for Southwest fliers, but not necessarily the strongest airline cards on the market. If you’re not dedicated to Southwest, have a look at some of your other options by selecting up to four cards and selecting Compare.

Sort by:

Name	Product	Welcome Offer	Rewards	Annual fee	Filter values
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card		100,000 miles after you spend $10,000 in your first 6 months of account opening	10x miles on hotel and rental car purchases booked through Capital One Travel, 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, and 2x miles on every other purchase	$395		Apply now View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card		10,000 miles after spending $500 in the first 3 months	2x miles at restaurants and on direct Delta purchases and 1x miles on other eligible purchases	$0		Earn 2x miles on Delta purchases and dining with this simple, entry-level Delta card, and pay no annual fee. Terms apply, see rates & fees	Apply now View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card		40,000 miles after spending $1,000 in your first 3 months. Plus, earn up to $50 back in statement credits for eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants with your card within the first 3 months of membership.	2x miles on Delta purchases, restaurants and at US supermarkets and 1x miles on other eligible purchases	$0 intro annual fee for the first year ($99 thereafter)		Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new card in your first 3 months. Terms apply, see rates & fees	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

loading

Prev

1 2 3

Next

Compare up to 4 providers

Clear selection

Compare

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card reviews and complaints

Some customers say Chase periodically changes the signup bonus for this card. You might find a bonus worth tens of thousands of points more or less depending on when you apply.

JPMorgan Chase Credit Card is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau but it has an C+ rating and a composite score of 1.18 out of 5 stars based on 229 customer reviews as of December 2021. Most customer complaints revolve around poor customer service and hidden costs Chase credit cards in general. Make sure you read your card’s terms and the rewards agreement to avoid issues with your account.

As of December 2021, Chase earns a Trustpilot score of 1.6 out of 5. Most negative reviews cite slow responses to fraud complaints and less-than-helpful customer service. Positive reviews cite the bank’s great mobile app and quick resolutions to their issues. Overall, your mileage may vary with Chase customer support.

Bottom line

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card travels light on features. But to Southwest’s credit, the airline charges nothing in change fees or your first and second checked bags.

You’ll get the most out of the card’s rewards if you’re a frequent Southwest flyer who can benefit from the Rapid Rewards program. But even then, the Rapid Rewards Premier offers greater value without a tangible increase in fees, making it the superior entry-level card choice.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: What’s changed?

<