Best Southwest Credit Card Offers

The latest Southwest credit card offer is 40,000 points for the Rapid Rewards Plus, Premier, and Priority cards. New applicants can earn the bonus by spending $1,000 in the first 3 months after opening an account.

Deals standard to all Southwest credit cards include 2 free checked bags on Southwest flights and 2x points on Southwest purchases. There's also bonus points every account anniversary. All Southwest cards come with lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty coverage.

Southwest credit card deals:

• 2 free checked bags on Southwest flights: All Southwest cards
• Lost luggage & baggage delay insurance: All Southwest cards
• Extended warranty & purchase protection: All Southwest cards
• 2x points on Southwest purchases: All Southwest cards
• 40,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months: Rapid Rewards Plus, Rapid Rewards Priority, & Rapid Rewards Premier
• 100,000 points when you spend $20,000 in the first 6 months: Southwest Business Credit Card
• 7,500 points each account anniversary: Rapid Rewards Priority
• 6,000 points each account anniversary: Rapid Rewards Premier & Southwest Business Credit Card
• 3,000 points each account anniversary: Rapid Rewards Plus
• $75 annual travel credit: Rapid Rewards Priority
• 4 upgraded boardings per year: Rapid Rewards Priority

The best Southwest credit card deal overall is for the Rapid Rewards Priority card. In addition to 40,000 points, it gives you an automatic 7,500 points every account anniversary and a $75 annual travel credit. You also get 4 upgraded boardings every year, 2 free checked bags on Southwest flights, and 20% back on in-flight purchases. The Priority card comes with a $149 annual fee.

There are several other Southwest Airlines credit card promotions, including a big initial bonus for small business owners. The Southwest Business credit card offers 35,000 more initial bonus points than all three personal cards and still only has a $99 annual fee.

The best Southwest Credit card is the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card because it offers a bonus of 40,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. It also gives you 6,000 points every account anniversary. The card has a manageable annual fee of $99. And there are plenty of other worthwhile perks, including 2 free checked bags on Southwest flights.

For bigger spenders, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card might be better. It has pretty much the same perks as the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, but its annual bonus is 7,500 points. Plus, it gives 4 upgraded boardings each year, a $75 annual Southwest travel credit and 20% back on in-flight purchases. But its annual fee is a bit higher than the Premier card's, at $149.

It's worth getting a Southwest credit card if you're a frequent flyer who is brand loyal to Southwest Airlines. There are 5 Southwest credit card offers available right now, all of which are issued by Chase and require at least good credit for approval.

If you're not a frequent Southwest Airlines flyer, you're probably better off with a travel rewards credit card that's equally rewarding no matter which airline you use or where you book your flights. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture Card are two particularly good options. 

No, there is not a Southwest credit card with no annual fee. The lowest annual fee for a Southwest credit card is $69 with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.

Even though all of the Southwest credit cards currently have annual fees, they come with plenty of benefits, like 2 free checked bags and upgraded boarding, to make that fee worth it for frequent Southwest Airlines flyers. Moreover, all Southwest credit cards come with signup bonuses, from 40,000 to 70,000 points and they also offer good ongoing rewards rates.

Unlike some other airlines, Southwest doesn't have any airline transfer partners. That means you can't get a $0 annual fee credit card from another airline and transfer the rewards to Southwest. Because of that, Southwest credit cards are really only intended for frequent Southwest Airlines flyers.

There are a few credit cards whose rewards you can transfer to Southwest through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Those cards include the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. However, each of those credit cards has an annual fee. The best card for transferring points to Southwest is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, because it has the lowest annual fee at $95 and comes with a big signup bonus: 80,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.

There are also a few credit cards from other airlines that have no annual fees.

The Southwest Premier Card travel insurance benefit is made up of three types of coverage: travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, and baggage delay insurance. Southwest Premier also has rental car insurance, though that's usually considered a separate type of benefit from travel insurance. All of these perks come free just for owning the card and paying the $99 annual fee.

Southwest Premier Card travel insurance includes:

Travel accident insurance. Provides up to $500,000 in reimbursement for death or dismemberment that occurs during travel on a common carrier (plane, train, bus, ship, etc.). Must pay for the trip with the Premier Card.

Lost luggage reimbursement. Pays up to $3,000 per trip for checked or carry-on bags that get damaged or stolen while you are traveling on a common carrier. Must pay for the tickets with the Premier Card.

Baggage delay insurance: Reimburses up to $100 per day for up to 3 days when baggage arrives more than 6 hours late to your destination. Must pay for the tickets with the Premier Card.

Rental car insurance: Provides coverage against damage or theft on cars rented with the Premier Card. It reimburses up to the actual cash value of most vehicles for rentals of up to 31 consecutive days. To qualify, you must turn down the rental agency's own insurance policy.

Each type of Southwest Premier card travel insurance has its own rules for eligibility and filing claims, so make sure to read your benefits guide for the full details.