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Even if you fly Southwest Airlines frequently, you might not want a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card. The best credit cards for travel rewards are just that good.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 points (worth up to $750 in travel) for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. The Sapphire Preferred Card also gives 1 - 2 points per $1 in rewards on purchases, and has a reasonable annual fee: $95.
The The World Of Hyatt Credit Card is another interesting option because Hyatt is one of Southwest’s rewards partners. That means Southwest Rapid Rewards members can earn Southwest points on Hyatt hotel bookings, and World of Hyatt members can earn exchange their Hyatt points for Southwest rewards. You can trade 5,000 Hyatt points for 2,400 Southwest points, or 50,000 Hyatt points for 30,000 Southwest points.
The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers a pair of initial bonuses: 25,000 points for spending $3,000 within three months of opening an account and another 25,000 points for spending a total of $6,000 in the first six months. It also gives 1 - 4 points / $1 in regular rewards on purchases, including 2 points per $1 spent on airfare purchased directly from any airline. Plus, cardholders get one free night at a category 1-4 Hyatt hotel after each account anniversary, which helps cover the cost of the card’s $95 annual fee.
If you want more options, check out WalletHub’s picks for the year’s best airline miles credit cards.
To find the best Southwest credit cards for different types of travelers, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare all of the available Southwest Airlines credit card offers based on their airfare rewards, frequent-flyer benefits, fees and approval requirements. To ensure the most complete comparison possible, we also consider credit cards from partners of Southwest Airlines, as they often have attractive rewards that can be used to save on Southwest airfare.
We compare these offers by calculating the expected rewards earnings – after subtracting annual fees – for frequent flyers, using spending data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We include a card’s initial rewards bonus in our calculations if a cardholder would earn it by spending an average of $700 per month for up to four months. And for our heavy-spender category (10X the average person's airfare spending), we double the expected spending. We also incorporate WalletHub’s research into the average value of a Southwest Rapid Rewards point. (see http://g.co/ng/security#xss)
| Credit Card | Best For | Rewards Rate | Annual Fee |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Low Annual Fee | 1 - 2 points / $1 | $69 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | Frequent Flyer Perks | 1 - 2 points / $1 | $149 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | Free Checked Bags | 1 - 2 points / $1 | $99 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | Business Bonus | 1 - 3 points / $1 | $199 |
| The World Of Hyatt Credit Card | Southwest Hotel Partner | 1 - 4 points / $1 | $95 |
Southwest Airlines Credit Card Alternatives
Even if you fly Southwest Airlines frequently, you might not want a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card. The best credit cards for travel rewards are just that good.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 points (worth up to $750 in travel) for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. The Sapphire Preferred Card also gives 1 - 2 points per $1 in rewards on purchases, and has a reasonable annual fee: $95.
The The World Of Hyatt Credit Card is another interesting option because Hyatt is one of Southwest’s rewards partners. That means Southwest Rapid Rewards members can earn Southwest points on Hyatt hotel bookings, and World of Hyatt members can earn exchange their Hyatt points for Southwest rewards. You can trade 5,000 Hyatt points for 2,400 Southwest points, or 50,000 Hyatt points for 30,000 Southwest points.
The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers a pair of initial bonuses: 25,000 points for spending $3,000 within three months of opening an account and another 25,000 points for spending a total of $6,000 in the first six months. It also gives 1 - 4 points / $1 in regular rewards on purchases, including 2 points per $1 spent on airfare purchased directly from any airline. Plus, cardholders get one free night at a category 1-4 Hyatt hotel after each account anniversary, which helps cover the cost of the card’s $95 annual fee.
If you want more options, check out WalletHub’s picks for the year’s best airline miles credit cards.
Methodology
To find the best Southwest credit cards for different types of travelers, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare all of the available Southwest Airlines credit card offers based on their airfare rewards, frequent-flyer benefits, fees and approval requirements. To ensure the most complete comparison possible, we also consider credit cards from partners of Southwest Airlines, as they often have attractive rewards that can be used to save on Southwest airfare.
We compare these offers by calculating the expected rewards earnings – after subtracting annual fees – for frequent flyers, using spending data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We include a card’s initial rewards bonus in our calculations if a cardholder would earn it by spending an average of $700 per month for up to four months. And for our heavy-spender category (10X the average person's airfare spending), we double the expected spending. We also incorporate WalletHub’s research into the average value of a Southwest Rapid Rewards point. (see http://g.co/ng/security#xss)
