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The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card comes with premium perks that are worth hundreds of dollars. It’s one of the three consumer cards in the Chase-Southwest cobranded lineup, and also the one with the most expensive annual fee.
The card used to have a 100k bonus offer which was more than enough to compensate for the expensive annual fee. Now, it’s back to 50k after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening but despite that, the travel credits, status booster, and of course, a chance to earn the Southwest Companion pass is still enough to justify the $149 annual fee. Or is it? Let’s dive deeper into the card’s details.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card Key Features
- 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card membership
- Earn points towards a Southwest Companion Pass
- A 3-2-1 rewards structure on travel and everyday-spend categories
- Reach elite status in no time with status boost
- Get a 7,500-point anniversary bonus, $75 travel credit, and 4 upgraded bookings per year
- The card comes with basic travel protection and insurance
The card doesn’t have foreign transaction fees as well so you get to earn points during your trips abroad without having to worry about extra fees that usually cost 3.5% per transaction.
50K Welcome Bonus
New cardholders of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card will 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within three months of card membership.
Take note that Rapid Rewards points are worth around 1.2 cents apiece so your 50,000 points are approximately worth $900 towards travel.
What Is A Southwest Companion Pass?
A Southwest Companion Pass is basically a travel voucher that allows you to bring one companion on Southwest flights for FREE (taxes and airline fees aren’t included).
Cardholders must earn a total of 125,000 Companion Pass qualifying points in order to get the Companion Pass. Here are some examples of the spending categories that will earn you qualifying points for the Companion Pass.
Rapid Rewards points that were earned through credit card spending or through welcome bonuses are considered as Companion Pass qualifying points.
Cardholders can immediately use their Companion Pass on the same year it was obtained, plus a full calendar year for the next year. For example, if you got your Companion Pass in September 2022, you can still use it until December 2022 and also use it for a full calendar year in 2023.
Earning Points On Your Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card
What’s great about the Priority Card is that it gives you the flexibility to earn more points on various spending categories. Here is the card’s current rewards structure:
- 3X points on Southwest purchases
- 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner
- 2X points on local transit and commuting (including rideshare)
- 2X points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- 1X points on all other purchases
Since the rewards structure covers a lot of everyday spending, cardholders will be able to reach the spending requirements for the 100,000 welcome bonus a lot faster.
Get Elite Status With Status Boost
The Priority Card lets you earn 1,500 Tier-Qualifying Points (TQPs) for every $10,000 spent on the card. This can fast-track your journey towards A-list status which requires 35,000 TQPs or A-list Preferred which requires 70,000 TQPs in a calendar year.
Here are some of the additional perks you’ll get once you reach elite status:
- A-list Status – A-list members will get priority boarding, 25% bonus points on qualifying flights, priority check-in and security lane access, same-day standby, and a dedicate A-list member phone line.
- A-list Preferred Status – A-list preferred will get priority boarding, 100% bonus points on qualifying flights, in-flight WIFI, priority check-in and security lane access, same-day standby, and a dedicate A-list member phone line.
Read More: How To Use The Southwest Companion Pass
Travel Credits & Bonuses
Apart from the Companion pass, welcome bonus, and earning rates, here are other perks that come with the card:
- Four upgraded boardings per year – Use your Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority credit card at the ticket counter to pay for A1-A15 boarding spots (up to 4 times per year). You’ll then get a refund for the money you spent on the upgrade which will come inn the form of statement credit.
- 25% inflight savings – Get a 25% statement credit for purchases you’ve made during the flight such as WIFI, drinks, food, and entertainment.
- 7,500-point annual anniversary bonus – Cardholders will get a bonus point of 7,500 ponts every card anniversary.
- $75 annual Southwest travel credit – Get a $75 statement credit that can be uses towards different travel categories.
Additionally, travelers who fly Southwest won’t have to pay for change or cancellation fees. There are also two free checked bags. The statement credit alone brings the annual fee down to $74 and if you factor in all the bonus points, discounts, and perks, it seems like your annual fees are already paid off.
Travel Protection and Insurance
The card also comes with basic travel protection and insurance such as the following:
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Baggage delay insurance
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Roadside dispatch
- Travel accident insurance
- Extended warranty protection
- Purchase protection
Who Is The Card For?
The answer is pretty straightforward. The card is perfect for Southwest loyalists as they can surely max out the benefits that the card has to offer. It’s also perfect for people who have various spending categories.
Just remember that Southwest cards are a part of the Chase program which means that it’s subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. It’s an unspoken rule which states that a consumer may not own another Chase card if he or she has already 5 other credit cards in the past 24 months.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card VS Other Southwest Consumer Cards
The main advantage of the Priority card is its 25% cashback for inflight services, $75 travel statement credit, four upgraded boardings per year, and 7,500 annual bonus points.
Other than that, all the co-branded cards in the Southwest consumer card lineup have the same features. They even have the same welcome bonus of 50,000 points after meeting the spending requirements. Here are some key details about the other two cards:
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card comes with a welcome bonus of 50,000 points if you’re able to spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of card membership. Cardholders will also receive 3,000 bonus points every card anniversary.
As for the rewards, here are the categories:
- 2 points per dollar on Southwest purchases
- 2 points per dollar spent with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
- 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
- 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
- All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R)
The Plus card might be the cheapest card but it does carry foreign transaction fees and has an annual fee of $69. Imagine having to pay a fee every time you make purchases abroad!
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card also has a welcome bonus of 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of card membership.
It comes with 6,000 annual bonus points and an annual fee of $99. The rewards structure is very similar to the Priority Card:
- 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases
- 2 points per dollar spent with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
- 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
- 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees.
- All points count towards Companion Pass
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Thoughts From Points Panda
Southwest Airlines’ co-branded consumer cards are having their all-time high bonuses, so it really doesn’t matter which one you’d pick if you’re not too picky about the perks.
However, if you’re a Southwest Airlines frequent flyer who is looking for long-term benefits, then the Priority Card would suit you best because of its 7,500 annual bonus points, $75 statement credits, and upgraded seats.
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