Southwest has become a fan favorite for domestic airlines in the U.S. Its cheap fares, regular promos, and valuable credit cards are just some of the reasons why.
And of all the consumer and business cards the airline has to offer, we particularly love the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.
Curious why that is? We’ll tell you below. 😎
The Welcome Offer
The Southwest Plus’ current welcome off is: Our best points offer this year: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 5 months from account opening.
To put this simply — that’s a generous amount of points.
The fact that you can book cross-country flights for as few as 10,000 points (and sometimes even far less than this!), is fantastic 👇
Example booking from Denver to Boston
Companion Pass Boost
One of the big-hitters of this card is the boost toward Southwest’s incredible Companion Pass.
And if you aren’t aware, the Companion Pass allows you to designate a second traveler to fly with you for almost free (you’ll just need to pay for the minuscule taxes and fees).
Current requirements to earn this include:
Flying 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year
Or earning 135,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year
With the current welcome offer, you can clearly see how much closer you’ll get toward that tier points requirement!
Low Annual Fee
For many people, even though a card might have a stellar welcome offer, a high annual fee could still be quite off-putting.
Fortunately, the Southwest Plus comes in pretty darn low at just $99 a year.
The amount of Southwest points you’re getting and the amount of money saved by booking flights with those points will far outweigh the cost of the annual fee.
Solid Earning Rates
Now listen, this isn’t a premium card. So you won’t find any crazy 4x or 5x points-per-dollar earning rates with the Southwest Plus.
However, you still have solid earning rates such as:
2x per $1 on Southwest purchases
2x points per $1 on the first $5,000 in combined spend at gas stations and grocery stores each anniversary year
2x per $1 on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners (through December 31, 2025)
2x per $1 on local transit and commuting, including rideshare (through December 31, 2025)
2x per $1 on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (through December 31, 2025)
1x per $1 on all other purchases
If you’re getting this card to fly more on Southwest, then boom, that first bullet point is a given. Plus, earning double the points on common spending categories is a surefire way to accelerate your earnings over time.
Card Anniversary Perks
Southwest truly loves its customers.
By holding the Southwest Plus, you’ll receive 3,000 points and 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year on your cardmember anniversary
That’s quite generous, considering this is the airline’s lowest-tier card.
Additional Travel Benefits
Who doesn’t love a little something extra, eh? Each year you hold the Southwest Plus, you’ll also receive:
2 EarlyBird check-ins (for flights operating in 2025)
Free first checked bag at no additional cost for up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation. For a group of four, this would be a savings of up to $280 round-trip ($35 per bag per trip).
Standard seat selection within 48 hours prior to departure, when available, for the cardmember and up to eight passengers traveling on the same reservation (for flights starting in 2026).
Earlier boarding — the cardmember, and up to eight additional passengers traveling on the same reservation, can board in Group 5
One promotional code for a 10% flight discount each anniversary year (except Basic fare)
25% back on inflight purchases
Bottom Line
You won’t see any of the premium travel perks on this card that you would on a higher-end model, but for what it’s worth, the Southwest Plus provides incredible value to the regular Southwest flyer.
