Southwest is a family-friendly airline that offers a lot of value. With family boarding, reasonable fares, and free changes and cancellations on most tickets, it’s not hard to see why we love Southwest.

Signing up for a Southwest credit card is one of the easiest ways to earn a lot of Southwest points quickly so you can take even more flights. Southwest credit cards are also a huge help when it comes to earning a Southwest Companion Pass, and they give you a free checked bag for everyone in your reservation!

This post is a roundup of all the Southwest cards so you can easily compare and contrast the options. We’ll show you a breakdown of all the benefits and annual fees to help you pick the card that’s right for you.

Looking for more information on the Southwest Companion Pass? We have a whole module dedicated to it in our free course. Find it here.

Key Differences

The most notable differences on the Southwest cards are

• Annual fee
• Whether they offer credits for Upgraded Boarding or Early Bird Check In
• The number of anniversary points you earn
• Extra perks
• Welcome offers
• What type of seat you can select for free, and when you can reserve a seat (coming soon)

Annual Fees

Annual fees range from $69 to $199 on Southwest cards. Don’t immediately pass over the higher annual fee options! We think the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is actually the best value card on this list — and it has one of the highest annual fees. That’s because the benefits are easy to use and far outweigh that annual fee.

Upgraded Boarding vs Early Bird Check In

Southwest has said it is making some changes to its seat assignment and boarding process but details are yet to be released. At this point, Southwest is saying that these will be implemented in 2026 — and in the meantime, these card benefits still apply.

Some of these cards come with Upgraded Boarding and others with Early Bird Check In.

Upgraded Boarding can only be used 24 hours or less before your flight departs. If the A1-A15 slots are still available at that time, you can upgrade to those boarding positions and get on the plane as one of the first passengers. This is only valid for one segment of your flight but has the potential to give you a very good boarding position for that flight. So if I was going Chicago to LAX with a stop in Denver — my upgraded boarding would only get me A1-15 on one of those flights. Read our full guide here.

Early Bird Check In is different. It automatically checks you in for your flight 36 hours in advance. This will generally give you an earlier boarding position. Read our full guide here.

Anniversary Points

Each card also earns points on your cardmember anniversary. Southwest points vary in value but generally offer about 1.2-1.5 cents per point. That means 3000 anniversary points will get you a flight that costs $36-$45.

On the higher fee cards, you’ll earn more anniversary points. If you earn 7500 anniversary points, that will get you about $90-$112 of Southwest flights.

Even if you only plan to hold the cards for one year, you’ll still have a chance to earn anniversary points! This is outlined in the Southwest module of our free course in the lesson about how to cancel your cards for maximum value. Sign up here.

Extra Perks

The higher annual fee cards have a few extra perks. These include benefits like $75 to spend at Southwest.com every year, free Wifi on every flight, or a credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck.

Welcome Offers

The offers are typically exactly the same on each of the three personal cards. So when it comes to making a decision, it’s just about comparing the annual fee and the benefits.

The business cards have offers that are different from each other. So when opening a business card, you’ll need to weigh the total offer, alongside the annual fee and benefits.

Seat Selection

Southwest has announced that starting in late 2025, they will begin assigning seats for flights taking place in 2026. 

All Southwest credit cardholders will be able to select seats for free. The cards with a lower annual fee allow you to select standard seats for free 48 hours before departure. The highest annual fee cards allow you to select preferred seats for free at the time of booking and upgrade to extra legroom seats 48 hours before departure, if available.

More information on what is included is in the details section for each card below. 

Personal Credit Cards

Southwest offers three different personal credit cards. They vary a little bit in the perks and benefits they offer. Standard benefits for all of the cards include:

• One free checked bag for up to eight people traveling on the same reservation (starting for flights booked on or after May 28, 2025)
• Delayed baggage insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection
• Travel accident insurance
• Earn extra points per dollar on Southwest purchases

Welcome offers for the personal cards are generally the same for all three cards at any given time but the offer itself can vary a lot throughout the year. It’s common to see elevated offers towards the end of the year (higher point welcome offers usually come with higher minimum spends.) In winter, there is often an offer that includes the ability to earn a companion pass with just one card.

If you’re hoping to earn a Companion Pass, be sure to check out the Southwest Companion Pass Bootcamp module in our free course.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

Annual Fee: $69 Terms Apply.

Key Benefits:

• 2 early bird check-ins per year
• 3,000 points per year on your card member anniversary
• Select a standard seat within 48 hours of departure on any fare (coming soon)
• 25% back on in-flight purchases
• 2x points on Southwest purchases

This card offers the lowest annual fee of any Southwest credit card. Early bird check-in is a nice perk. To use this benefit, simply purchase early bird check-in with your plus card and the expense will automatically be credited to your account (up to 2 per year).

This card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Annual Fee: $99 – Terms Apply.

Key Benefits:

• 2 early bird check-ins per year
• 6,000 points per year on your card member anniversary
• Select a standard or preferred seat within 48 hours of departure on any fare (coming soon)
• 25% back on in-flight purchases
• 3x points on Southwest purchases

For an extra $30 in annual fee, the Premier card offers 3,000 additional anniversary points and 3x on Southwest purchases (instead of 2x with the Plus). Those benefits may make the increased annual fee worth it for you, but overall, we don’t recommend this card — instead, we recommend either the “Plus” or the “Priority.”

This card has no foreign transaction fees.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Annual Fee: $149 – Terms Apply.

Key Benefits:

• $75 annual travel credit for Southwest purchases
• 4 upgraded boardings per year
• 7,500 points per year on your card member anniversary
• Select a standard or preferred seat at booking, on any fare. Upgrade to extra legroom within 48 hours of departure on any fare (coming soon)
• 25% back on in-flight purchases
• 3x points on Southwest purchases

This card is arguably the best value of the three Southwest personal cards. The priority card has the highest annual fee, but you get a lot of benefits to offset that fee.

The $75 travel credit effectively brings the annual fee down to $74. The credit is very easy to use. You can use it for most Southwest purchases, including flights, gift cards, and early bird check-in. Upgraded boarding and onboard purchases are excluded from the credit.

Once Southwest makes the move to assigned seating, the Priority is the only personal Southwest card that offers free seat selection at booking, even when booking the “basic” fare class.

The additional anniversary points are also valuable because they can help you get to a free flight faster.

This card has no foreign transaction fees.

Business Credit Cards

Business credit cards are a useful part of an overall credit card strategy. You don’t need to have a large business or an LLC to get a business credit card.

Small businesses and side hustles also count as a business! Things like selling items on Facebook marketplace, tutoring, babysitting, consulting, and selling on Etsy all qualify you for a business credit card.

To learn more about business cards and how to apply, check out our post on business credit cards.

Southwest offers two different business credit cards. The offers on these are more consistent throughout the year than on the personal card offers but they do still vary at times.

Perk Exclusive to Business Cards

Both business cards offer a niche perk, which is that you can get reimbursed for the fees you incur when you transfer points to another Southwest Rapid Rewards member. You can get reimbursed for up to $500 per year. Most people won’t need to transfer Southwest points because you can use your Southwest points to book a flight for anyone. But! If you transfer 50,000 points, and it costs $500 — you’ll also earn 2,000 points in the process. That’s because this is a purchase on Southwest.com, where you earn 3-4 points per dollar.

This is a small amount of points, but can be helpful if you’re trying to top off your earnings for a Companion Pass.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

Annual Fee: $99 – Terms Apply.

Key Benefits:

• 2 early bird check-ins per year
• 6,000 points per year on your card member anniversary
• Select a standard or preferred seat within 48 hours of departure on any fare (coming soon)
• 3x points on Southwest purchases
• $500 Fee credit for points transfers

This card has the lower annual fee of the two Southwest business cards. If you want to minimize your fees or you prefer the early bird check ins to upgraded boarding credits, this card is a good option.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Annual Fee: $199 – Terms Apply.

Key Benefits:

• 4 upgraded boardings per year
• Free in-flight wifi
• 9,000 points per year on your card member anniversary
• Select a standard or preferred seat at booking, on any fare. Upgrade to extra legroom within 48 hours of departure on any fare (coming soon)
• Global Entry or TSA Pre√ Credit.
• 4x points on Southwest purchases
• $500 Fee credit for points transfers

The credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre√ is a nice benefit that makes up for the higher annual fee.

Once Southwest makes the switch to assigned seating, the ability to select a preferred seat for free at booking is also going to be quite valuable!

If you spend a lot with Southwest, the 4x earning rate is a good way to rack up a lot of Southwest points.

This card has no foreign transaction fees.

Table Comparing Southwest Personal Cards

Table Comparing Southwest Business Cards

Southwest Card Eligibility

There are a few eligibility rules to be aware of. Here is a breakdown for you.

The 5/24 Rule

Chase has something that the points and miles world likes to call the “5/24 rule”. What this means is that if you have opened 5 cards in the last 24 months (from any issuer), Chase likely won’t approve you for any of their credit cards, including the Southwest cards.

Most business cards don’t count towards that 5 (though there are some exceptions). Being added as an authorized user to a personal card does count.

Holding Multiple Southwest Cards

You are only allowed to have one Southwest personal card account open at a time.

You can hold a business card and a personal card at the same time.

You’re also allowed to hold both of the business cards at the same time. You cannot hold multiples of the same Southwest business card, even for a different business.

The 24 Months Rule

Personal Cards: You can earn a bonus on a Southwest personal card once every 24 months. If it’s been less than 24 months since you earned a bonus on any Southwest personal card, you won’t be eligible to earn a bonus on another Southwest personal card. Even if it’s a different card than you held previously.

The 24 months is calculated from when you earned the bonus, not when you signed up for the card. If you’re not sure when you last earned a bonus on a Southwest personal card, you can call Chase and ask. They’ll be able to tell you over the phone.

Business cards: You’re eligible to receive a sign up bonus on a business card as long as you haven’t earned the bonus for that particular card in the last 24 months. It’s okay if you’ve earned a bonus on a different Southwest business card within that 24 month window.