If you are a frequent Southwest Airlines flier, a Southwest Airlines credit card could also be for you. You can earn factors on on a regular basis purchases, that are multiplied if you spend cash on Southwest, transit and commuting, and sure utilities. Each card has its personal set of further advantages that might be beneficial, relying in your journey preferences. Southwest Airlines additionally has enterprise credit cards, so enterprise house owners can reap the advantages of their most popular airline on enterprise purchases.
Here are the very best credit cards out there at this time:
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 5% of the quantity of every steadiness switch, whichever is bigger.
Balance Transfer APR16.24% to 23.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees $0
Penalty APR Up to 29.99%
- Earn 3X factors on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2X factors on native transit and commuting, together with rideshare.
- Earn 2X factors on web, cable, cellphone providers, and choose streaming.
Of all Southwest Airlines credit cards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card provides essentially the most advantages for air vacationers, although it has a $149 annual price. You save 25% on inflight purchases, are eligible for 4 annual upgraded boardings if out there, and obtain $75 in Southwest journey credit per yr. With this card, factors earned can assist you acquire A-list standing, which supplies precedence boarding and check-in and same-day standby standing.
The Priority credit card offers you a number of methods to amplify your purchases and acquire factors quicker. All purchases earn at the very least 1 level per greenback spent. Hotel and automotive rental companions; native transit and commuting; and streaming, web, cable, and cellphone payments earn 2 factors. All Southwest purchases earn 3 factors per greenback spent. Every yr in your Cardmember anniversary, you may additionally obtain 7,500 factors.
Pros
- 7,500 anniversary factors yearly
- No overseas transaction price
- $75 annual Southwest credit
- Earn factors to get A-list quicker
- Earn 3 factors for each greenback spent on Southwest
Cons
- High annual price
- No intro APR
- No further intro bonus factors
- Requires good or wonderful credit for approval
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 5% of the quantity of every switch, whichever is bigger.
Balance Transfer APR16.24% to 23.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees $0
Penalty APR Up to 29.99%
- Earn 3X factors on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2X factors on native transit and commuting, together with rideshare.
- Earn 2X factors on web, cable, cellphone providers, and choose streaming.
If you do not fly usually however nonetheless desire Southwest Airlines, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card could also be a superb match. With a $99 annual price, it comes with the identical intro bonus because the Priority credit card. You’ll additionally earn the identical rewards factors in a number of classes and haven’t any overseas transaction charges.
The Premier credit card earns 6,000 factors yearly in your Cardmember anniversary and is eligible for limitless tier qualifying factors to succeed in A-list standing. Purchases made inflight get 25% cashback and Premier credit cardholders get two EarlyBird Check-Ins per yr.
Pros
- Earn the identical bonus factors because the Priority card
- Earn 3 factors on Southwest purchases
- 6,000 annual anniversary factors
- No overseas transaction price
- Unlimited TPQs
Cons
- High APR
- $99 annual price
- No Southwest journey credit
- Not eligible for Upgraded Boardings
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 5% of the quantity of every switch, whichever is bigger.
Balance Transfer APR16.24% to 23.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees 3% of every transaction in U.S. {dollars}.
Penalty APR Up to 29.99%
- Earn 2X factors on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2 factors per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2X factors on web, cable, cellphone providers, and choose streaming.
- Earn 1 level for each $1 spent on all different purchases.
If you like home air journey to overseas air journey, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card could also be a greater match. This card has a 3% overseas transaction price, which may add up if you fly internationally. However, it has the bottom annual price of the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards at $69 per yr. This card additionally has the identical intro bonus and class multipliers, however solely earns 2 factors per greenback spent on Southwest purchases.
Each yr, cardholders obtain 3,000 anniversary factors of their Rapid Rewards account. The Plus card will not be eligible for tier qualifying factors, so it’s possible you’ll not get to A-list standing as quick as you’d with the Premier or Priority credit cards. But you may nonetheless earn 25% cashback when making inflight purchases and get two EarlyBird Check-Ins annually the cardboard stays lively.
Pros
- Earn 40,000 intro bonus factors with $1,000 spend in 90 days
- Low annual price
- Multiply factors in a number of classes
- 3,000 anniversary factors per yr
- Travel and buy safety advantages
Cons
- 3% overseas transaction price
- Blackout dates on reward journey
- Not eligible for TPQs
- No intro APR
- No greater factors tier for Southwest purchases
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 5% of the quantity of every switch, whichever is bigger.
Balance Transfer APR16.24% to 23.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees $0
Penalty APR Up to 29.99%
- Earn 4X factors on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 3X factors on Rapid Rewards® lodge and automotive companions.
- Earn 2X factors on rideshare.
- Earn 2X factors on social media and search engine promoting, web, cable, and cellphone providers.
- 1X factors on all different purchases.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card permits established enterprise house owners the possibility to show on a regular basis enterprise purchases into free journey or different rewards. You earn 1 level per greenback for all purchases and a pair of factors per greenback for cable, web, and cellphone payments, in addition to social media and search engine promoting. Every greenback spent on native transit and commuting, plus ridesharing, earns 2 factors. Southwest Airlines purchases earn essentially the most factors for this card at 4 factors per greenback spent.
This card comes with the very best annual price of $199, however you’ll be able to earn 80,000 factors if you spend at the very least $5,000 within the first three months after opening the cardboard. There are different advantages to this enterprise credit card, together with a $500 price credit if you switch factors to an present Rapid Rewards member, as much as 365 annual credit for inflight Wi-Fi, 4 upgraded boardings if out there in your flight, and a credit as much as $100 in your utility price each 4 years when making use of for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.
Points may be redeemed for journey and different choices, like reward cards and buying within the Rapid Rewards portal, and there aren’t any blackout dates when redeeming for journey.
Pros
- No overseas transaction charges
- Earn 80,000 factors for intro bonus
- Multiple factors per greenback in a number of classes
- Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- No blackout dates when redeeming journey factors
- Earn 9,000 annual anniversary factors
Cons
- High annual price
- High preliminary spend for intro bonus
- No intro APR
- 5% steadiness switch price
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 5% of the quantity of every switch, whichever is bigger.
Balance Transfer APR16.24% to 23.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees $0
Penalty APR Up to 29.99%
- Earn 3X factors on Southwest Airlines® purchases.
- Earn 2X factors on Rapid Rewards® lodge and automotive companions.
- Earn 2X factors on rideshare.
- 1 level per $1 spent on all different purchases.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card is an possibility for brand new enterprise house owners who cannot meet the upper preliminary spending necessities of the Performance card. After spending $3,000 within the first three months, you’ll be able to earn 60,000 bonus factors. The Premier Business card comes with a $99 annual price, which can even be extra reasonably priced newer companies.
The Premier Business card earns the identical rewards factors per class, besides Southwest Airlines purchases earn 3 factors per greenback spent. With this card, you will get 25% cashback when making purchases inflight and stand up to $500 in assertion credit if you switch factors to an present Rapid Rewards member. You would even be eligible for 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins annually and obtain 1,500 tier qualifying factors for each $10,000 spent on the cardboard. When you attain 35,000 TPQs, you will get A-list standing, and incomes 70,000 TPQs makes you eligible for A-list Preferred standing.
Pros
- No overseas transaction price
- Earn 60,000 intro bonus factors
- Lower annual price than Performance Business card
- Earn tier qualifying factors in the direction of A-list standing
- Up to $500 assertion credit for factors switch
- Earn 6,000 annual anniversary factors
Cons
- No intro APR
- Good or wonderful credit for approval
- No utility price credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Points not multiplied for social media and search engine promoting
- No inflight Wi-Fi credit
Is a Southwest Airlines credit card a superb possibility?
A Southwest Airlines credit card is an effective possibility when you wish to journey by airplane and like Southwest Airlines. With a Southwest card, you’ll be able to earn factors on on a regular basis purchases to get free flights and different rewards. A Southwest card may present buy and journey safety, like auto rental collision harm waivers, misplaced baggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance coverage, and prolonged guarantee safety.
What is the very best bonus for a Southwest Airlines credit card?
The highest bonus for a Southwest Airlines credit card proper now could be on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business credit card. If you spend $5,000 inside the first 90 days on purchases, you may earn 80,000 factors. For non-business house owners, every of the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards earns 40,000 when you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days of opening the cardboard.
What will 40,000 Southwest factors get you?
With a Southwest Rapid Rewards card, 40,000 factors will get you A-list standing, which mechanically reserves you and your passengers quicker boarding within the A gaggle. Since this tier standing solely wants 35,000 qualifying factors for eligibility, you’d nonetheless have 5,000 factors left over. You may use 40,000 Southwest factors to redeem reward cards, merchandise, rental vehicles, lodge stays, and Cardmember experiences. Point redemption worth varies by reward kind.
Is it laborious to get authorised for a Chase Southwest Airlines credit card?
A Chase Southwest Airlines credit card will not be laborious to get if in case you have good or wonderful credit. The greater your credit rating, the higher your likelihood is of getting authorised for a Chase Southwest card. To enhance your possibilities of getting a card, ensure that to pay all of your payments on time, preserve your debt-to-income ratio low, and keep away from making use of for too many cards in a short while interval.
How did we select these credit cards?
To discover the very best Southwest Airlines credit cards, we in contrast a number of options:
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APR: The APR is the annual proportion price, or the quantity of curiosity you’ll pay on purchases. This quantity varies by card and your credit historical past and rating. Some credit cards will supply a low or 0% introductory APR for a sure size of time when you’re authorised for a card.
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Benefits and rewards: The advantages and rewards you’ll be able to earn (or are already included) with a credit card range extensively by issuer and card kind. Some cards earn money again, whereas others earn factors you need to use in the direction of journey, gasoline, groceries, and different purchases.
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Fees: Credit card firms will usually cost charges as a situation of utilizing the cardboard for purchases. The commonest credit card charges are an annual price, billed yearly to your account so long as it stays lively, and a overseas transaction price, which is a proportion of the price of a purchase order made in another country. Fee schedules range by card and firm, so you’ll want to evaluation them earlier than selecting a credit card.
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Introductory bonus: An introductory bonus is an incentive or group of incentives a card issuer provides if you’re authorised for the cardboard. Southwest Airlines credit cards supply bonus factors when you spend a specific amount inside a couple of months of opening the cardboard.
Which card is the fitting credit card for you?
To discover the fitting credit card for you, think about what you need the cardboard to do for you. For occasion, if you wish to journey cheaply, a rewards card that earns factors in the direction of flights, resorts, and rental vehicles could also be a good selection. If you like a particular airline or lodge, getting a branded credit card, like a Southwest Rapid Rewards card, could supply higher rewards than a common card, just like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
When selecting a credit card, it is best to consider the main points earlier than making use of. Consider the annual price, APR, bonus incomes necessities, and different advantages to search out the cardboard that most closely fits your wants. If you need a Southwest card with a low annual price, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card is your most suitable option. But if you wish to reap essentially the most rewards and do not qualify for a enterprise card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card could also be a better option.
You may test your credit rating and historical past to find out what credit card you might be almost definitely to be authorised for. The higher your credit rating, the extra credit card choices you may have. But you’ll be able to nonetheless get authorised for a credit card if in case you have poor credit or are rebuilding your credit.
Are there different credit cards value contemplating?
These credit cards for journey are additionally good choices:
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Capital One Venture Rewards Card: This card earns you 2 factors on each buy and 5 factors on resorts and rental vehicles. It comes with a 60,000 introductory bonus if you spend at the very least $3,000 within the first three months of card opening.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred: This card is a good selection for vacationers who do not have a desire in airline, lodge, or rental automotive firm. It comes with a $95 annual price, and you’ll earn 5 factors for each greenback spent on journey.