How Does Southwest Credit Card Work? Expert Guide

For travelers looking to stretch their vacation budget, Southwest Airlines offers one of the most lucrative loyalty ecosystems in the skies. But if you are looking at their co-branded credit cards, you might wonder: how does a Southwest credit card work in practice?

At its core, a Southwest credit card is a co-branded credit card issued by Chase. When you use the card, you earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points on every purchase. These points are automatically deposited into your Southwest loyalty account each month. However, maximizing these cards requires understanding how billing cycles, elite status, anniversary points, and the legendary Companion Pass interact.

Let’s dive deep into the mechanics of these cards so you can determine which one deserves a spot in your wallet.

The Core Mechanics: How Chase and Southwest Partner

To understand how these cards function, you must understand the relationship between Chase (the issuer) and Southwest Airlines (the loyalty program host).

Chase manages the financial side of your card. They review your credit application, set your credit limit, process your payments, and charge the annual fee. Southwest Airlines manages the Rapid Rewards program. They handle your flight bookings, frequent flyer status, and point redemptions.

When you apply for a Southwest credit card, you must provide your Rapid Rewards account number. If you do not have one, Chase will create one for you. Every transaction you make is tracked by Chase. When your monthly billing statement closes, Chase calculates the total points you earned during that billing cycle and sends them to Southwest. Within 1 to 2 billing cycles (usually just a few days after your statement closes), those points appear in your Southwest account, ready to be redeemed.

Comparing the Personal Southwest Credit Cards

Chase offers three consumer Southwest credit cards. While they share the same underlying reward currency, their annual fees, earning structures, and anniversary bonuses vary significantly.

Feature	Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card	Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card	Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Annual Fee	$69	$99	$149
Anniversary Points	3,000 points (Value: ~$42)	6,000 points (Value: ~$84)	7,500 points (Value: ~$105)
Southwest Purchases	2x points	3x points	3x points
Rapid Rewards Partners	2x points	2x points	2x points
Transit & Commuting	2x points	2x points	2x points
Internet, Cable, Phone	2x points	2x points	2x points
Everyday Purchases	1x point	1x point	1x point
Annual Travel Credit	None	None	$75 Southwest Travel Credit
Upgraded Boardings	None	None	4 per year (A1-A15, when available)
A-List Status Boost	None	1,500 TQPs per $10,000 spent	1,500 TQPs per $10,000 spent

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

With a low $69 annual fee, the Plus card is the entry-level option. It is great for casual flyers who want to earn points on everyday spend but don't fly Southwest frequently enough to justify a higher annual fee. However, it lacks the premium perks and charges foreign transaction fees, making it poor for international travel.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

At $99 per year, the Premier card steps up the earning rate on Southwest flights to 3x points. It also removes foreign transaction fees, making it a viable travel companion when visiting international Southwest destinations like Mexico or the Caribbean. Additionally, it allows you to earn Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) toward A-List elite status through credit card spending.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Though it features the highest annual fee at $149, the Priority card offers the best overall value for anyone who flies Southwest at least twice a year.

Here is why: the card comes with a $75 annual Southwest travel credit, which is automatically applied to your statement when you buy Southwest flights. If you use that credit, your net annual fee drops to $74. When you factor in the 7,500 anniversary points (worth roughly $105 in flights), the card essentially pays you to keep it in your wallet. It also includes four upgraded boardings per year, which can save you from the dreaded 'C' boarding group.

The Companion Pass Hack: The Ultimate Credit Card Benefit

Perhaps the most compelling reason to understand how Southwest credit cards work is the Southwest Companion Pass. The Companion Pass allows you to choose one person to fly with you for free (plus taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 one-way) every single time you book a flight—whether you booked that flight with cash or with Rapid Rewards points.

To earn the Companion Pass through flying, you must take 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year. Alternatively, you can earn it by accumulating 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a single calendar year.

This is where the credit card becomes your secret weapon. All points earned from Southwest credit cards count toward the Companion Pass. This includes:

Sign-up bonuses / Welcome offers
Points earned from everyday spending
Referral bonuses

Furthermore, Chase gives all active Southwest credit cardholders a 10,000-point boost toward the Companion Pass balance every year. This means cardholders only need to earn an additional 125,000 points in a calendar year to unlock the pass.

The Strategic Timing Strategy

Many travel rewards experts utilize a specific strategy to get nearly two full years of free companion travel.

If you apply for a Southwest personal card and a Southwest business card (such as the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card) late in the year, you can time your spending so that you meet the minimum spend requirements and earn both sign-up bonuses in early January.

Because all those bonus points hit your account in the new calendar year, you will instantly cross the 135,000-point threshold. You will then receive the Companion Pass for the remainder of that calendar year, plus the entire following calendar year.

How Earning and Redeeming Points Works

Earning Points on Everyday Spend

When you buy groceries, gas, or pay your utility bills, you earn points based on your card's specific category multipliers. For instance, if you spend $100 on transit using the Southwest Priority card, Chase registers that as a 2x category, earning you 200 Rapid Rewards points. If you spend $100 at a retail clothing store, it earns 1x, resulting in 100 points.

These points do not expire as long as your Rapid Rewards account remains active. Closing your credit card does not forfeit the points already transferred to your Southwest account, though you will stop earning new points via credit card spend.

Redeeming Points for Flights

Redeeming your points is incredibly straightforward. Southwest does not use a complex award chart. Instead, the points price of a ticket is directly tied to the cash price of that ticket.

When cash fares go on sale, point redemption prices drop accordingly. To book, you simply go to Southwest.com, search for your flight, and toggle the search results from 'USD' to 'Points'.

On average, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth roughly 1.3 to 1.4 cents each. For example, a flight that costs $140 in cash will typically cost around 10,000 Rapid Rewards points. You will still need to pay the mandatory government security fee of $5.60 per one-way domestic flight using your credit card, but the rest of the fare is completely covered by your points.

Understanding Chase's Rules and Restrictions

Before you apply for a Southwest credit card, you must navigate Chase's strict application rules. If you do not plan ahead, Chase will automatically deny your application, regardless of how excellent your credit score is.

The Chase 5/24 Rule

Chase will not approve you for any of their credit cards if you have opened five or more personal credit cards (from any bank, not just Chase) within the past 24 months. If your credit report shows five or more new accounts in this timeframe, you must wait until you fall below this threshold before applying.

The Southwest Personal Card Family Rule

You can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time. If you currently have the Southwest Plus card, you cannot apply for the Priority card until you cancel or product-change your existing card. Additionally, you cannot receive a welcome bonus on a personal Southwest card if you have received one in the past 24 months.

Fortunately, this family rule does not apply to business cards. You can hold a personal Southwest card and a business Southwest card simultaneously, which is why the Companion Pass strategy works so well.

Is a Southwest Credit Card Right for You?

To determine if a Southwest credit card is worth it, evaluate your travel habits.

If you live near a Southwest hub (such as Dallas-Love Field, Denver, Chicago-Midway, Baltimore, or Orlando) and fly them at least twice a year, the Southwest Priority Card is an exceptional asset. The combinations of the $75 travel credit, upgraded boardings, and 7,500 anniversary points easily outweigh the $149 annual fee.

However, if you value flexibility above all else, a generic travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card might be a better fit. The Sapphire Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio, but can also be transferred to other airline and hotel partners like Hyatt, United, or British Airways. This gives you a safety net if Southwest does not fly to your next destination.