The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card is the Southwest card with the most benefits. The Rapid Rewards Priority card is the Southwest personal card that I recommend to those who fly Southwest at least a couple times a year.
The card comes with an annual fee of [sc name=”southwest-priority-annual-fee”][/sc] and is one of Southwest’s 5 total cards.
It’s current bonus: [sc name=”southwest-plus-bonus-offer”][/sc]
Other Southwest card options include…
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card Quick Look
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card
Bonus Offer: [sc name=”southwest-plus-bonus-offer”][/sc]
Annual Fee: [sc name=”southwest-priority-annual-free”][/sc]
Card Benefits:
- 1 free checked bag for you and up to 8 people on your reservation + a Companion (regularly $35 per bag for 1st checked bag)
- Free Standard or Preferred seat at booking (if available) for you and up to 8 people on your reservation + a Companion
- Extra Legroom seat for you and up to 8 people on your reservation + a Companion if available 48 hours ahead of departure
- Board with Group 5 (out of 8 boarding groups) for you and up to 8 people on your reservation + a Companion
- 7,500 anniversary points each year (These points DO qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass)
- Earn 2,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for each $5,000 in purchases. TQPs can be used to count toward qualification for Rapid Rewards A-List (35,000 TQPs needed) or A-List Preferred (70,000 TQPs needed) status. Note: This is NOT how I recommend earning A-List if that’s something you want to strive for.
- 4 points per $1 on Southwest Airline purchases (previously 3 points)
- 2 points per $1 spent on gas stations and restaurants
- 1 point per $1 on everything else
- Get 25% back on inflight purchases made with the card
- No foreign transaction fees
All About the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card
This travel card from Southwest has a higher annual fee ([sc name=”southwest-priority-annual-fee”][/sc]) but comes with a few added perks, which I’ll explain below.
This is my TOP recommended Southwest card to hold if you will be flying Southwest regularly, as it gets you both a free checked bag AND an assigned seat (provided it’s available upon booking). See my post below:
[10 Reasons to Add the Southwest Priority Card to Your Wallet]
But first let’s have a look at who can be approved for this card.
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Who Can Hold This Card
Like Southwest’s 2 other personal Southwest cards, you can only get the bonus introductory offer on ANY ONE of the personal cards every 24 months.
Here is the wording from Chase:
The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapids Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.
Chase
That means you can hold the card, but you can’t get the bonus offer if you’ve received a personal bonus offer from Southwest in the last 24 months OR if you currently hold one of the other PERSONAL cards.
Earning a Southwest Companion Pass
The points you earn for signing up and meeting the minimum spend for this card can help you earn the Southwest Companion Pass. The pass is good from the time you earn it until the end of the following year.
You must earn [sc name=”southwest-companion-pass”][/sc] qualifying points within 1 calendar year to secure a Southwest Companion Pass, which lets 1 person fly free with you, and works like a Buy One Get One for flights.
In Summary
I recommend getting the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card if you fly Southwest regularly, but it SHOULD be part of a plan to use the points to earn a Southwest Companion Pass.
I can help you efficiently map that out quickly and easily inside of my Families Fly Free membership.