Southwest Airlines Credit Card Plus: What are the benefits for cardholders?

Southwest Airlines Credit Card Plus: What are the benefits for cardholders? Co-branded with Chase, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card is for loyal Southwest fans who are adept at collecting loyalty points.

With more and more airlines charging passengers for carry-on bags, Southwest is becoming a rare find among national carriers, as the airline allows travelers to bring not one, but two checked bags for free. Besides the airline’s generous baggage policy, Southwest Airlines has a lot to love, especially its Rapid Rewards Plus credit card.

Privileges granted exclusively to members of the Rapid Rewards program

– Sign-up bonus

Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

– Anniversary Points

3,000 bonus points after your card’s anniversary

– Point value

2 points for every dollar spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases and 1 point for every dollar spent on anything else.

– Variable APR for purchases and balance transfers

15.99% – 22.99%

Note: Points do not expire as long as your account is open and there are no blackout dates when booking with points

Foreign transaction fees are set at 3% of each US dollar transaction. With more and more airlines charging passengers for carry-on bags, Southwest is becoming a rare find among national carriers, as the airline allows travelers to bring not one, but two checked bags for free.

Besides the airline’s generous baggage policy, Southwest Airlines® has a lot to love, especially its Rapid Rewards credit cards.

Co-branded with Chase, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card is for loyal Southwest fans who are adept at collecting points.

This card also comes with many benefits:

– Two points for every dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines and Rapid Rewards partners;

– Great sign up bonuses;

– Flexible point redemption programs;

– Comprehensive travel protection benefits such as collision damage waiver for car rental, travel accident insurance and reimbursement for lost baggage.

– A faster path to the Companion Pass, which allows cardholders to travel with a friend for free if they have earned 125,000 points or made at least 100 one-way trips on Southwest Airlines in a calendar year. The benefit does not include taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 one way. Once you have earned a Companion Pass with points, it will last for the remainder of the year in which you earned it and the following full calendar year.

Lowest annual fees

If the $99 annual fee for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier VISA credit card doesn’t seem worth it, you might be happier with the lower $69 annual fee for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card.

For people who can earn significant points through normal spending, they might not find it worth paying $30 for the extra 3,000 miles,” Barrett says. Foreign transaction fees don’t matter if you’re not traveling abroad.

Sure, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card may have a 3% foreign transaction fee, but if you rarely travel abroad, that might not matter. And you better pocket the extra $30 you don’t spend on annual fees every year.

The Companion Pass is still available

With the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card, you can still take advantage of the Companion Pass. It lets you bring a friend for just the cost of taxes and fees (starting at $5.60 one way) each time you purchase a ticket or redeem points for a Southwest flight. You generally qualify for the companion pass by earning 125,000 qualifying points or completing 100 qualifying one-way flights booked with american airline in a calendar year.

Remember that the Companion Pass only lasts for the rest of the year you got it and the following calendar year.