All three of the consumer Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards credit cards are now offering increased welcome offers of 100,000 Rapid Rewards points after making $4K in purchases within the first 5 months. That’s an almost perfect time frame for earning a companion pass, since you could finish the spending after January 1st and get a 100K headstart on a pass for 2026-27. If you’re looking for a card and/or trying to earn a companion pass, these are certainly worth considering.
Each of these cards comes with an increased annual fee and “refreshed” benefits to go along with the big welcome offers. The Plus card goes up $30 to $99/year, the Premier card is up $50 to $149/year, and the Priority card breaks the $200 barrier with a new annual fee of $229.
Referral links are showing these increased offers, so folks who can manage a household referral will get even more bang for the buck.
The Offers & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $1183 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 100K points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer 100K points after $4K spend in the first 5 months.$99 Annual Fee After clicking through, be sure to manually select the exact Southwest card in which you are interested. This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). FM Mini Review: This card can be great for its new cardmember bonus, but its ongoing perks are worth the annual fee only if fully used each year. Earning rate: 2X local transit and commuting, including rideshare ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (ends 12/31) ✦ 2X gas station and grocery (up to $5K in purchases combined per year) ✦ 2X Southwest Base: 1X (1.3%) Other Travel: 2X (2.6%) Gas: 2X (2.6%) Grocery: 2X (2.6%) Phone: 2X (2.6%) Brand: 2X (2.6%) Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Big spend bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in one calendar year, you'll get a companion pass good for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next year. Noteworthy perks: 3000 bonus points each year upon card renewal ✦ 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year ✦ Group 5 boarding ✦ First bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions ✦ Standard seat selection up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available) ✦ Receive a 10% promo code each year on cardmember anniversary (Excludes Basic fare) ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit ✦ 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year (ends 12/31) |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $1133 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 100K points ⓘFriend-ReferralThis is a friend-referral offer. A member of the Frequent Miler community may earn a referral bonus if you are approved for this offer 100K points after $4K spend in the first 5 months.$149 Annual Fee This card is known to be subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: The combination of 6,000 points plus 2 EarlyBird Checkins each year make this card a keeper for those who fly Southwest often. Earning rate: 3X Southwest ✦ 2X restaurants and grocery (up to $8K in purchases combined per year) ✦ 2X Rapid Rewards(R) hotel and car rental partners (ends 12/31) ✦ 2X local transit and rideshare (ends 12/31) ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (ends 12/31) ✦ 1X on all other purchases. Base: 1X (1.3%) Hotels: 2X (2.6%) Other Travel: 2X (2.6%) Dine: 2X (2.6%) Grocery: 2X (2.6%) Phone: 2X (2.6%) Brand: 3X (3.9%) Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in one calendar year, you'll get a companion pass good for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next year ✦ Earn 1,500 TQPs for each $5K in purchases Noteworthy perks: 6000 bonus points each year upon card renewal ✦ 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year ✦ Group 5 boarding ✦ First bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions ✦ Standard or Preferred seat selection up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available) ✦ Receive a 15% promo code each year on cardmember anniversary (Excludes Basic fare) ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit ✦ 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year (ends 12/31) |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $1053 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 100K points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer 100K points after $4K spend in the first 5 months.$229 Annual Fee This card is known to be subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. FM Mini Review: Great for frequent Southwest flyers - this card could easily be a long-term keeper. Earning rate: 4X Southwest ✦ 2X gas & dining ✦ 2X local transit and rideshare (ends 12/31) ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (ends 12/31) ✦ 1X on all other purchases. Base: 1X (1.3%) Hotels: 2X (2.6%) Other Travel: 2X (2.6%) Gas: 2X (2.6%) Dine: 2X (2.6%) Phone: 2X (2.6%) Brand: 4X (5.2%) Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in one calendar year, you'll get a companion pass good for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next year ✦ Earn 2,500 TQPs for each $5K in purchases Noteworthy perks: 7500 bonus points each year upon card renewal ✦ 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year ✦ Group 5 boarding ✦ First bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions ✦ Extra legroom upgrades up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available) ✦ Preferred seat selection at booking (if available) ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit ✦ Four upgraded boardings (when available) every year (ends 12/31) |
Changes to Southwest Personal cards
Southwest Plus Card
New Features
- $99 annual fee
- Group 5 boarding
- First bag free or cardholder and up to 8 companions
- Standard seat selection up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available)
- 10% promo code each year on cardmember anniversary (Excludes Basic fare)
- Earns 2X at gas stations and grocery stores (on up to $5K in combined purchases/year)
Features that end 12/31
- Earns 2X on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- Earns 2X on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year
Southwest Premier Card
New Features
- $149 annual fee
- Group 5 boarding
- First bag free or cardholder and up to 8 companions
- Preferred seat selection up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available)
- 15% promo code each year on cardmember anniversary (Excludes Basic fare)
- Earns 2X at grocery stores and restaurants (on up to $8K in combined purchases/year)
Features that end 12/31
- Earns 2X on Rapid Rewards(R) hotel and car rental partners
- Earns 2X on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- Earns 2X on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year
Southwest Priority Card
New Features
- $229 annual fee
- Group 5 boarding
- First bag free or cardholder and up to 8 companions
- Preferred seat selection at booking (if available)
- Extra legroom seats up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available)
- Earns 2X at gas stations and restaurants
- Earns 4X on Southwest purchases
- Earn 2,500 TQPs for each $5K in purchases (up from 2,000)
Features that end 12/31
- Earns 2X on Rapid Rewards(R) hotel and car rental partners
- Earns 2X on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- Earns 2X on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
- 4 Upgraded Boardings/year
- $75 annual Southwest credit is no longer part of the card benefits
Quick Thoughts
Although these offers are historically noteworthy simply from a points perspective, they are also very helpful for those shooting for a 2026-27 companion pass. In order to get one (as a SW cardholder), you need to earn 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year…including credit card welcome bonuses and points earned from card spending.
Just the bonus on any of these welcome offers gets you 80% of the way there.
Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.3 cents each according to our most recent Reasonable Redemption Values. That means that each of these bonuses should easily be worth at least $1300 worth of flights, regardless of which one you choose. That’s a good return on only $4,000 in spend. Having five months to complete the spend and being able to apply the entire 100K welcome offer to next year’s companion pass will make these very compelling offers for many folks.
Which card is best for you?
That’s a great question, and one that might have changed based on the new benefits. The Priority card is now 50% more expensive than the Premier, and has lost its $75 annual credit. Each of the three options includes the first checked bag free for you and up to 8 companions and Group 5 boarding.
The biggest difference in the new benefits between the three is seat selection: Plus cardholders get to select a standard seat 48 hours pre-departure, Premier cardholders can select a Preferred seat 48 hours pre-departure, while the Priority card gets you a Preferred seat at booking and Extra Legroom upgrades 48 hours pre-departure. Additionally, the cheaper cards give you a 10% or a 15% annual discount code, respectively, while the more expensive Priority card oddly does not.
In the past, the Priority card was the easy winner based on the combination of annual fee and benefits, but that’s not as clear a case now. We’ll be out soon with a full analysis of the changes across all five cards, but in the meantime, it pays to take a look at each of the consumer card’s benefits and match them as closely as possible to your travel priorities…especially in the brave new world (for Southwest) of seat assignments.
Chase Applications Tips
- 5/24 Rule: You most likely will not get approved for a new card if you have opened 5 or more cards (with any bank) within the past 24 months. Most business cards do not count towards that five card total. Business cards that DO count include: TD Bank, Discover and the Capital One Spark Cash Select, Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select.
- 24 Month Rule: If you’ve previously had a card before, you can only get a welcome offer on that card again if you no longer have the card AND if it has been more than 24 months since you last received a welcome offer for that card. This rule does not apply to the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards (see below). There can be exceptions with some business cards.
- Sapphire cards: The Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve cards no longer have a family rule that prevents you from getting one if you currently have the other. However, both now have significant limitations that may prevent you from being eligible for a welcome offer if you've previously had the same card. In that event, you'll get a pop-up window that tells you that you're not eligible before you get a credit check and will ask whether or not you want to proceed with the application without the welcome offer attached.
- Southwest "Family" Rules: Chase applies additional "family" rules to the Southwest cards. You're not eligible for the welcome offer on a personal Southwest card if you currently have one, or if you've received a welcome offer on any personal Southwest card within the last 24 months. This doesn't apply to business cards. You also can't be approved for the Southwest consumer card if you already have one open.
- IHG "Family" Rules: You're not eligible for the welcome offer if you've received a welcome offer on any personal IHG card within the last 24 months. You also can't be approved for another IHG consumer card if you already have one open. You can have both an IHG personal and an IHG business card.
- 2 per month Rule: Most applicants are limited to 2 new cards per 30 days. Business cards are usually limited to one per 30 days.
- Marriott cards: Approval for any Marriott card is governed by a labyrinthine set of unintuitive rules. You can see the full eligibility chart here.
- Card Limits: Chase doesn't have a strict limit on the number of cards that you can have, but it does place limits on the total amount of credit that they will issue you across all cards. Because of this, reconsideration can sometimes be successful by moving credit from one existing card to the new card that you want.
- Application Status: Call (888) 338-2586 to check your application status.
- Reconsideration: If denied, call (888) 270-2127 for personal cards, or (800) 453-9719 for business cards, and ask for your application to be reconsidered.
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no one has written about the 10 and 15% flight discounts that come w most of the new cards (but not Priority). Does that apply to round trips? Does it apply to multiple people on a reservation? For a roundtrip to Hawaii or Costa Rica that costs around 60k, that would save around $130, or $260 if it applies to two people on a reservation, or $520 for a family of four. Please write about this because that is what could make the premier cards into keepers.
In reference to quote below….. what about when SW sends upgrade offers? The ones that’ll say something like upgrade from plus to priority and get 5,000 points after spending whatever amount. Would that count as having received a bonus?
“24 Month Rule: If you’ve previously had a card before, you can only get a welcome offer on that card again if you no longer have the card AND if it has been more than 24 months since you last received a welcome offer for that card.”
no mention of it yet, but we would HAVE TO assume that the Biz offerings will also be refreshed!
My bet is 1 card of one of those might just be enough miles for the CP on it’s own (like last time I needed one!).
Cheers all
Already have see my reply below to Tim with devalue and price hike ($100 on Performance to $299)
Prediction: They will box the companion pass before January
Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m eyeing the Priority card here. Very few people will pony up for this one or the Performance biz (especially after these devaluations), which means more extra-legroom seats for me at the 48-hour mark.
The big question mark is whether companion pass is still around in 2027
The 48 hour upgrade’s usefulness is yet to be determined. If you live in a smaller market it might be worth it but if SW pulls in some of the upper class domestic customers from other airlines that have been hesitant to fly with SW in the past due to avoidance of the “cattle call” style seating its safe to assume that only middle seats or very few aisle/window seats would still be available for upgrades at the 48 hour mark. I like the idea of extra legroom but dislike sitting in a middle seat even more.
You didn’t mention the points that still come with each card.
Seems like Plus is worth carrying if you expect to check a bag for 2 segments in a year (factoring in the annual bonus), Priority is by far and away the best card if you’re going to actually fly SW with any regularity.
What happens to bonus points when you renew your card?
The post says you need 125k for a companion pass, but I think that should read 135k?
All cardholders get a 10K headstart, so they only have to earn 125K.
@Tim Steinke Biz Cards have also been devalued
Ugg – also Biz cards are facing higher fees with benefits changes Performance ($299 from $199) – no $8 WiFI credit/ No $500 credit for Points Transfer (consolidate cash tickets (or orphaned) for RR family members (also good for 2K in RR point earning from $500 and counted toward MSR on SUBs).
We get a ton of value out of the free WI-fi (esp since its per flight and not all day – unless SW is giving all RR members free WiFI – like Delta and IDRC the other carrier (I want to say UA – but it may be thru T-mo).
Per Chase Website:
Continue to enjoy these perks through December 31, 2025
All of these earned 4X RR MIles
$500 fee credit for points transfers
for transfers made in 2025*
Up to 365 Inflight internet credits
for flights flying in 2025*
4 Upgraded Boardings
when available for flights flying in 2025*
Included but likely iffy ~ questionable value depending on number of A-List (if they get up 48+ hours ( or one Card holder who booked 8 Pax on same tix scoops up all/most seats)
Extra Legroom Seat
Enjoy unlimited upgrades to an Extra Legroom seat within 48 hours prior to departure, at no additional charge, when available – for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional Passengers on the same reservation.
Same thing for if you book change- close in.
Complimentary Preferred seat at booking
Select a Preferred or Standard seat at booking, at no additional charge, when available – for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional Passengers on the same reservation
I agree. This post was focusing on the consumer cards due to the new offer, but at first glance it looked like the Performance card was the biggest loser.
Nick is working on a post analyzing all of the changes that will be out soon.
Since they are Biz cards will they likely be implemented next renewal (for all of us that did the 1 Card CP last Summer thru 9/15~16/2024?) i.e. In Sept/Oct 2025? I know that Chase has been pretty good with GF AF for a year but it does look like they have started putting closer in renewal dates for card refreshes.
I wonder if they’ll relax 5/24 for these cards during their launch phase, as they’re doing with the refreshed CSR/P products.
That’s what I need to know too!
How long do we expect this offer to be out there? 6 weeks? Need to cancel my current SW Card…
But you can’t get the bonus until 24 months has passed since you received your bonus not since you received your card.
What do you mean? They didn’t mention getting the SUB recently. I’m guessing it would be good to cancel, then wait at least a little bit before re-applying.
In thinking about the CP timing for 2026/27, how likely do you think it is that Southwest will make some big changes to the CP for 2027 rendering the strategy different than we’ve seen previously?
This is the million dollar question. Who knows if the Southwest benefit guillotine is done falling?
it just keeps getting worse and worse for ALP’s and they keep having $39 sales back to back to back. I can not imagine why I would choose SWA to try for ALP when the CC’s have all the same benefits…
That’s my big fear — I would want to time this so the 100k bonus hits in early 2026 and I’d get the CP for 2026 and 2027, but I’m worried that I’m highly unlikely to get two full years of current CP benefits.
We already have 3 flights booked for the end of this year on Southwest, so I know we could use the pass for this year and for some travel we have planned in 2026. Given the high velocity of changes at Southwest over the past few months, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they completely changed or eliminated the CP for 2027. So do I just go for the CP for 2025/26 (knowing I could definitely use it right away) or wait and *hope* that things will be the same through the end of 2027??
Tough question…but if I had 3 flights already booked for late 2025 where I could use the CP, I guess I’d lean toward 2025/2026. Bird in hand/earn-and-burn/etc…
That’s what I’m thinking too. Southwest used to be one of my favorites (and is the best domestic airline from my home airport) but I’m so disappointed with how much they have changed in recent months.
Based on Nick’s “Southwest ‘ruins’ its credit cards…” post from earlier today, I’m now leaning toward getting a SW credit card in September. If negative changes to the CP are announced in October, I’ll hit the minimum spend before year-end to at least get the current version of the CP for 2025/2026. But if no draconian changes are announced, then I’ll time the bonus for early 2026 to earn the CP for 2026/2027.