Those on the hunt for Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points have new opportunities on the consumer side: the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card are each offering the opportunity to earn up to 85,000 Rapid Rewards points after $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, but only via referral link at the time of writing.
The Offers & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
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 ⓘ $952 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 85K 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 85K points after $3K spend in the first 3 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). 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: 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 12/31/25) ✦ 2X gas station and grocery (up to $5K in purchases combined per year) ✦ 2X Southwest 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. Noteworthy perks: 3000 bonus points each year upon card renewal ✦ 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year ✦ First bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions ✦ 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 12/31/25) ✦ Available for flights from 1/27/26 onward: ✦ Group 5 boarding ✦ Standard seat selection up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available) |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $902 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 85K 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 85K points after $3K spend in the first 3 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. 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 12/31/25) ✦ 2X local transit and rideshare (ends 12/31/25) ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (ends 12/31/25) ✦ 1X on all other purchases. 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 ✦ First bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions ✦ 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 12/31/25) ✦ Available for flights from 1/27/26 onward: ✦ Group 5 boarding ✦ Standard or Preferred seat selection up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available) |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $822 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 85K 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 85K points after $3K spend in the first 3 months.$229 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: 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 12/31/25) ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming (ends 12/31/25) ✦ 1X on all other purchases. 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 ✦ First bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit ✦ Four upgraded boardings (when available) every year (ends 12/31/25) ✦ Available for flights from 1/27/26 onward: Group 5 boarding ✦ Preferred seat selection at booking (if available) ✦ Extra legroom upgrades up to 48 hours pre-departure (if available) |
Quick Thoughts
These offers are each potentially excellent. While the offer on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Performance Business card is more compelling until 10/28/25, these are great offers on the consumer side if you’re primarily looking to juice up your Rapid Rewards balance and take advantage of credit card baggage and seating benefits in the new year.
Keep in mind that you are not eligible for any of these offers if you have earned an introductory bonus offer on any of the consumer Southwest cards in the past 24 months, though it is possible to get a consumer card and a business card. While the current haul (at least for the next few days) on the Performance Business card is quite compelling, some may prefer the approach of opening one of the consumer cards and the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card. Between these new consumer offers and the offer on the Premier Business card, it is possible to earn enough points for the Companion Pass (provided that you earn both welcome bonuses in the same calendar year — you do not want to earn one in 2025 and the other in 2026 if you want the Companion Pass) and pay less in annual fees and have a lower total spending requirement. Which approach is better is likely a matter of personal preference.
Any of these consumer cards could be a decent deal for their checked baggage benefit and seating benefits, which will begin with assigned seating in late January 2026. While the Priority card used to be the clear best choice in my opinion, the waters have been muddied by changes this year. Now, it really comes down to how much you value being able to select your seat for free at the time of booking. If that is important to you and if you’d like the opportunity for extra legroom seating, then the Priority card remains the clear winner. If you’re happy with free seat selection 48 hours prior to departure, I think the Plus card might be the more logical choice than the Premier card these days, though there is some room for debate.
All that said, the bottom line is that any of these consumer cards could be a good choice for the first year, given these big welcome bonus offers.
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