nextcard teamPublished Jul 30, 2025·Updated Feb 17, 2026
TLDR: This card's 100k point bonus is its best feature. It offers a free checked bag, but other key travel benefits like early boarding and seat upgrades are delayed until 2026.
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If you love flying short-haul and medium-haul flights across the U.S., chances are you have flown Southwest. You might’ve established a relationship and status with Southwest because of its former benefit where you could check two bags for free, but that benefit has since been sunsetted as part of major changes across Southwest.
Some of the most recent changes regarding anything related to Southwest are the . Many of the Southwest credit cards are offering new, elevated introductory offers, and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is one of them.
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nextcard teamPublished Jul 30, 2025·Updated Feb 17, 2026
With the new introductory offer, you might find it helpful to consider applying for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, especially if you are a frequent flyer with Southwest.
Best Introductory Offer Yet
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card currently offers a bonus of 100,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards® points after spending $4,000 within the first 5 months from account opening.
This is the best offer we’ve seen on the card in a while. 100,000 Southwest points can take you far, as you can redeem them on flights to multiple destinations across the U.S. and select countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
For example, you could fly from Tampa (TPA) to Havana, Cuba (HAV) starting at just 8,000 points. To put this into perspective, this same exact flight would cost $147, meaning that your points would be worth almost 1.5 cents per point with this redemption.
If you wanted to fly farther on a medium-haul or a long-haul flight, you could stretch the value of your points even more. For example, you could fly from Phoenix (PHX) to Honolulu (HNL) for just 10,500 points. This same flight would cost $180, and your points would be worth almost 1.7 cents per point with this redemption.
With 100,000 Southwest points, you can easily take yourself across the country with multiple flights as shown above.
Earning More Points
On top of the 100,000 points that you earn as part of the welcome offer, you can earn even more points just by spending on your card. This spending makes it easier for you to accrue points that you can redeem for travel with Southwest. Here’s how the earning rate breaks down:
4x points on Southwest Airlines purchases
2x points at gas stations
2x points at restaurants
1x point on all other purchases
You’ll also earn 7,500 bonus points every year on your cardmember anniversary, as well as 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying boost points each year.
The bonus point rates aren’t terrible, but they aren’t spectacular either. For example, the 4x points on Southwest Airlines purchases isn’t exactly unique. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can earn 4x points on flights booked directly with an airline, including Southwest Airlines. Chase points are more flexible and can attain more value than Southwest points, so I’d rather use a Chase Sapphire Reserve® there.
The 2x points at restaurants are generally considered weak when compared to other travel credit cards. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can earn 3x points on dining purchases. I’d much rather use my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to pay for my bill at the restaurant.
The only bonus category that would be of any use to me is the 2x points at gas stations. Out of all of the credit cards I have, none of them earn bonus points at gas stations. Having the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card could be nice to use whenever I need to pump gas.
Travel Benefits With Southwest
With the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you’ll receive a variety of benefits when flying with Southwest Airlines, streamlining your travel experience. These benefits include, but are not limited to:
Complimentary Preferred seat at booking: Select a Preferred seat at booking with no additional charge, available for flights operating in 2026 and beyond. While this benefit would be nice to have as I don’t have any status with Southwest, it sucks that this benefit won’t kick in until 2026.
First checked bag free: You, as the primary cardholder, and up to 8 additional passengers traveling on the same reservation can receive the first checked bag for free. Since Southwest has sunsetted their airline-wide policy of two free checked bags, this perk is nice to have when you need to check a bag.
Extra legroom seat upgrade: You can enjoy unlimited upgrades to an extra legroom seat within 48 hours prior to departure with no additional charge. This applies to flights operating in 2026 and beyond. Once again, this benefit will be nice to have since I love having room to stretch my room. Just sucks that you can’t take advantage of this benefit until 2026.
Earlier boarding benefit: You, as the primary cardholder, and up to 8 additional passengers traveling on the same reservation can board with Group 5 for flights operating in 2026 and beyond. As usual, nice to have as a perk, but sucks that it’s locked until 2026.
Southwest A-List Status
With the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you’ll find it easier for you to reach A-List status with Southwest, allowing you to unlock a list of benefits when flying with Southwest Airlines. To reach A-List status with Southwest, you either need to fly 20 qualifying one-way flights in one calendar year or earn 35,000 tier-qualifying points.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card allows you to earn 2,500 tier-qualifying points for every $5,000 that you spend on purchases with the card.
With A-List status, you’ll have access to the following benefits:
Complimentary Preferred or Standard seat selection at the time of booking: This benefit already comes with the card, so having A-List status doesn’t help.
Priority boarding: For flights operating in 2026 and beyond, your boarding group will be no later than group 5. The card only guarantees that you will be able to board with group 5, so having A-List status could be useful in the situation that you are allowed to board prior to group 5.
First checked bag free: This benefit already comes with the card, unfortunately.
Same-day standby: Tier Customers can take advantage of same-day standby, even with Basic fares. You may add your name to the standby list with a Southwest Customer Service Gate Agent at the airport, or list yourself on our Southwest app or mobile web. This benefit is new with A-List status, and you might find it useful if your plans are flexible enough to fly standby.
Priority Lane and Express Lane access: As an A-List member, you can enjoy the speed and convenience of a dedicated lane at Southwest check-in counters and airport security checkpoints. This benefit does not come with the card, so you’ll be able to save time at the airport by having A-List status.
Dedicated A-List member phone line: The special A-List phone line connects you directly with a Customer Representative. This could possibly save you a lot of time on waiting for a customer service representative to help you with any issues that you need to take care of.
Southwest Companion Pass®
One of the unique features that Southwest offers to Rapid Rewards customers is access to a Companion Pass® after flying 100 qualifying one-way flights or earning 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year.
The Companion Pass allows you to choose one person to fly with you, free of charge (excluding taxes & fees), unlimited times whenever you purchase or redeem points for a flight.
Once you earn a Companion Pass, you’ll have access to it for the following full calendar year, as well as the rest of the year in which you earned it.
With the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you’ll earn 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points each calendar year, making it slightly easier for you to unlock this premium benefit. However, since the Companion Pass is extremely difficult to unlock, the card’s benefit doesn’t have much value here.
Benefits Expiring Soon
As mentioned earlier, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is going through a number of sweeping changes that will take place in 2026. As part of this transition, there are a number of benefits currently available on the card that will be sunsetting after December 31, 2025. These benefits are:
2x points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners
2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming
$75 Southwest annual travel credit
4 Upgraded Boardings, when available
The loss of these benefits will most certainly decrease the value of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. The categories in which you can earn bonus points are much less broad now, especially with the loss of bonus points for local transit and streaming services.
The loss of the annual Southwest travel credit is also a major loss for the card. Without an annual travel credit to use, it can be difficult to find a way to justify the card’s $229 annual fee.
Final Remarks
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is a solid choice for frequent Southwest flyers who can fully utilize its travel perks and annual bonuses. The current 100,000 Rapid Rewards® points welcome offer is one of the most generous we’ve seen, providing tremendous value for domestic and select international flights. While the card offers exclusive Southwest benefits, like a complimentary Preferred seat (starting in 2026), free checked bag, extra legroom upgrades, and earlier boarding, the upcoming 2026 changes mean some of its current benefits, like the $75 annual travel credit and certain bonus categories, will be lost. This may make it harder to justify the $229 annual fee unless you consistently fly Southwest and can maximize the new perks.
If you’re aiming for A-List status or the coveted Companion Pass®, this card can help you get there faster with its tier-qualifying point boosts. However, for non-Southwest purchases, you may find better earning rates with general travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®. In short, this card shines for loyal Southwest travelers, but may not be the best fit for more diversified flyers.
FAQ Section
What is the current welcome offer for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card?
You can earn 100,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards® points after spending $4,000 within the first 5 months from account opening.
Does the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card have an annual fee?
Yes. The annual fee is $229.
Does the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card include free checked bags?
Yes. You and up to 8 travel companions on the same reservation get the first checked bag free. This is valuable now that Southwest no longer offers two free bags to all passengers.
Does the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offer airport priority boarding?
Yes, starting in 2026, cardholders and up to 8 companions can board with Group 5 on all Southwest flights.
What benefits are expiring on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card after December 31, 2025?
The following perks will be removed starting in 2026:
$75 Southwest annual travel credit
4 Upgraded Boardings per year
2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
2x points on transit, commuting, and rideshare
2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and streaming
