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Southwest offers welcome bonuses to new cardmembers getting new Southwest Airlines credit cards. Here’s are the best bonuses currently available for new Southwest Airlines credit cards.
Current Southwest Airlines credit card welcome bonuses
Here’s an overview of the current welcome bonuses offered on Southwest Airlines credit cards.
| Southwest Airlines card | Welcome bonus | Card at a glance |
|---|---|---|
 Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Annual fee: $69 | bonus_miles_full | Rewards: 2x on Southwest purchases. 2x on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. 1x on other eligible purchases. Benefits: 3,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year. 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year. |
 Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card Annual fee: $99 | bonus_miles_full | Rewards: 3x on Southwest purchases. 2x on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. 1x on other eligible purchases. Benefits: 6,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year.1,500 A-List tier-qualifying points each year. |
 Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card Annual fee: $149 | bonus_miles_full | Rewards: 3x on Southwest purchases. 2x on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. 1x on other eligible purchases. Benefits: 7,500 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year. 1,500 A-List tier-qualifying points each year. $75 annual Southwest travel credit. |
 Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Annual fee: $99 | bonus_miles_full | Rewards: 3x Southwest Airlines. 2x Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partners, local transit and commuting, including rideshare. 1x other purchases. Benefits: 6,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year. Earns Tier Qualifying Points. |
 Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card Annual fee: $199 | bonus_miles_full | Rewards: 4x Southwest Airlines. 3x Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partners. 2x local transit and commuting, including rideshare, social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services. 1x other purchases. Benefits: 9,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 4 upgraded boardings per year. Up to 365 inflight internet credits per year. Earns Tier Qualifying Points. |
Other ways to get Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points through welcome bonuses.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® is a transfer partner of Southwest Rapid Rewards. If you’re collecting Southwest Rapid Rewards, you might also be interested in Ultimate Rewards welcome bonuses. Ultimate Rewards become transferable to Southwest Rapid Rewards if you hold a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
My take on the current Southwest Airlines credit card welcome bonuses
The current bonuses are the “business as usual” bonuses, but Chase frequently runs promotional bonuses. It might be worthwhile to wait on these bonuses if you want a companion pass. In early 2024, Chase ran a promotion where you could get a companion pass as part of the bonus. There’s no guarantee that this bonus will ever be back, but I’m pretty confident that there will be a better bonus at some point in the future. This is based purely on my own speculation.
More details about the Southwest Airlines personal credit card welcome bonuses
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card welcome bonus
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
If you can make use of the companion pass, this is an incredible offer. Normally, you would have to earn 135,000 qualifying points in a year to earn this benefit. If you wouldn’t use the companion pass, then probably wait until this card reverts to a bonus offering more points.
Click here to learn more and apply
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $69
Rewards: 2x on Southwest purchases. 2x on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: 3,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year. 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year.
More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is the entry-level Rapid Rewards® credit card offered by Chase and Southwest Airlines. It gives you a few bonus points, a companion status boost, and two Early Bird Check-Ins each year for its annual fee of $69.
The card earns 2 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases. It also earns 2 points per dollar on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
When you hold the card, you’ll receive a 25% rebate on in-flight purchases made on Southwest. You’ll also get 10,000 Companion qualifying points toward your Companion Pass and two EarlyBird Check-Ins each year.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card welcome bonus
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
If you can make use of the companion pass, this is an incredible offer. Normally, you would have to earn 135,000 qualifying points in a year to earn this benefit. If you wouldn’t use the companion pass, then probably wait until this card reverts to a bonus offering more points.
Click here to learn more and apply.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $99
Rewards: 3x on Southwest purchases. 2x on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: 6,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year.1,500 A-List tier-qualifying points each year.
More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card gives you more points when you book with Southwest, plus a companion status boost, an annual point bonus, two Early Bird Check-Ins each year and qualifying points toward A-List status. The card has an annual fee of $99.
With the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases. You’ll also earns 2 points per dollar on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
The benefits of the card include a 25% rebate on in-flight purchases made on Southwest. Each year, you’ll get 10,000 Companion qualifying points, two EarlyBird Check-Ins, and 1,500 A-List tier-qualifying points.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card welcome bonus
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
If you can make use of the companion pass, this is an incredible offer. Normally, you would have to earn 135,000 qualifying points in a year to earn this benefit. If you wouldn’t use the companion pass, then probably wait until this card reverts to a bonus offering more points.
Click here to learn more and apply.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $149
Rewards: 3x on Southwest purchases. 2x on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: 7,500 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year. 1,500 A-List tier-qualifying points each year. $75 annual Southwest travel credit.
More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card gives you enough value to justify its $149 annual fee in anniversary bonus points and Southwest Annual travel credits alone. Despite being the most expensive Southwest personal credit card, it offers the most value.
Like the lower-tier Premier card, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases. You’ll also earns 2 points per dollar on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
The card includes many of the benefits of the Premier card, including a 25% rebate on in-flight purchases made on Southwest, an annual 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points and 1,500 A-List tier-qualifying points. But the card trades EarlyBird Check-Ins for 4 upgraded boardings per year. You’ll also get 7,500 miles on your Cardmember anniversary and a $75 annual Southwest travel credit.
More details about the Southwest Airlines small business credit card welcome bonuses
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card welcome bonus
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Good welcome offer and better than the current limited-time offers on the personal cards if you don’t value the Companion Pass benefit. We are unaware of any recent better offers on this card.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $99
Rewards: 3x Southwest Airlines. 2x Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partners, local transit and commuting, including rideshare. 1x other purchases.
Benefits: 6,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year. Earns Tier Qualifying Points.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card welcome bonus
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Biggest offer currently available in terms of the number of points, but the spending requirement is high. Get this offer if you don’t value the Companion Pass benefit currently offered as part of the welcome bonus on the personal cards. We are unaware of any recent better offers on this card.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $199
Rewards: 4x Southwest Airlines. 3x Rapid Rewards hotels and car rental partners. 2x local transit and commuting, including rideshare, social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services. 1x other purchases.
Benefits: 9,000 point cardmember anniversary bonus. 4 upgraded boardings per year. Up to 365 inflight internet credits per year. Earns Tier Qualifying Points.
A few notes on applying for Chase cards
- 5/24 rule. Chase generally won’t approve you if your credit report is showing 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months. This rule is knows as the 5/24 rule. If you’re unsure if you are “under 5/24” you should check your 5/24 status before applying for a Chase card. Note that recently this rule seems to have softened, especially for Ink cards. See our coverage about Chase 5/24 for more.
- Only one Sapphire-branded card. You can only hold one Chase Sapphire-branded card at a time. This means you can have either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, but not both.
- You can get a welcome bonus on a Chase card, even if you’ve had the card previously. How often you can earn a welcome bonus on a Chase card varies by card family.
- Most cards allow you to earn a welcome bonus if it has been at least 24 months since your last received a welcome bonus on the same card.
- Chase Sapphire-branded cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can only earn a welcome bonus once every 48 months. (We published a separate article to help you determine if you can get a Sapphire welcome bonus.)
- Marriott cards have their own special rules.
- Chase will match an increased bonus. If you apply for a Chase card and the bank offers a higher bonus within 90 days, you can send Chase a secure message or call them to have your welcome offer matched.
- In-branch offers are sometimes better. Chase sometimes has better credit card welcome offers in-branch than it will publish on its own website or through affiliate networks. Check all channels to make sure you’re getting the best bonus.
- Chase business cards do not report to personal credit reports and do not impact your 5/24 status as long as they are current.
Frequently asked questions
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offers the most value for Southwest flyers. You’ll get 7,500 points on your cardmember anniversary and a $75 Southwest annual travel credit. These perks alone can provide more value than the card’s $149 annual fee. Plus, you’ll earn more points on Southwest than any other personal card and get tier qualifying points toward A-List status.
You can earn a Southwest Companion Pass by earning 135,000 points per year. Points earned from credit card welcome bonuses count toward the companion pass. Points transferred from transfer partners do not count.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.