Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card Review

Who is the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card for?

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card is for frequent flyers that want to make the most out of their travels on Southwest Airlines’ flights. This card is a solid mid-tier card that can help make your travel plans more affordable through reward points and bonuses. Southwest Airlines is one of the most reputed airlines in America, and if you are a fan, this card is for you. 

The $99 annual fee that comes with this card is very affordable when compared to other airline cards in the market. It is also cheaper than the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card, which provides more perks for a $149 annual fee. Therefore, the Premier card is a great option for those who do not want to spend on the more expensive card.                         

Since Southwest Airlines is a low-cost, domestic-heavy airline, it is expected that the card will not be able to provide traditional international benefits that larger airlines’ cards offer. However, those cards are often not usable nor efficient for those who travel extensively domestically, in which case, the Southwest Premier card makes sense. Considering that Southwest has a good reputation for customer service and is a preferred airline by most for domestic travel, this card presents a good deal for cross-country travelers. 

In addition, this card is great for people that live near one of the many Southwest Airlines’ operating bases, which are airports of economic importance to the airline. They are:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Baltimore (BWI)
• Chicago–Midway (MDW)
• Dallas–Love Field (DAL)
• Denver (DEN)
• Houston–Hobby (HOU)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Oakland (OAK)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Phoenix (PHX)

If you frequent any of these airports, this card might allow you to reap additional benefits that come along with utilizing airline hubs while traveling. 

Overall, this card is a solid opportunity for frequent domestic travelers to earn rewards and reduce flying-related expenses. While it may not offer the full range of benefits offered by the Priority card, the reduced annual fee makes the Premier card worth it. 

Welcome Offer

The welcome bonus that this card offers is simple. If you spend $1000 within the first three months of account opening, you earn 40,000 points which are worth around $520. If you use the Premier card for daily purchases, this is not a hard goal to reach, and we recommend making that $1000 in purchases to make the most out of this bonus opportunity. 

Rewards

Perhaps one of the drawbacks of this card is the inflexible rewards program. However, considering the low annual fee and targeted consumer base, the points system is very practical. You earn 2x points for purchases made directly with Southwest Airlines, including flights, inflight purchases, Southwest gift cards, and Southwest Vacations^® package purchases, at participating Rapid Rewards^® hotels and rental car partners. You’ll earn one point for each $1 spent on all other purchases.

The annual benefits that come with this card make it unique among other airline cards. With the Premier card, you'll receive 6,000 bonus points each account anniversary year. You'll earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for each $10,000 in purchases up to $100,000 in purchases annually which equals 15,000 TQP. TQPs can be used to count toward qualification for Rapid Rewards A-List or A-List Preferred status. These status levels achieved through the points work to make your travels more comfortable. 

With this card, you do not have to worry about baggage fees and change fees. The Premier card waives first and second checked baggage fees and any flight change fees. 

Annual Fee

The $99 annual fee of this card is on the lower end when compared to other mid-tier airline credit cards. This low fee compensates for the fact that Southwest does not fly many international routes, which means that this card will provide little benefit if you are a frequent international traveler.

Services and Protections

With no blackout dates and unlimited reward seats, this card actively works towards being as simple to use as possible. You don't have to worry about your travel dates or routes not qualifying for point redemption with the Premier card. There are also no foreign transaction fees so you can easily use this card during your international travels.

Since these card partners with Chase, it offers the My Chase Loan and My Chase Plan programs. These two programs can help you pay off large credit balances arising from larger purchases. My Chase Loan helps you finance large purchases by simply granting you a loan that you can pay back with interest. My Chase Plan offers to break down larger purchases into smaller payments via a payment plan while paying a fee for this service. 

Cautions

Like all other rewards-based Chase credit cards, this card follows the 5/24 rule. This rule mentions that you will not qualify for this card if you have opened 5 or more credit card accounts over the last 24 months. If you are a frequent flyer attempting to exploit the welcome bonuses of several different travel cards, this rule can prevent you from qualifying for this one. 

Also, this card does not carry extensive rewards rates, which means that you will not benefit from dining or shopping more than other activities. If you travel frequently and want benefits relating to your travel expenses beyond just flights, this card might not be the best for you. 

Another significant aspect of this card is that it is very Southwest-specific. This means that if you do not travel on Southwest frequently, or plan on traveling internationally, this card’s annual fees can rack up without many redeemable benefits. Therefore, your focus should be to use this card to make flight bookings on Southwest Airlines and other purchases that optimize point accumulation so that you can offset the $99 annual price tag. 

Conclusion

If you are looking to fly comfortably on the world's largest budget carrier, this card is for you. You will not receive rewards on a wide variety of purchases, however, you will receive annual rewards that upon redemption, will make up for the $99 annual fee. If you are a die-hard Southwest fan, are considering a Southwest-specific credit card, and are on a budget, this card is definitely for you. If you can afford to pay more in fees, you should also consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card. 

You can apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card online here.