Southwest Airlines credit card benefits
The benefits of having a Southwest Airlines credit card include:
- Earning travel points to redeem for Southwest flights
- Earning 3x points or 2x points on Southwest purchases
- Receiving bonus anniversary points every card membership year
- Earning qualifying points toward a Southwest Companion Pass and tier-qualifying points toward A-List status
- Complimentary travel protections, including lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance
- Extra travel perks, such as 25% back on in-flight purchases with Southwest and free Upgraded Boardings when available
Since there are multiple Southwest cards, the exact benefits depend on which card you have. If you're trying to decide on one, you can use The Ascent's compare credit cards tool to see the features that different Southwest credit cards offer side by side.
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How to pick the best Southwest credit card
To pick the best Southwest credit card, review your card options and compare their features. Select the Southwest card with features that best fit your travel and spending habits.
Since there are so many top credit cards with all kinds of perks, it can be challenging to figure out which one to choose. Here are a few specific questions you can ask yourself to pick the right credit card.
Do you want a Southwest Airlines credit card or a more general travel credit card?
Southwest offers multiple airline credit cards with Chase. These cards earn Southwest points and have benefits with the airline, so they work well for frequent Southwest flyers. They're also a great way to earn a Southwest Companion Pass, which allows you to pick a travel companion to fly with you free of charge (except taxes and fees).
There are also more general travel credit cards, such as the cards in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. They earn rewards you can use with various airlines and hotels, including Southwest, and they have their own travel benefits. These are a good choice if you want a more versatile travel card that lets you book different types of travel.
How often do you travel?
Travel cards are available at every price point. There are travel credit cards with no annual fee, travel cards in the $50 to $150 range, and travel cards with annual fees of $400 or more.
The number of trips you take is a good gauge of how much to spend on a credit card's annual fee. If you travel once or twice per year, it probably makes sense to pick a card costing $100 or less. If you're traveling every two or three months, then you may want the benefits a more expensive card offers.
Which credit card offers the most value?
When in doubt, it can help to come up with a rough estimate of how much money you'd save with different credit cards. Start by adding up the value of all the card's benefits, such as:
- Sign-up bonus
- Spending credits it offers
- Any regular bonuses it offers
- Rewards points (you can compare the number of points it earns to your regular spending to calculate a value for these)
- Extra travel perks
Take that value and subtract the card's annual fee. This will give you an estimate of its value for the first year. You can take out the value of the sign-up bonus to estimate its value in subsequent years, since you only get the sign-up bonus once as a new cardholder.
What credit score do I need to get a Southwest credit card?
You normally need a credit score of 670 or higher to get a Southwest credit card. Southwest credit cards are aimed at consumers with good credit. It's possible to get approved with a lower credit score, as your credit score isn't the only thing that matters, but it's less likely.
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Ashley Maready
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