No, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card doesn’t offer a credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
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Our take: The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card isn’t a must-have card for everyone, but it’s the most valuable of Southwest’s consumer cards, thanks to its rewards and solid perks.
First year savings: $1,532*
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is likely worth it for the frequent Southwest traveler who takes advantage of all its benefits. The card’s sign-up bonus, anniversary rewards, flight credit and more can help you recoup the $149 annual fee.
The card’s sign-up bonus is worth around $1,190, and its annual flight credit is worth $75. There’s also the bonus 7,500 Rapid Rewards points each card anniversary, 25% back on in-flight purchases and Wi-Fi and $0 foreign transaction fees that add to the card’s value.
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Regular Purchase APR
20.99% - 27.99% Variable
Intro BT APR
N/A
Regular BT APR
20.99% - 27.99% Variable
Annual Fee
$149
Cash Advance Fee
Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
Foreign Transaction Fee
$0
Balance Transfer Fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater.
Valuable sign-up bonus
You’ll earn a $400 statement credit and 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening. That’s more than enough for a couple of round-trip flights, depending on the flights you choose.
You’ll typically have to accumulate 135,000 points to get the Southwest Companion Pass, so this sign-up bonus will give you a nice head start.
High earning rate on Southwest flights
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Cardholders receive 7,500 anniversary points, 4 upgraded boardings per year when available, and a $75 Southwest® travel credit each year. Enjoy benefits including 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more.
While this is a good earning rate, you may be able to find a higher rewards rate with other cards. For example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earn more flexible, valuable points that you can redeem for any travel purchase or transfer to a variety of airline partners.
In fact, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card includes Southwest Rapid Rewards® among its airline partners, making it a great alternative for frequent Southwest flyers. We value Ultimate Rewards points at a much higher value (around 2 cents per point) compare to Rapid Rewards points (1.4 cents) due to their versatility. This amounts to more reward earning power per $1 spent, as you can see from the chart below:
How does the earning rate compare?*
Easily redeemable rewards
Southwest makes redeeming Rapid Rewards easy — there are no blackout dates or restrictions on award seats. Southwest flies to many destinations within the lower 48 states, all major Hawaiian islands, Puerto Rico, plus destinations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
The number of points required for a free flight with Southwest depends on the cash price of the fare. Award prices start around 2,600 points and can go upwards of 29,000 for a one-way ticket. The value that you get for your Rapid Rewards depends on the type of ticket you choose. Southwest offers four tiers of tickets: Wanna Get Away, Wanna Get Away Plus, Anytime and Business Select. Wanna Get Away fares are the cheapest, but also most restrictive. You can have all types of tickets refunded.
| Business Select | Anytime | Wanna Get Away + | Wanna Get Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fully refundable if you cancel your flight | ||||
| Same-day change | Fare difference may apply | |||
| Same-day standby | ||||
| Transferable flight credit | ||||
| Early Bird Check-In® | ||||
| Fly By (priority security lane) | ||||
| Priority boarding A1-A15 | ||||
| Complimentary premium drink |
Southwest perks
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card charges an annual fee, so it’s able to provide valuable benefits, including:
*A-List status earns you perks like priority boarding, Priority Lane and Express Lane, a 25% earning bonus, same-day change/standby and more. You can earn A-List by earning 35,000 TQPs in a year or booking 25 one-way qualifying flights.
If you’re a frequent Southwest traveler who already pays for upgraded boardings or in-flight drinks and Wi-Fi, then this card likely makes sense for you to get. The flight credit alone covers about half of the annual fee.
However, other airlines, like Delta and American Airlines, provide better perks than Southwest with their higher-annual-fee cards.
Strong travel protections
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card card provides nearly every travel and purchase protection you can get. It provides an auto rental collision damage waiver, roadside dispatch, purchase protection, extended warranty protection, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, travel and emergency assistance services (only with Visa Signature) and travel accident insurance.
Annual fee
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card charges a $149 annual fee. That’s the highest annual fee for a Southwest consumer card, but the travel credit covers about half of it. If you don’t frequently fly Southwest, then the annual fee likely won’t be worth it for you.
Not very flexible points
The most valuable way to use your Rapid Rewards points are for Southwest flights, where they’re worth around $0.014 per point. However, if you use them for anything other than Southwest flights, they might be worth less.
There are other options for redeeming Rapid Rewards points, like gift cards, merchandise and hotel stays — but you’re best off redeeming them for flights.
No Early Bird Check-In
Southwest’s Early Bird Check-In allows you to check in before the standard 24 hours before your flight, which can lead to a better seat. However, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card doesn’t offer two complimentary check-ins like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card do.
Both of the latter cards have a lower annual fee than the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
While the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offers many benefits, the annual fee of $149 is the highest among Southwest personal credit cards. The others are each a step down and offer fewer perks but with more affordable price points.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | Annual Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card*
|
Receive 7,500 anniversary points, 4 upgraded boardings per year when available, and a $75 Southwest® travel credit each year. Enjoy benefits including 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more. | Earn a $400 statement credit and 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening. | $149 | ||
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*
|
Receive 6,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 3X points on Southwest® purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more. | Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | $99 | ||
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card*
|
Receive 3,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 2 Early Bird Check-In® each year, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more. | Earn a $400 statement credit and 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening. | $69 | ||
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*
|
2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel | 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening | $95 |
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers many of the same benefits as the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, including:
The annual fee of $99 saves you $50 over the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, but you are losing benefits that — if used — easily recoup that amount: the $75 annual travel credit, larger anniversary benefit and four upgraded boardings per year.
This may be the most affordable card, and considering the 3,000 points are worth $45 and the two Early Bird Check-Ins are worth another $30, you come out ahead by $6. The overall value is less than the other cards, and you’ll also have to pay foreign transaction fees when you use this card overseas.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card cardholders receive 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Miles can be partnered to more than a dozen partner airlines for itineraries around the world.
With a slew of benefits, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is arguably the best Southwest personal credit card — even with its high $149 annual fee. Frequent travelers should be able to make good use of the travel credit plus the upgraded boardings and annual bonus make it easy to recover the fee.
But if you just take an occasional flight or aren’t particular about which airline you fly, a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card might be good since it offers decent rewards on all purchases. The points can also be transferred to other airline programs, so you’re not pigeonholed into just one airline.
Still not sure? Check out the array of best travel credit cards to see if any meet your needs.
No, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card doesn’t offer a credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
According to our research, Southwest points are valued around 1.4 cents each. This means a flight that costs $175 would require about 12,500 points. Point value varies by destination and fare class.
To use your $75 Southwest annual travel credit all you need to do is book a Southwest flight with your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. You will find a $75 credit applied to your credit card statement.
The best Southwest credit card is the one that you can afford and will be able to take advantage of the most. If you can swing the annual fee, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offers the most value with the sign-up bonus, the statement credit and other perks.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
The information related to the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, United Quest℠ Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
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