Serious question: Is Southwest Airlines trying to drive away its most loyal customers?
Just months after rolling out unpopular changes like bag fees and stingy new basic economy fares, Southwest is back with another blow: Higher annual fees on all three of its co-branded credit cards. The increases range from a relatively mild $30 hike on the *sw plus* (now $99 a year) to a bigger $80 jump on the top-tier *sw priority* (now $229 per year).
Could it be worse? Sure. But combined with Southwest’s recent streak of customer-unfriendly moves, this move feels like adding insult to injury.
To soften the blow, Southwest launched its biggest credit card welcome bonus of the year: New applicants can now earn 100,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first five months, available through Sept. 17. That's double the usual 50,000-point offer.
But for existing cardholders, that’s cold comfort. To justify the higher price tag upon their next renewal, Southwest has added new perks like a first checked bag free, the ability to pick seats with extra legroom, earlier boarding, and more bonus points on everyday spending categories like gas, groceries, and dining.
Still, it feels a lot like Southwest is making customers pay more just to get back what they once got for free. So what’s actually changing – and are these cards still worth keeping in your wallet?
Let’s break it down.
Changes to Southwest Rapid Rewards® Cards
From top to bottom, there's quite a bit to unpack with these changes. The big bonus offer is a good one – and a much needed sweetener – but we'll get to that in a bit.
By and large, the biggest change with the entire portfolio of Southwest Cards is giving back what the airline took away just months ago: Free checked bags, early boarding, and free seat selection – including preferred seats and access to Southwest's new extra legroom seats for Premier cardholders.
Beyond that, these cards include new bonus spending categories, a promo code for a flight discount each year on your cardmember anniversary, and the opportunity to spend your way to Southwest's A-List status.
Meanwhile, long-time benefits like earning bonus points on transit and select utilities, EarlyBird check-in, and preferred boarding are going away at the end of the year. With Southwest's new boarding process going into effect in early 2026, the lost bonus categories are the only real downside here. Additional benefits like anniversary bonus points, Companion Pass qualifying points boost, accelerated earning on Southwest flights, and a 25% discount on in-fight purchases remain unchanged.
Here's a closer look at what you get now – and in the future – with each of Southwest's personal cards.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: On your cardmember anniversary, you'll receive 3,000 Rapid Rewards points each year.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- New! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points on the first $5,000 in combined spend at gas stations and grocery stores each anniversary year
- Ending Soon! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards for every $1 you spend on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners. This bonus category is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- Ending Soon! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases – including rideshares like Uber and Lyft – as well as internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases. This bonus category is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- New! 10% Flight discount: Receive a 10% promo code each year on your cardmember anniversary (excludes basic fares).
- New! Boarding benefit: Cardmembers and up to eight passengers on the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
- New! Free checked bag: Cardmembers and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
- New! Complimentary seat selection: Select a Standard seat within 48 hours of departure, when available.
- New! No foreign transaction fees
- Increased! Annual Fee: $99 (was $69)
Learn more about the *sw plus*.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: Each year, on your cardmember anniversary, you'll receive 6,000 Rapid Rewards points.
- Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- New! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points on the first $8,000 in combined spend at restaurants and grocery stores each anniversary year
- Ending Soon! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards per dollar spent on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners. This bonus category is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- Ending Soon! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases – including rideshares like Uber and Lyft – as well as internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases. This bonus category is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Ending Soon! Get 2 EarlyBird check-in® each year. This benefit is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- New! Spend your way to A-List status: Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually accelerating your way to A-List status.
- New! 15% Flight discount: Receive a 10% promo code each year on your cardmember anniversary (excludes basic fares).
- New! Boarding benefit: Cardmembers and up to eight passengers on the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
- New! Free checked bag: Cardmembers and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
- New! Complimentary seat selection: Select a Standard or Preferred seat within 48 hours of departure, when available.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Increased! Annual Fee: $149 (was $99)
Learn more about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: On each cardmember anniversary, you'll receive 7,500 Rapid Rewards points.
- New! Earn 4x Rapid Rewards Points (was 3x) per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- New! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent at gas stations and restaurants each anniversary year.
- Ending Soon! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards per dollar spent on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners. This bonus category is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- Ending Soon! Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases – including rideshares like Uber and Lyft – as well as internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases. This bonus category is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Ending Soon! 4 Upgraded Boardings each year when available for 2025 flights. This benefit is going away effective Dec. 31, 2025!
- New! Spend your way to A-List status: Earn 2,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually accelerating your way to A-List status.
- New! Boarding benefit: Cardmembers and up to eight passengers on the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
- New! Free checked bag: Cardmembers and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
- New! Complimentary Preferred seat selection: Enjoy unlimited upgrades to an Extra Legroom seat within 48 hours of departure, when available.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Increased! Annual Fee: $229 (was $149)
Learn more about the *sw priority*.
Should You Apply?
Maybe … but not right away.
These bigger 100,000-point bonus offers are no doubt exciting, even with the fee increase. Beyond the value of all those Rapid Rewards points – worth well over $1,000 towards flights – these big bonuses could help you earn nearly two years of BOGO flights with Southwest's Companion Pass.
What's the Southwest Companion Pass? Oh, just one of the best deals in all of travel (yes, even after Southwest's nasty changes) – and the timing of these bigger bonuses couldn't be better. Typically, the Southwest Companion Pass requires you to earn 135,000 qualifying Southwest Rapid Rewards points … or fly 100 one-way revenue flights in a calendar year.
Thankfully, Rapid Rewards points earned through a sign-up bonus count towards the Companion Pass, meaning you'd only need to earn an additional 35,000 points by the end of the year. But it's even less than that: Since all Southwest credit cardholders get a 10,000-point Companion Pass boost just for having a card, you'll really only need to earn an additional 25,000 points to get that coveted Companion Pass.
The key here is timing … and patience.
Once you earn all the points you need, you get your Companion Pass for the rest of the year and the entire following year. That means if you completed the minimum spending requirement at the tail end of the five months Southwest is giving you … your bonus would hit early next year, leaving you just 25,000 points shy of your goal.
Since this bigger bonus is slated to run through Sept. 17, you'll want to hold off on applying for a month or so. With careful planning, you could get within a few dollars before the end of the year and then make a smaller purchase right away in 2026 to finish it out. Taking this route, you'd be setting your self up for nearly two full years of BOGO flights!
Just be careful not to spend the full $4,000 needed until next year. If you earn your bonus in 2025, you'd still be within striking distance of earning the Companion Pass, but you'd only get to enjoy it for a year and change.
Unfortunately, you can't simply open a second Southwest personal card to get the remaining points – Chase only allows you to hold one version of their personal cards at a time. And you can't simply cancel one card and open another, either: Timing and restrictions on how often you can earn bonuses mean that won't work.
But you can easily bridge this gap with the *SW Rapid Rewards Premier Biz* and its current offer: bonus_miles_full
Worried about whether or not you'll qualify for a business credit card? You might be surprised to learn just what the banks consider a small business. Odds are if you've got any sort of side hustle, do consulting work, or even just buy and sell items on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, your business would qualify.
Otherwise, you could earn the remaining points you need the harder way: Simply flying with Southwest. You'll earn at least 2x points for every $1 you spend on the cheapest Southwest “Basic” fares or up to 14x points on the priciest Business Select tickets. But you'll need to do that flying as early as possible in 2026 to get maximum value out of your Companion Pass.
Finally, you'll also earn more Companion Pass points (and Rapid Rewards) for every $1 you spend on your Southwest credit card. If you're a big spender or have major purchase like a home renovation slated for early 2026, it wouldn't take more than a few months to earn the remaining points needed.
If you don't go with the tandem of a business Southwest card, some combination of earning this big bonus, spending more on your card, and flying with Southwest could be enough to get you a Companion Pass for nearly two full years.
Bottom Line
Southwest just raised the annual fees on all of its personal credit cards – yet another blow after a string of customer-unfriendly changes like the introduction of bag fees and basic economy fares.
To help make up for it, the airline is offering a massive 100,000-point bonus through Sept. 17 and rolling out new perks like seat selection and extra earning categories. But for many travelers, it still feels like Southwest is making customers pay more … just to regain what they’ve recently lost.
