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The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is offer is offering up to 100,000 bonus points, the best points offer we’ve seen for this card. Earn 50,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Earn an additional 50,000 points after spending $12,000 on purchases in the first 12 months of accounting opening. We value the combined 100k bonus points at $1,500.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is a great option for frequent Southwest flyers who can do without luxury benefits and elite status. Want a few more card perks? There are other Southwest Rapid Rewards cards with higher annual fees and more perks. The extra perks aren’t mind blowing. But, the annual fees don’t take big jumps either. Here’s a quick comparison:
| Card Name | Bonus | Main Perks | Annual Fee |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Earn up to 100,000 bonus points. Earn 50,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Earn an additional 50,000 points after spending $12,000 on purchases in the first 12 months of accounting opening. 3,000 anniversary bonus points. | Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on Southwest Airline purchases. Also, earn 2 points for every $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming. You’ll get 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases. 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year Free 1st & 2nd checked bags. No change fee. *Has foreign transaction fees. All points earned count towards Companion Pass® | $69 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | Earn up to 100,000 bonus points. Earn 50,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Earn an additional 50,000 points after spending $12,000 on purchases in the first 12 months of accounting opening. 6,000-anniversary bonus points. | Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on Southwest Airline purchases. Also, earn 2 points for every $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming. You’ll get 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases. 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year. Free 1st & 2nd checked bags. No change fee. No foreign transaction fees. All points earned count towards Companion Pass® | $99 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | Earn up to 100,000 bonus points. Earn 50,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Earn an additional 50,000 points after spending $12,000 on purchases in the first 12 months of accounting opening. 7,500 anniversary bonus points. | Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on Southwest Airline purchases. Also, earn 2 points for every $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, and on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming. You’ll get 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases. Free 1st & 2nd checked bags. No change fee. No foreign transaction fees. $75 Southwest annual travel credit. Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available ($30-$50 value each). | $149 |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in first 3 months. 6,000 anniversary bonus points. | 3 points for every $1 on Southwest Airlines purchases 2 points for every $1 at participating Rapid Rewards Hotel and Rental Car partners. 2 points for every $1 on rideshare. 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year. Free 1st & 2nd checked bags. No change fee. No foreign transaction fees. | $99 |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. 9,000 anniversary bonus points. | 4 points for every $1 on Southwest Airlines. 3 points for every $1 on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car partners. 2 points for every $1 on rideshare, social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services. Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available ($30-$50 value each). Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ Fee credit. Free 1st & 2nd checked bags. No change fee. No foreign transaction fees. | $199 |
If you don’t plan on flying Southwest regularly, a general travel rewards card will do much better for you (suggestions below).
*The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is issued by Chase Bank. Chase also offers great sign-up bonuses for their Checking/Savings accounts.
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® CARD
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card currently has an offer for 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Redeeming the 60,000 bonus points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, which is praised by users, will get you $750 in value towards travel. The 60K bonus points are worth $750 because you get 25% more value whenever you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Even better, strategize with Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer partners to potentially get even more value. Each point can be worth up to 2 cents apiece (60k points = ~$1,200). Read more on this here.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Up To 100,000 Bonus Points
Take advantage of the up to 100,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points offer. You earn 50k points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months plus an additional 50k points after you spend $12,000 in the first 12 months. Compare this offer to other card bonuses.
We value 100,000 Rapid Rewards points at $1,500 based on our valuation (more on this below). Compare this to other credit card bonuses here.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirement.
What Are Rapid Rewards Points Worth?
Like many other airline-branded credit cards, the value of your points depends on how you use them. On average, I value each Rapid Rewards point at around $0.015. Using this figure, 100k points are worth $1,500.
You can redeem your points for:
- Flights
- Hotel stays
- Car rentals
- Gift cards
- Access to events
- Merchandise
To maximize the value of your Rapid Rewards points, redeem them for Southwest flights. When I searched for flights with points on popular routes, the value ranged from $0.014 to $0.016 per point.
There are no blackout dates and no seat restrictions. Keep in mind, point values change constantly and depend on when you fly, destination and more.
Using your Rapid Rewards points towards anything other than Southwest flights won’t get you the best value. These typically bring your points worth to below $0.01.
Bottom Line
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is the most basic rewards card from the airline brand. It offers the least perks, but it also comes with the lowest annual fee.
For Southwest frequent flyers who don’t care for luxury benefits or VIP status, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus card is a solid choice. If you’re looking for extra side benefits when you travel, go with a pricier Rapid Rewards credit card.
Get a general travel rewards credit card if you don’t foresee flying on Southwest often. Great options include the American Express® Gold Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. The annual fee is a bit more for all of these. But, you’ll find the perks quite good.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Disclaimer: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. It is not the bank advertiser's or any other entity's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.