Despite Southwest being in the news recently for its big, negative changes, the airline's suite of co-branded credit cards are still worth your attention … maybe now, more than ever.
Carrying a co-branded card will soon be the easiest way to get a free checked bag when flying with Southwest and despite all the recent changes, the airline's Companion Pass remains one of the absolute best deals in the world of travel. In normal times, earning the Companion Pass can be a chore, but not now…
With the current limited-time offers, you can earn a free year of the Southwest Companion Pass (good through Feb. 28, 2026) and 30,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of card membership. But if you've been waiting to apply, time is quickly running out: These offers end on Monday, March 31!
The Southwest Companion Pass unlocks unlimited buy-one-get-one flights – whether you pay in cash or redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points – with no blackout dates and no questions asked. While the Companion Pass you’ll get from these credit card offers won’t last as long as earning it the old-fashioned way, this is a far easier path to earning a year of BOGO travel.
With these new offers, it's clear that the Companion Pass is the star of the show, but 30,000 Rapid Rewards points aren't a half-bad supporting character. Even as the airline moves to a more dynamic pricing model, they should still be worth at least $300 and can easily be enough for two roundtrips to many of Southwest's destinations. And if you get in on one of Southwest's frequent sales, you can stretch them even further.
Just remember: Credit cards are serious business. Whether it's a year of BOGO-free travel or a big pool of points, none of it is worth digging yourself into debt for. If you can't afford to pay off every dime you charge to your new card, these exciting new offers should be a hard pass.
Read on for everything you need to know about these limited-time Southwest credit card offers and the benefits available on each of them.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: On your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 3,000 Rapid Rewards points each year.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines and its hotel and rental car partners.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares like Uber and Lyft. You’ll also earn 2x points per dollar spent on internet/cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases.
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Get 2 Early Bird check-ins each year.
- Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
- Annual Fee: The card has an annual fee of $69, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.
Learn more about the *sw plus*.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: On your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 7,500 Rapid Rewards points each year.
- Priority Boarding: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive four upgraded boarding positions. Simply purchase an upgrade on the day of your travel with the Priority card. You’ll receive a boarding number between A1 and A15, and be reimbursed via statement credit within eight weeks.
- Annual Travel Credit: Receive an annual travel credit of $75 to use on Southwest Airlines flights.
- 25% Back on In-Flight Purchases: Receive 25% back via statement credits for in-flight purchases. This can be used for drinks, movies, and purchasing Wi-Fi and messaging.
- Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares like Uber and Lyft. You’ll also earn 2x points per dollar spent on internet/cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases.
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Unlimited Tier Qualifying Points can be earned towards A-List status each year.
- Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
- Annual Fee: The card has a $149 annual fee, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.
Learn more about the *sw priority*.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: Each year, on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 6,000 Rapid Rewards points.
- Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares like Uber and Lyft. You’ll also earn 2x points per dollar spent on internet/cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases.
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- 25% Back on In-Flight Purchases: Receive 25% back via statement credits for in-flight purchases. This can be used for drinks, movies, and purchasing Wi-Fi and messaging.
- Get 2 Early Bird check-ins each year.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
- Annual Fee: The card has a $99 annual fee, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.
Learn more about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
How Good are These Offers?
It's hard to overstate just how good this offer is: 30,000 Southwest points are nice, but it's the Companion Pass that travelers should really care about.
You won't find a better deal in the world of travel than the Southwest Companion Pass. Think of it as an unlimited buy-one, get-one flight pass. Even after Southwest (slightly) increased the points needed to qualify for the Companion Pass, we're still singing its praises.
Once you meet your card's minimum spending requirement, you get your Companion Pass for the rest 2025 and all the way through Feb. 28, 2026.
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.
Points earned from new card welcome offers do count towards that total but we've never seen a personal Southwest Card welcome offer go that high. This means you'd traditionally have to open both a personal Southwest Card and a business card, like the *southwest performance biz*, in order to earn the companion pass through welcome offers alone. Otherwise you'd need to earn the remaining points the harder way: Spending on your card or simply flying with Southwest.
No matter how you look at it, being able to earn the Southwest Companion pass and 30,000 Rapid Rewards points with this new card offer is a fantastic deal and one that most travelers should take a good hard look at.
Are You Eligible?
Before you hit apply, it's time to ask yourself: Are you even eligible to open one of these Southwest cards?
Chase only lets you hold one Southwest personal credit card at a time. That means if you already have one Southwest credit card open, you will not be approved for a second card. On top of that, these welcome bonuses are not available if you have earned a welcome bonus on any of the three Southwest Airlines personal credit cards in the past 24 months (or two years).
These cards are also subjected to the dreaded Chase 5/24 rule, so getting approved for one of these cards may be difficult depending on how many credit cards (from any bank, not just Chase) you’ve opened in the last 24 months. If you've opened five or more credit cards with any bank in that period, you will not be approved for Chase credit cards, regardless of your credit score or history with Chase.
However, if you are eligible, these Southwest credit cards are easily among the best credit cards you can get if you are under the Chase 5/24 rule. That’s especially true with these new bonuses clearing an easy path to Southwest's Companion Pass.
Read our master guide to the Southwest Companion Pass!
Pair with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve
All three of these Southwest credit cards make great companions to either the *csr* or the *csp*. That’s because Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account on a 1:1 basis, meaning 1,000 Chase points get you 1,000 Southwest Rapid Reward points. And those transfers are instant.
You can even transfer these points to Southwest to book one ticket to use with your Companion pass, paying just the taxes and fees on both tickets.
Learn more about the *csp*.
Learn more about the *csr*.
Bottom Line
Chase and Southwest are out with a new limited-time offer to earn a free year of the Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of card membership on any of the Southwest personal credit cards.
If you regularly fly Southwest, be sure to apply before these offers end on Monday, March 21!