New 60k Bonus For Southwest Credit Cards: Compare Your Options

We write a lot about Southwest — and for good reason. For instance, one of the top perks in all of travel is the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, and getting one of Southwest’s credit cards will now get you more than half way there.

The new offer for Southwest’s lineup of three cards is for 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after a reasonable $2,000 spend within three months of card opening (up from 40,000).

There are four Southwest cards, three being personal cards and one that is a business card. The key differences of each card are marked in the bullets in BOLD.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card (Personal Card) — $69 annual fee

• 60,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Reward  hotel and car rental partner purchases
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 3,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card (Personal Card) — $99 annual fee

• 60,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Reward  hotel and car rental partner purchases
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 6,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary
• No foreign transaction fees

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card (Personal Card) — $149 annual fee

• 60,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Reward  hotel and car rental partner purchases
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 7,500 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary
• $75 Southwest travel credit each year
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
• 20% back on in-flight drinks and WiFi
• No foreign transaction fees

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card (Business Card) — $99 annual fee

• 60,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Reward  hotel and car rental partner purchases
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 6,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary
• No foreign transaction fees

The best value here if you travel on Southwest with any frequency at all (even once per year) is the $149 Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card. It comes with a $75 travel credit and 7,500 points each year, valued at about $112. (With each Southwest point worth about 1.5 cents when redeeming.)

And that’s not including the upgraded boardings and discount on in-flight drinks and Wi-Fi. This card actually pays for itself.

See Also: How Do The Perks Of The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card Work? 

Southwest Companion Pass 

Southwest’s Companion Pass allows someone else to travel with you. In order to get the Companion Pass, you have to earn 110,000 Rapid Rewards points. While that might seem high, it also includes the bonus you receive when signing up for a credit card. Hence a 60,000 bonus for one card would get you more than halfway to a companion pass.

While you still have to pay the taxes on their ticket, the Companion Pass is also valid on both award and revenue tickets. (And Southwest now goes to Hawaii!) You can also change your designated companion three times a year, so you can potentially even use this for multiple people.

Best of all, you will maintain Companion Pass status for the remainder of the calendar year in which the status was earned and for the entire calendar year immediately following. That means if you apply and are approved for two Southwest cards (personal and business, for instance) and spend the $4,000 ($2,000 each) in May, you’ll get the Companion Pass for the rest of 2019 and all of 2020.

See Also: What Exactly is a Southwest ‘Wanna Get Away’ Fare

Keep in mind that these cards are still subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule (where you cannot open more than five cards within the past 24 months from as card issuer).