Southwest is a favorite airline to many people. Its budget-friendly product offers many customers an easy ride from one city to another. The great thing about them is that people love them and their simplicity.
Using the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card gives customers great benefits that alleviate their experience. They will get a travel credit, bonus miles, anniversary miles, and many more benefits.
If you fly Southwest often, you should pick up the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card. It is one of the best travel credit cards out there.
Who Should Get the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card?
When looking at people that should grab this credit card, you should be someone that frequently flies Southwest. That way, you can get the most bang for your flying experience.
If you live near a Southwest hub or enjoy earning additional miles for things such as the Southwest Companion Pass, then you will like this card. It gives you a 3x back on miles flown, 2x back on transit and commuting, and 2x back on phone and internet service.
The benefits of having this card would be great for those loyal Southwest passengers.
The Southwest Companion Pass
The Southwest Companion Pass is something not to overlook. Essentially it is a buy one get one free air ticket. If you buy a flight, you can get a companion ticket for the fee and taxes. It makes finding cheap flights even more straightforward.
The great thing about achieving the companion pass from the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card is there are so many ways to gain miles. You can get the welcome bonus of 75,000 miles. You can earn more miles by flying, commuting or using rideshares, and surfing the internet.
Look at how this card can help you fly cheaper with a companion.
What are the Benefits of the Priority Card?
Before signing up for a new credit card, you need to ensure the benefits help you. Some of the great benefits coming with the Priority card would be:
- 3x miles on Southwest purchases
- 2x miles on transportation, commuting, and rideshares
- 2x miles on cable, internet, phone, and streaming services
- $75 travel credit
- 7,500 Anniversary Miles
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 4 Free Upgrades yearly
- $149 Annual Fee
These great benefits can help you make the most use of your spending and traveling with Southwest.
The Southwest Rapid Reward Priority Credit Card Welcome Bonus
Please ensure the sign-up bonus is worth it when you sign up for a credit card. With the Priority card, the sign-up bonus is at 75,000 miles after spending $5,000 in 3 months.
The Points Guy calculates the value of those miles at 1.5 cents per mile. Making these 75,000 miles worth $1,125. That is an excellent value for just spending $5,000 in 3 months. The significant part is that 75,000 miles help push you within 50,000 miles of the Companion Pass. You cannot let that opportunity slip as well.
The welcome bonus is worth it if you are a loyal Southwest customer and plan to try to reach that Companion pass. Plus, the value is massive, with $1,125 of free travel is a great time, especially with the ability to fly to Hawaii for cheap fares.
The Travel Credit
The travel credit for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card is $75. That is a great deal as the annual fee is $149. That annual credit wipes out half that fee leaving you with more value.
If you fly Southwest enough, that $75 can help you pay for some of your flights, even some very cheap ones. It is an excellent bonus to have that travel credit.
Many other cards have a travel credit like that, including Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve. It helps with travel to have a bonus of travel credit.
The Anniversary Gift of 7,500 Miles
One of the best features is the anniversary gift of 7,500 miles added to the card. Calculating 1.5 cents for each mile, then 7,500 miles will be worth around $112. That helps pay for itself. A gift like this could help pay for a one-way flight, and if you have the companion pass, maybe even two one-way flights.
Some of the newer travel credit cards offer these anniversary bonuses to keep people on to their cards. It is like paying them to stay. If it is a good enough offer, stay with the card and make the most of it.
Capital One Venture X gives back 10,000 miles for their anniversary gift, allowing customers to get $100 back. It is a win-win for both the credit card company and the customer.
The Annual Fee
The annual fee is a hard thing to swallow for many people. When they get a credit card, they do not see the card's value but how much it costs to hold onto the card.
The annual fee is $149. If you look at that amount, you may wonder if there is a cheaper Southwest card (the answer is yes!), but maybe the benefits outweigh the fee.
Let's look at some of the benefits and see if they outweigh the fee.
The fee is $149. The travel credit is $75, which, if used that fee is now cheaper at $74. Adding in the anniversary miles of 7,500 with 1.5 cents a mile comes out to $112. That means Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card is paying us $38 to hold onto the card and travel with it.
That math makes me a happy person.
Final Thoughts:
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card will allow many loyal Southwest flyers to gain rewards by spending on the card. The annual fee is not too bad when you factor in the numerous benefits that offset that amount.
As Southwest is a great airline that offers one free baggage and a good size carry-on, it makes sense why so many people fly Southwest. It is an excellent experience at an affordable cost.
I’m Steve. I’m an English Teacher, traveler, and an avid outdoorsman. If you’d like to comment, ask a question, or simply say hi, leave me a message here, on Twitter (@thefrugalexpat1). Many of my posts have been written to help those in their journey to financial independence. I am on my journey, and as I learn more I hope to share more. And as always, thanks for reading The Frugal Expat.
