Southwest's mid-tier personal credit card is having a moment. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card, issued by Chase with a $149 annual fee, is currently offering a limited-time welcome bonus of 85,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first three months — up from the usual 55,000-point offer. At a rough valuation of 1.2 cents per Rapid Rewards point, that's around $1,020 in flights, for a card whose fee sits in the middle of Southwest's $99/$149/$229 lineup.
The timing matters because of a major program change looming. The Southwest Companion Pass — arguably the best deal in US airline loyalty, letting a companion fly with you for a full year for just taxes and fees — has long been reachable by stacking credit card welcome bonuses toward the 135,000 qualifying points required. From January 1, 2027, welcome bonuses no longer count, and neither will referral bonuses, anniversary points, or bonus points from spending. The pass is being folded into the new top elite tier, Platinum, requiring either 140,000 Tier Qualifying Points or 100 qualifying flights. Anyone who has considered going for the Companion Pass the easy way has until the end of 2026 to do it.
On an ongoing basis, the card earns 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x at grocery stores and restaurants on the first $8,000 in combined spending per anniversary year, and 1x elsewhere, with no foreign transaction fees. There's also a status angle: through 2026, every $5,000 spent earns 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points toward A-List status, though from 2027 all Southwest cards will earn a flat 1 TQP per dollar, with the program restructured into Silver (35,000 TQPs), Gold (65,000) and Platinum (140,000) tiers.
Where the card earns its fee is in flight perks. Cardholders get a free first checked bag for themselves and up to eight passengers on the same reservation — meaningful when bags now cost $45 each way. You can also pick a Preferred seat (worth roughly $28–50) from 48 hours before departure, board no later than Group 5, get 6,000 bonus points each anniversary (worth about $72 in airfare), a 15% annual flight discount promo code, and 25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi. A couple of roundtrips a year with a checked bag essentially covers the annual fee.
One caveat on redemptions: Rapid Rewards is revenue-based, so point value tracks the cash fare. Basic awards tend to offer the best rates — the source cites Tampa to Liberia, Costa Rica at 12,000 points plus about $24 in taxes versus a $200 cash fare, a solid 1.46 cents per point. Change and cancellation fees are notably absent, and rebooking at a lower price refunds the difference. Points are largely locked into Southwest and its partners, which limits the card's appeal for anyone not flying the airline regularly.
For occasional Southwest flyers who check bags, the Premier card is a sensible middle option; the elevated bonus is the real reason to act now. Eligibility excludes anyone holding a Southwest personal card or who has taken a personal card bonus in the past 24 months, and Chase's 5/24 rule applies. — One Mile at a Time
