Southwest Airlines has been overhauling nearly everything about how it flies — bags, boarding, seats, status. Its entry-level personal credit card, the Rapid Rewards Plus issued by Chase, has been updated to match, and a recent review by The Points Guy rates it a solid three stars: a sensible pick for casual Southwest flyers, but not the card for loyalists.
The pitch is simple. For a $99 annual fee you get a free first checked bag — not just for yourself, but for up to eight passengers on the same reservation. That alone can nearly pay for the card, since Southwest now typically charges $45 per bag each way. Add Group 5 boarding, free standard seat selection within 48 hours of departure when seats are available, a 10% flight discount code each year, and 25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi, and the perks cover most of the airline's new pay-to-play friction points. Just remember to attach your Rapid Rewards number to every booking; the inflight discount, though, requires paying with the card itself.
The welcome offer is 80,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months, and cardholders earn 2x points on Southwest purchases, at gas stations and grocery stores (on the first $5,000 combined per year) and on Lyft rides through the end of 2027. Everything else earns 1x. It's a modest earning rate — a general travel or cash-back card would likely return more on everyday spending.
Where the card earns its keep is in the loyalty mechanics. You get 3,000 bonus points each anniversary and earn tier qualifying points on card spend at the same rate as Southwest's pricier cards. The Companion Pass game is changing, though: the annual 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying-point boost disappears after 2026, replaced by a one-time 10,000-point boost toward Platinum status for cardholders who hit 130,000 tier qualifying points by the end of 2027.
Points are worth the most on Southwest flights, where dynamic pricing means redemption rates track cash fares but availability is famously good — if a seat is sold for cash, points can book it. One TPG writer recently flew Orlando to Aruba round trip for 38,500 points, a trip that would have cost about $800 in cash, squeezing roughly 2 cents of value per point. From spring 2027, Southwest plans to let members redeem for partner airlines such as Etihad and Icelandair, which should loosen the program's current everything-stays-in-the-Southwest-ecosystem feel.
The verdict for travellers: if you fly Southwest once or twice a year and usually check a bag, the Plus card pays for itself without demanding much thought. If you're chasing the Companion Pass or fly the airline monthly, a higher-tier Southwest card will serve you better — and if your loyalty lies anywhere else, a flexible transferable-points card is the smarter wallet occupant. Approval generally wants a credit score of 670 or above, and note you won't get the welcome bonus if you've recently taken one on another personal Southwest card.
Review via The Points Guy.
