{"id":1969,"date":"2019-10-11T15:44:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T15:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/?p=1969"},"modified":"2019-11-11T20:44:27","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T20:44:27","slug":"southwest-airlines-credit-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/southwest-airlines-credit-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"The Superiority of the Southwest Airlines Credit Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Affiliate Disclosure: To answer your first question, yes, some of these links do pay us referral fees. But please keep two things in mind: First, we will never post a card simply because of the opportunity to earn money. In fact, we own most of the cards personally that show up on the \u201cour favorite cards\u201d page. And second, if we see a better offer for the same card that we can give you, we will direct you to it. We promise. <\/strong>The content on this page is all ours. The companies that we discuss do not review or endorse it. All opinions are ours. You can\u2019t have them. <\/strong><\/em>Please view our advertising disclosure page<\/a> for additional details about our partners.

Our “must read” on credit cards: The Pros and Cons of Credit Cards<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

***Updated 10\/17: Southwest has increased the requirement for the Companion Pass from 110,000 points to 125,000. The bonuses below will still get you there!<\/strong>***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we touch on the Southwest Airlines Credit Cards<\/a>, let’s talk Southwest Airlines. Southwest does everything differently from its competitors. It offers single-class flights without seat assignments. It avoids connecting passengers at its hubs, preferring to “connect the dots” by pairing up cities. And they charge reasonable prices with few fees. They also happen to be one of the best ways to get to a number of small and mid-sized cities, including Las Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards, is also different and, arguably, superior. Instead of giving you points and then making you hope that there is a reasonably-priced award ticket available, like the network carriers do<\/a>, Southwest sells every seat for either dollars or points, and the value of the points is virtually fixed at about 1.5 cents each.*<\/strong> In other words, a ticket that costs $150 will require about 10,000 points, while a fare of $300 will require about 20,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, as much as great a deal as the Southwest cards are, read to the bottom for what might be a better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: The business card promotion ends on October 15. The personal promo could end at any time, since we don’t have a definitive date.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Cards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are a few varieties of Southwest Airlines credit cards<\/a>, both on the personal and business sides. But one thing that they have in common is that their sign-up bonuses are higher than usual, at 40,000 points for the personal card and 70,000 for the business cards. That’s $600 — $1,100 in flights, just for getting the card and hitting the minimum spend requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the personal side, don’t worry about the annual fee (either $69 for the Southwest Rewards Plus<\/a> card or $149 for the Southwest Rewards Priority<\/a> card). The card comes with annual benefits that offset most or all of it. In fact, the latter card comes with an anniversary bonus of 7,500 points (worth $112.50) and a $75 travel credit, which means that you actually make<\/em> money on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Best Southwest Business Card <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The best business card, the Southwest Performance Business Card<\/a>, come with a different range of benefits, including potential WiFi credits and Global Entry fee rebates. But its 70,000 point bonus is worth about $1,100 in travel. That’s the real play here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Southwest
Image Credit: SWA | Southwest Shark Week Themed Boeing 737 Aircraft<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don’t forget that all points (including those from the sign-up bonus) count toward your requirements to earn a Companion Pass<\/a>, which allows you to bring a friend with you for free on every flight for a year. All you’ll need to pay is the 9\/11 security fee. You can confirm your companion at the time of booking and you can change your designated companion three times per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get one of these cards and you’ll be more than halfway there. Get two and you’ll be bringing a complimentary guest with you everywhere you go. Now, here’s how to get two<\/strong><\/em> years of buy-one-get-one on Southwest Airlines…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a Reason to get the Card Now<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Southwest Companion Pass is always a good reason to get the card, but this is the best time of year to do so. Why is that? I’m glad you asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you earn the Companion Pass, you get it not only for the remainder of that calendar year but also the entire following year. In other words, if you the Pass in the first month of 2020, you’ll have it for almost all of 2020 as well as the entirety of 2021<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of all, points earned through the credit card, including<\/em><\/strong> your sign-up bonus, count toward your goal of 110,000 points (125,000 points as of January 1, 2020). So here’s the plan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n