Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Review 2026

Quick answer

The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus is the most affordable entry point into the Southwest ecosystem at just $99 per year. It earns 2x points on Southwest purchases and delivers 3,000 anniversary bonus points annually, making it easy to recoup the fee. If you fly Southwest occasionally and want to build toward the coveted Companion Pass, this card gets you started without a heavy annual commitment.

TL;DR: The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card has a $99 annual fee, earns 2x points on Southwest Airlines and hotel/car rental partner purchases, 1x on everything else, and awards 3,000 anniversary bonus points each year. The current welcome offer is 50,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. It includes 2 EarlyBird Check-In passes per year and no foreign transaction fees are charged.

At a glance

Who should get the Southwest Plus card?

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus is built for travelers who fly Southwest Airlines a few times a year and want a low-cost way to stay connected to the program's benefits. It is not the card for road warriors or people who want a premium lounge experience — Southwest has no lounges and no first class. What it offers instead is simplicity: every seat on every flight is redeemable for points, and points never expire as long as your account is active.

The card makes the most sense if you:

• Already live near a Southwest hub (Dallas Love Field, Denver, Chicago Midway, Baltimore, Atlanta, Las Vegas, or Phoenix Sky Harbor)
• Fly Southwest 2–6 times per year
• Want to accumulate points toward the Companion Pass, which lets a designated companion fly with you on every Southwest flight — paid or award — for an entire calendar year plus the following year
• Are earlier in your credit journey and want an accessible Southwest co-branded card

If you fly Southwest more than once a month, you should consider upgrading to the SW Priority, which carries a $229 annual fee but delivers $75 in Southwest travel credits, 7,500 anniversary points (worth roughly $112), and 4 upgraded boardings per year.

Welcome bonus analysis

The 50,000-point welcome offer after spending $1,000 in 3 months is one of the strongest offers relative to minimum spend in the travel card space. Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth approximately 1.4–1.6 cents each when redeemed for flights, putting the welcome bonus value at roughly $700–$800 in Southwest airfare.

Critically, the welcome bonus points count toward the Companion Pass threshold. To earn the Companion Pass, you need 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. The 50,000 welcome bonus gets you more than one-third of the way there on day one. Pair this card with the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred and transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest to turbocharge your Companion Pass progress.

Important: Chase's 5/24 rule applies. If you have opened 5 or more credit card accounts in the past 24 months (across all issuers), Chase will not approve you for this card. Plan your application accordingly.

Earning structure explained

The 2x rate on Southwest flights is solid, but it is the base level across all three personal Southwest cards. Where the Plus lags behind the Premier and Priority cards is that it does not earn 3x on Southwest purchases. However, because Rapid Rewards points are valued uniformly (Southwest uses a revenue-based model, not award charts), the difference between 2x and 3x only matters if you spend heavily on Southwest itself.

For everyday spend, 1x is below average compared with cards like the Freedom Unlimited, which earns 1.5x on all non-bonus purchases. If you are trying to maximize every dollar, consider using the Plus primarily for Southwest purchases and layering in a flat-rate card for everything else.

Annual benefits breakdown

3,000 anniversary points Each year your account renews, you receive 3,000 Rapid Rewards points automatically. At ~1.5 cents per point, that is about $45 in flight value — nearly half the annual fee offset by points alone. These anniversary points also count toward the Companion Pass.

2 EarlyBird Check-In passes Southwest uses open seating: passengers board in groups (A, B, C) based on check-in time. EarlyBird Check-In automatically checks you in 36 hours before departure, dramatically improving your boarding position without you having to set a phone alarm exactly 24 hours out. At $25 each if purchased separately, the 2 EarlyBird passes included with the card are worth $50 per year — combined with the anniversary points, that is $95 of value against the $99 fee, so the card comes close to paying for itself before you have flown a single mile.

No foreign transaction fees Unlike some entry-level cards, the Southwest Plus charges no foreign transaction fee (typically 3%). Southwest does not fly internationally, but if you use this card abroad for other purchases, you are covered.

How Southwest Rapid Rewards points work

Southwest's loyalty program is purely revenue-based: the cost of a flight in points is directly tied to the cash price of the ticket. There are no award charts, no sweet spots, and no fuel surcharges. When a $200 round-trip ticket is available, it typically costs around 13,000–15,000 points. When prices spike, so does the points cost.

Wanna Get Away fares represent the best redemption value (typically 1.4–1.6 cents per point). Business Select and Anytime fares cost more points but are refundable as points if you cancel, rather than reverting to a travel fund.

Points earned on the Southwest Plus card are classified as Rapid Rewards points, which count toward:

• Free flights
• Companion Pass qualification
• A-List and A-List Preferred elite status (though you also need qualifying flights)

Points never expire as long as you have qualifying activity (a purchase, point transfer, flight, or hotel stay) at least once every 24 months.

Companion Pass strategy with the Plus card

The Companion Pass is widely considered one of the best travel deals in the United States. Here is why: once earned, your designated companion flies free (taxes and fees only, typically $5.60 per one-way domestic segment) on every Southwest flight you take — paid or award — for the remainder of the calendar year and the entire following year.

The threshold is 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a single calendar year. Points from the Plus card's welcome bonus count. Here is a sample path to Companion Pass:

Note: Chase Ultimate Rewards points (from cards like Sapphire Preferred) transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio and do count toward the Companion Pass.

How it compares to other Southwest personal cards

The math on upgrading has shifted since Chase's July 2025 Southwest refresh raised every card's fee. Moving from Plus to Premier now costs $50 more per year ($149 vs. $99), for an extra 3,000 anniversary points (~$45 value), the jump to 3x earning on Southwest spend, Tier Qualifying Points toward elite status, and no foreign transaction fee. Net of just the extra anniversary points, that upgrade costs about $5/year — cheap for the earn-rate bump and TQPs if you fly Southwest with any regularity.

The Priority card costs $229 (raised from $149 in 2026) — its $75 Southwest credit and 7,500 anniversary points (~$112 value) bring its net cost down to roughly $42, which is actually below the Premier's $149 sticker price once credits are counted, even though Priority's raw fee is $80 higher. That reshuffles the old advice: the Premier is still the lower up-front commitment for occasional flyers stepping up from the Plus, but anyone flying Southwest 4+ times a year should now weigh skipping straight to Priority, since its $75 credit, bigger anniversary bonus, 4 upgraded boardings, and 20% inflight discount make it the cheapest of the three cards to actually hold once the credits are applied.

Should you keep, downgrade, or cancel after year one?

Keep it if: You fly Southwest at least once or twice a year and value the 2 EarlyBird passes ($50 value) plus the 3,000 anniversary points (~$45 value). Combined, those benefits are worth ~$95 against a $99 fee — nearly enough to offset it outright.

Upgrade to Premier or Priority if: You fly Southwest 4+ times a year and are actively chasing the Companion Pass. The higher anniversary bonuses and (for Priority) the $75 travel credit make the upgrade pay off quickly.

Cancel if: You have not flown Southwest in over a year and do not plan to. There is no point keeping a co-branded airline card for a carrier you do not use. Redirect that credit line to a more versatile travel card. If you hold other Chase cards, our Chase trifecta guide can help you decide the best combination.

Bottom line

The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus is an honest, low-cost entry into one of America's most popular airline loyalty programs. The $99 annual fee is nearly offset by the 2 EarlyBird Check-In passes and the 3,000 anniversary points alone, and the 50,000-point welcome bonus can seed a serious Companion Pass strategy. It is not a luxury card and does not pretend to be — but for occasional Southwest flyers who want a reliable co-branded companion, it delivers real value year after year.