The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card offers a basic earning rate and minimal benefits, but if you're only flying Southwest occasionally, that's really all you need. Plus, during the current sign-up offer, you can receive the elusive Southwest Companion Pass, which can give you a ton of value.
The initial bonus has a lot to do with that, as does the card's 2 point per $1 rewards rate on Southwest and Rapid Rewards purchases. Receiving 3,000 bonus points after each account anniversary helps, too. For high odds of approval, Southwest Plus Card applicants need a good or excellent credit score (700+).
Priority Benefits
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority cardholders can use their card to pay for “Upgraded Boarding” on the day of a flight. These priority slots, A1 through A15, are the first 15 passengers onboard.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is the entry-level personal Southwest credit card. Therefore, it should be the easiest of the personal cards to qualify for. It also has the lowest annual fee of $69 (vs. $99 and $149).
For the Southwest credit cards, you have the best approval odds with a minimum 670 credit score. This score is the start of “good credit”, the second-best credit score tier. The best rating — excellent credit — typically starts with a 740 credit score.
Many airline cards with comparable annual fees waive the fee in the first year, but the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers no such break. After you're approved for the card, you'll be billed for the $99 annual fee right away.
Best credit cards if your FICO score is 600 to 649 overview
| Credit Card | Best For |
|---|---|
| Capital One Platinum Credit Card | Rebuilding credit |
| Secured Mastercard® from Capital One | The lower end of fair credit |
| OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card | Those with little to no credit |
| Discover it® Secured | Cashback rewards AND building credit |
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card is brought to you by Southwest Airlines® and Chase. Southwest Airlines is responsible for the redemption of Rapid Rewards points toward benefits and services.
Best Airline Credit Cards for Bad Credit
To redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points for a Wanna Get Away ticket, you will need approximately 70 points per $1 of airfare. When paying cash for a Wanna Get Away ticket, you will earn 6 points per $1 of airfare. Anytime tickets are mid-level price tickets that you can buy at any time.
The value per point varies by flight, but averages around 1.6 cents per point for a Wanna Get Away fare.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards redemption options.
| Average point value | Value of 40,000-point sign-up bonus | |
|---|---|---|
| Anytime fare | 1.1 cents | $440 |
| Business Select fare | 0.9 cents | $360 |
On Southwest passengers are broken up into three groups — A, B, and C — and each passenger is given a number in that range, typically from 1 to 60. The plane is boarded in order of your priority, meaning that A1 boards first, and C60 boards last (assuming there are passengers with those numbers).
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