Southwest Priority Card Review: More Perks, More Reasons to Keep It

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The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card is positioned to be the “premium” card of the three co-brand personal Rapid Rewards credit cards offered by Chase

If you decide to sign up for the Southwest Priority card or any of the Southwest credit cards, we’d appreciate it if you use our link. We receive Southwest points for each referral, which helps us keep Your Mileage May Vary HQ strong.

Let’s take a closer look at what the Southwest card has to offer to new cardholders and if it makes sense to hold onto the card for the long term.

Annual Fee

$149 Annual Fee

Sign Up Bonus

The current sign-up bonus for the Southwest Priority card is 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points if you spend $1,000 in the first three months. The signup bonus for this card varies, and at the beginning of the last several years, it has offered a limited-time Companion Pass.

Spending Categories

When spending on the card, you earn points in the Southwest Rapid Rewards program as follows:

• 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases
• 2 points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases
• 2 points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
• 2 points per $1 spent on internet, cable, phone services and select streaming
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

I must admit, I’m a bit unclear about which hotel and rental car purchases will earn two points. Is it through a company that partners with Southwest, or do you have to book directly with Southwest? The documentation on this benefit is unclear about which expenses qualify.

It’s nice to see Southwest bump the earning for its own purchases up to 3X. For most, the card’s value doesn’t lie in earning Rapid Rewards points. You can earn 2x points with the Sapphire Preferred. Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio, so there’s no benefit to spending on the card, even when booking with Southwest. That’s unless you’re going for A-List status.

Card Benefits

Here’s where the Southwest Priority Card starts to shine

• 7,500 anniversary points each year. Valuing Southwest points at 1.3 cents each, that’s a $97 value. However, that’s similar to buying Southwest points, and I prefer not to purchase points. What else?
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit. OK, as long as you’re going to fly Southwest during the year, this is easy to spend. I found out that purchasing a Southwest gift card also triggers the credit.
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available. I’ve written about how Upgraded Boarding is the way to get the best boarding spot on the plane, and it costs $30 – $50 per flight. This benefit alone could be worth the card’s annual fee.
• 25% back on In-flight WiFi and drinks. YMMV for what this is worth to you. It would depend on how much you fly on Southwest (and how much you drink when flying on Southwest)
• Earn tier qualifying points—You’ll earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for each $5,000 in purchases. TQPs can be used to qualify for Rapid Rewards A-List or A-List Preferred status. A-List starts at 35,000 TQP. This benefit was previously capped, but now there’s no limit on the TQPs you can earn.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Points earned with the card count towards earning a Southwest Companion Pass

New and Upcoming Benefits for Cardholders

Southwest is rolling out several enhancements to its co-branded credit cards, including new perks that make the Priority Card even more valuable, especially for frequent flyers:

• Seat Selection at Booking: You’ll be able to choose a Standard or Preferred seat during booking, on any fare, when available. In addition, you can upgrade to Extra Legroom seating within 48 hours of departure, when available. These perks are still being phased in, but they’ll improve the boarding experience without paying extra.
• Automatic Boarding Position Assignment: For now, we know that boarding positions will be automatically reserved for you and any passengers on your reservation. More details are expected soon, but this could make checking in exactly 24 hours before your flight a thing of the past.
• Free Checked Bags: As of late May 2025, cardholders and up to eight passengers on the same reservation get their first checked bag free.
• Increased Tier Qualifying Points (Coming Late Summer 2025): You’ll earn 2,500 TQPs (up from 1,500) for every $5,000 spent on the card annually. If you’re aiming for A-List or A-List Preferred status, this boost could make elite status much more attainable through spending alone.
• More Ways to Earn – Coming Soon: Southwest has teased even more cardmember perks on the way. Until then, existing benefits—such as the annual travel credit, upgraded boarding, and anniversary points—will remain in full effect.

Ways to use Southwest Rapid Rewards points

The points you earn with the signup bonus and spending on the card are deposited into your Southwest Rapid Rewards account. From there, you can use the points to book flights on Southwest.

Southwest no longer sets a value for points, instead they say this about redemptions.

The number of points needed for a reward flight depends on the fare. Just like fares, reward pricing can vary based on destination, time, day of travel, demand, fare type, point redemption rate, and other factors and is subject to change at any time until the booking is confirmed

You can figure to get a value of around 1.3 cents per Southwest point. The amount you’ll pay for a ticket is directly related to the cost of that ticket. The nice thing is that you’ll never have blackout dates redeeming points on Southwest. Prices may be high, but you’ll always be able to use points as long as a cash ticket is available.

Final Thoughts

Southwest’s Rapid Rewards® Priority Card has always been positioned as the best of their three personal credit cards—and with all the new changes coming, that’s more true than ever.

Between the $75 annual travel credit, 7,500 anniversary points, and four Upgraded Boardings, I already felt like I was getting more in return than I was paying in fees. Now, with upcoming perks like preferred seat selection, automatic boarding assignment, free checked bags for cardholders, and an increased rate for earning Tier Qualifying Points, the value proposition is even stronger.

Is this card the best for earning Rapid Rewards points through everyday spending? Probably not—there are better options for that, especially if you collect Ultimate Rewards. But if you’re a Southwest flyer looking to get perks that make your flights more comfortable and save you money every year, the Priority Card delivers.

And since points from this card count toward earning the Companion Pass, it’s a great tool to help unlock one of the best travel perks out there.

If you’ve been on the fence, now might be the time to jump in. We’d appreciate it if you use our referral link if you decide to apply.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary