7 Reasons To Get a Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card

Southwest offers a wide range of credit cards for each type of traveler. Whether you fly once a year or once a week, there’s a Rapid Rewards card that’s right for you.

If you’re thinking about applying for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, take a look at the underrated reasons why it can still be a worthwhile addition to your wallet.

Why get a Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card?

1. Easy-to-earn sign-up bonus

Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

2. Affordable annual fee

Of all of Southwest’s consumer credit cards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card carries the lowest annual fee at only $69.

3. Extra points on Southwest purchases

Earn 2 points per dollar when you purchase Southwest flights, spend at partner hotels and car rental agencies or make other qualifying purchases, like local transit (including rideshares), internet, cable, phone service and select streaming. All other purchases will earn you 1 point per $1 spent.

» Learn more: Read our full Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus review

4. Rapid Reward points won’t expire

You don’t need to worry about sacrificing unused points due to inactivity like on other airlines. Thanks to a change made by the airline in 2019, your Rapid Rewards points will never expire unless you terminate your account.

5. Annual point bonus

Every year, just for having the card, you’ll get an anniversary bonus of 3,000 points. This built-in reward can help you top off your account and get a little bit closer to your next reward vacation.

6. Use points to fly to more international destinations

One underrated reason to add the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card to your lineup is the ability to use your Rapid Rewards points to purchase flights from more than 50 partner airlines through More Rewards. While Southwest itself already flies internationally to the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, thanks to their partner program, you can redeem your points for even more far flung destinations.

Just be sure to look closely at the value you're getting for your points as the More Rewards program tends to offer sub-optimal redemptions compared to booking Southwest flights.

» Learn more: Your guide to booking award flights on Southwest

7. Access to Chase Visa perks

As part of the Visa brand, your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card also offers a bevy of benefits that aren’t often discussed, like:

• Auto rental collision damage waiver: When renting a vehicle, simply decline the rental car company’s collision damage waiver and pay with your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card. If you have insurance, this will act as a secondary coverage; if not, this benefit can act as primary coverage.

• Extended warranty protection: If a product has a warranty of three years or less, purchasing it with your Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card can extend that warranty for an additional year. Note that coverage is limited to $10,000 per claim and doesn’t cover shipping and handling expenses.

• Baggage delay insurance: If your baggage is delayed or misdirected for more than six hours, this benefit covers purchases of the essentials — such as toiletries, clothing and chargers — for up to $100/day for three days. Be sure to keep your receipts to file your claim.

• Lost luggage reimbursement: If the airline loses or damages your checked or carry-on baggage, you can claim up to $3,000 per covered person per trip.

The bottom line

Your 3,000 anniversary points alone get you over halfway to earning back the $69 annual fee.

Considering you can earn a nice sign-up bonus — not to mention the low annual fee — the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card can be a great starter card for those new to travel rewards or flying Southwest.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2022, including those best for: