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For fans of Southwest Airlines, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card are both enticing. The former offers generous loyalty benefits, including anniversary bonuses and a faster way to earn a Companion Pass. The latter gives you more options when redeeming rewards and lets you transfer points to Southwest's frequent flyer program on a 1:1 basis.
But unless you’re a frequent Southwest flyer and don’t need to use your points for any other travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better choice. It offers flexibility, heightened earnings and travel protections that you won’t find on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card. It's also cheaper to hold.
How the cards compare
Annual fee
$149
$95
Welcome bonus
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
Earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- 3 Rapid Rewards points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases.
- 2 points per $1 spent at grocery stores and restaurants on the first $8,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- 5 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points per $1 spent on travel booked through Chase.
- 3 points per $1 spent on dining; gas and EV charging; select streaming services; online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs); and select vacation rentals.
- 2 points per $1 spent on all other travel.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Through September 2027: 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft.
Foreign transaction fees
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
None.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
None.
Other benefits
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Earn 6,000 points automatically after your cardholder anniversary each year.
- 10,000 Companion Pass points per calendar year.
- 25% discount on in-flight purchases.
- First checked bag free for cardholders and up to eight additional passengers in the same reservation.
- Seat selection 48 hours before departure for standard and preferred seats.
- Group 5 boarding.
- 15% promo code each year for a flight discount (excludes Basic fare).
- 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Transfer points on a 1:1 basis to several airline and hotel partners, including Southwest.
- $100 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase.
- Up to $120 credit every four years for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or Nexus.
Learn more
Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is better for most
If your trips aren't always with Southwest, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card will probably be a more useful card. Here's why.
It offers more redemption options
Though Rapid Rewards points can be redeemed for some international flights with partner airlines through Southwest's portal, you generally won't get a good value for them. Plus, they can't be transferred to other loyalty programs.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, on the other hand, have plenty of redemption options. You can transfer points to several airline and hotel partners, usually on a 1:1 basis (exception: Hyatt at 4:3). Those partners include Southwest, but also United, British Airways, Air France/KLM, Marriott and Hyatt, among others. Alternately, you could book travel directly through Chase's travel portal. And if you're not in the traveling mood, you could opt for cash back.
The bonus categories are broader
Rewards can often be more robust when you aren't brand loyal. Such is the case with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, where you'll earn less value on everyday purchases and travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 5x points on all travel booked through Chase; 3x points on dining, streaming services, gas, EV charging, online grocery purchases and select vacation rentals; plus 2x on all other travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gives you more travel options, and you aren't beholden to a particular airline or travel partner to earn elevated rewards.
Your trips are better protected
Both cards offer some travel insurance when you use the card to book your trip. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers some modest travel protections, including:
- Baggage delay coverage: If your bags are delayed for more than six hours, you’ll get up to $100 per day for three days.
- Lost luggage reimbursement: You get up to $3,000 covered for lost, stolen or damaged baggage when you pay for a trip with your card.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: Secondary coverage that provides reimbursement for expenses that aren’t covered by your own insurance policy.
But the insurance offered from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card outshines its competitor:
- Primary auto rental collision damage waiver: You’ll be reimbursed up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.
- Baggage delay coverage: If your bags are delayed for more than six hours, you’ll get up to $100 per day for five days.
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short because of weather or sickness, you’ll get reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and up to $20,000 per trip for nonrefundable expenses like hotel rooms and tours.
- Trip delay reimbursement: If your travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you’ll get up to $500 per ticket for you and your family, good toward unreimbursed expenses like a hotel and meals.
- Emergency transportation and evacuation coverage.
Extra peace of mind for your travels, without extra cost, can prove invaluable when things go wrong.
Why you still might want to go with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
It offers an anniversary bonus
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card gives you a 6,000-point anniversary bonus each year you renew your card. (NerdWallet values Southwest Rapid Rewards at 1.3 cents each.) The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card used to offer an anniversary bonus but discontinued it in June 2026. So in terms of rewarding you for loyalty, the Southwest card is a clear winner.
You'll earn that Companion Pass faster
To qualify for Southwest's sought-after Companion Pass — an ID card that lets another person fly with you for free for almost two years — you need to earn 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card comes with 10,000 Companion Pass points per calendar year, which gives cardholders a good start toward earning the pass.
Though points earned from the bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can be transferred to Southwest, they won't count toward the Companion Pass.
If earning a Companion Pass and saving thousands of dollars on travel costs is your endgame, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is your better bet. The current welcome bonus will give you a good start as well.
It comes with travel perks
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is an airline card, which means it offers specific travel perks that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card won’t get you. Benefits include:
- 6,000 points automatically each anniversary each year.
- 25% discount on in-flight purchases.
- First checked bag free for cardholders and up to eight additional passengers in the same reservation.
- Seat selection 48 hours before departure for standard and preferred seats.
- Group 5 boarding.
- 15% promo code each year for a flight discount (excludes Basic fare).
- 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually.
Even loyal Southwest flyers could come out on top with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
If you fly with a different airline every time you travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a smarter choice because of the flexibility it offers.
Southwest loyalists will also, by and large, be better off using the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to earn rewards that can be used toward Southwest flights.
But the no-frills Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card can make sense for Southwest enthusiasts who are looking to earn a Companion Pass, or for those who struggle meeting the steeper spending requirements of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
» MORE: Best travel rewards credit cards
