Best Southwest credit card? It might not say Southwest on it

If you fly Southwest airlines and value their Rapid Rewards points, there are two personal Southwest credit card options that are Southwest branded – The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card and Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card.

But you may not know you have an alternative to the Chase Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards credit cards.

It’s called the Chase Sapphire Preferred. And as of January 5, 2012, the points you earn can be transferred instantly 1:1 into your Southwest Rapid Rewards account, free of charge, with no limits. Click here to see how that works.

The differences between the Southwest credit cards and the Chase Sapphire Preferred come down to a few areas

1. Point bonuses on spending. The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 2x points per dollar on all dining and travel expenses. The Southwest credit cards earn 3x points per dollar on Southwest purchases only, and 2x points per dollar on car and hotel reservations made on Southwest.com, but no other travel spending. There is no bonus for dining.
2. Annual bonuses. The Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards earn an annual point bonus of 3,000 – 6,000 points. The Sapphire Preferred earns an annual point bonus that is 7% of the points you earn in a year.
3. Point transfer. The Sapphire Preferred lets you transfer points to many other airline and hotel programs beside Southwest, including United / Continental Airlines, British Airways, Amtrak, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, and Korean Airlines. All are 1:1 instant transfers with no fee.
4. Annual fees. The annual fee of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is $95, waived the first year. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus is $69, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier is $99. The Southwest cards do not waive the first year fee
5. Southwest status. The Southwest credit cards let you earn points toward A-list and Companion Pass status. Points transferred from the Chase Sapphire Preferred don’t count toward status levels.
6. Bonus mile offers. The introductory bonus of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is 50,000 points. Currently, the offer on the Southwest credit cards is 25,000 points.

	Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus	Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier	Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual fee	$69	$99	$95, $0 first year
Bonus mile offer	25,000	25,000	50,000
Annual miles bonus	3,000	6,000	7% of earnings
A-List / Companion status earning	Yes	Yes	No
Point transfer	No	No	Yes, 5 airlines, 3 hotel programs
Dining bonus	No	No	2x points / dollar
Travel bonus	2-3x on Southwest.com	2-3x on Southwest.com	2x points / dollar
	Apply Now	Apply Now	Apply Now

Which Southwest credit card to choose?

You should consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you…

• Spend $250 or more per month on dining or travel expenses that earn 2x points with the Sapphire Preferred. That bonus earns you more than the 6,000 point annual bonus you would receive with the highest tier Southwest credit card.
• Want the flexibility to transfer your points to United, Continental, British Airways, Amtrak, Hyatt, Marriott, and others.
• Value having no foreign transaction fees. The Southwest credit cards have 3% fees on foreign purchases, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred has none.

• Care about earning Southwest A-list or Companion Pass status. Points earned from Southwest credit card purchases count toward this each year at varying levels. Points transferred in from the Sapphire Preferred don’t count toward this status.
• Spend less than $250 per month on dining or travel purchases, such that the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus is less valuable to you.
• Only care about flying where Southwest flies, and don’t want to earn points that can be used on other airlines like United, Continental, British Airways, or hotel programs like Hyatt and Marriott.

In general, it’s hard to go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it is so versatile. But, if Southwest flights are your primary goal the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus and Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit cards are good options.

More resources to consider

Apply now for the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards using this secure link.

Chase Sapphire Preferred secure link to application

Chase Sapphire Preferred Full Benefits Guide

Chase Sapphire Preferred review