Latest news with #SouthwestRapidRewards®PriorityCreditCard
CNBC
31-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Southwest announced a start date for assigned seating, but these credit cards still let you choose
Southwest Airlines has officially provided an end date for its well-known open seating policy: Starting July 29, 2025, customers booking flights for Jan. 27, 2026, or later will either have to choose their seat or be assigned one, if booking a standard fare. Along with this shift in Southwest's seating arrangements, the airline is also switching up how it boards its planes. To help complement these changes, Southwest credit cards got some adjustments, and all of the cards offer some form of elevated seat selection and faster boarding. With Southwest finally switching to assigned seating, there are still several ways you can qualify to pick your own spot. Owning a Southwest credit card will allow you to pick your seat, regardless of the fare you bought, with more premium cards including preferred and extra legroom choices. Plus, you and up to eight other passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free. In addition, if you hold either the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (see rates and fees) or Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees), you can qualify for unlimited upgrades to extra legroom seats (when available) within 48 hours of departure, for no additional cost. On Chase's site On Chase's site Good to Excellent670–850 19.99% - 28.49% variable $229 Earn 100,000 points. See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. Read our Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card review. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is a perfect fit for serious Southwest fans who can easily maximize its benefits like upgraded boardings and an annual travel Chase's site On Chase's site Every account anniversary year you'll receive a 9,000-point bonus. Good to Excellent670–850 19.99% - 28.49% variable $299 Earn 80,000 points See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is Southwest's most premium business credit card and can be incredibly rewarding for frequent flyers, especially those chasing the Southwest Companion Pass or other Southwest elite $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater Here are the seating options: While three out of the four fare options allow you to select your own seat, the "basic" option, which is the lowest-costing, does not; with this, your seat will be automatically assigned at check-in. It's also worth noting that anyone with Southwest tier benefits, A-List or A-List Preferred, will also gain access to seating benefits. At a minimum, you'll be able to select a preferred seat at booking. A-List members may qualify for an extra legroom seat (if available), and A-List Preferred will have extra legroom seats available at booking. Open seating is just the newest Southwest policy to be removed, the airline having done away with its "Bags Fly Free" policy in May of 2025 which had allowed up to two free checked bags. Southwest Airlines is also making some changes to the physical seats in its airplanes, introducing new Extra Legroom seats. These will serve as a more premium option and come with earlier access to bin space, enhanced snacks and complimentary premium beverages Along with Southwest's new seating policies, the airline will also be changing how it boards travelers. Gone are the three groups of A, B and C, and the scramble to get a good spot in line. This system will be replaced by numbered groups, one through eight, and your group is determined by your seat type, rewards status and more. If you have a co-branded Southwest credit card, the latest group that you could be boarding in would be group five, but you could also qualify for an earlier group depending on your status. A-List members will board with group five or earlier, while A-List Preferred members will board in the first two groups. Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
CNBC
25-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Southwest offers new 100,000-point bonus as it revamps its credit cards
Southwest Airline's seating policy isn't the only thing that's changing; the airline and Chase announced updates to the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards — adding enhanced benefits like pre-flight seat selection and early boarding, new earning categories and a welcome bonus any loyal Southwest flyer would love. For a limited time, now through Sep. 17, new Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority, Premier or Plus consumer credit cardmembers can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first five months from account opening. This is double the previous welcome bonus of 50,000 points, and it marks Southwest's best points offer this year. Along with the additional perks come other costs: card annual fees are increasing and Southwest will be expiring a few current benefits and reward categories. Here's a breakdown by card: Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent Saint offers three packages for credit repair services and a 90-day money-back guarantee for services. It has received an A rating and is accredited by the Better Business Credit People's Credit Report Repair service is relatively affordable compared to other programs in the space. Even the most basic package (the standard package) includes unlimited challenges to all three credit bureaus. Upgrading to the premium package includes escalated disputes and monthly credit score reports and score refreshes. On Chase's site On Chase's site Good to Excellent670–850 19.99% - 28.49% variable $99 Earn 100,000 points. See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. Read our Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card review. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is an affordable card that makes sense for the occasional Southwest $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus annual fee is rising from $69 to $99, a $30 hike. Good to Excellent670–850 20.49% - 27.49% variable $149 Earn 100,000 bonus points. Terms apply. Information about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication. Read our Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card review The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is Southwest's mid-tier card and is valuable if you regularly travel to or from destinations Southwest serves.5%, minimum $5 The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier annual fee is increasing from $99 to $149, a $50 rise. On Chase's site On Chase's site Good to Excellent670–850 19.99% - 28.49% variable $229 Earn 100,000 points. See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. Read our Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card review. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is a perfect fit for serious Southwest fans who can easily maximize its benefits like upgraded boardings and an annual travel Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority annual fee is being hiked from $149 to $229, an $80 increase. Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability. Good to Excellent670–850Earn 75,000 bonus points On Chase's site See rates and fees. Terms apply. Good to Excellent670–850Earn 75,000 miles Terms apply. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Business is currently unavailable for new users, but carries a $99 annual fee. On Chase's site On Chase's site You can earn unlimited tier qualifying points for spending with this card. Good to Excellent670–850 19.99% - 28.49% variable $149 Earn 60,000 points See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. Read our Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card review The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card can help your business save on Southwest travel but offers less value for other $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business annual fee is increasing from $99 to $149, a $50 rise. On Chase's site On Chase's site Every account anniversary year you'll receive a 9,000-point bonus. Good to Excellent670–850 19.99% - 28.49% variable $299 Earn 80,000 points See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is Southwest's most premium business credit card and can be incredibly rewarding for frequent flyers, especially those chasing the Southwest Companion Pass or other Southwest elite $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater The Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business annual fee is being bumped up from $199 to $299, a $100 increase. If you fly on Southwest with some frequency, chances are you'll be able to get some extra value out of these cards. Not only will you have opportunities when you book with Southwest, but with the addition of new rewards categories, you have more opportunities to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards, which can be redeemed for valuable rewards like flights and hotel stays. The Southwest cards are losing some benefits in categories like transit, internet and phone services, plus increasing annual fees. While a Southwest credit card may still make sense if you frequently travel with Southwest, it might be harder to earn rewards points if you don't often spend in the new rewards categories. Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card review: Get up to 3x on purchases, upgraded boarding, and travel credits
Frequent Southwest fliers can save on future trips by choosing the right airline credit card. One such option is the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, which offers airline-specific perks, an impressive welcome offer, and an opportunity to earn elite status. If you're shopping for a new credit card, here's what to know about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card, its benefits, and who it's best for. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card is an excellent mid-tier travel rewards card with plenty of perks. In addition to the benefits above, you can get 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases and reimbursement for up to four upgraded boardings on Southwest flights each year. And if you're interested in earning elite status, this card gives you 1,500 TQPs for every $5,000 spent in a cardmember year. You get Southwest A-list status when you take 20 qualifying flights in a given year or earn 35,000 TQPs. This status gives you extra perks like priority boarding, earning bonuses, and more. Meeting the minimum spend for the welcome bonus is the quickest way to rack up rewards with the Southwest Priority Card. For a limited time, you can earn 30,000 points and a Companion Pass after spending $4,000 in the first three months of card membership. Beyond that, the card offers up to 3X points on your purchases. Southwest purchases will net you 3X points; you can earn 2X points on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services; 2X points with Rapid Rewards car rental and hotel partners; and 1X points on everything else. As a cardholder, you'll also get 7,500 bonus points each cardmember anniversary. Southwest offers little flexibility for reward redemptions, but this shouldn't be an issue for frequent Southwest fliers. You can use your points for Southwest flights, though it may also offer other redemption opportunities periodically. Southwest often has flash sales, and you could score a low-cost award flight if you have some flexibility with travel dates. Since you can typically only use your rewards for Southwest flights, this card doesn't make sense unless you're a loyal Southwest customer. It also has a $149 annual fee, which is higher than its lower-tier counterparts: the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card. Given the lack of flexibility with reward redemptions and the higher annual fee, the Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card could be ideal for frequent Southwest fliers. If this sounds like you, this card's generous welcome offer and rewards rates could help lower your flight costs significantly. Opportunity to earn Southwest Companion Pass Can earn 1,500 TQPs for each $5,000 spent in a cardmember year Annual $75 Southwest travel credit Has annual fee No introductory APR Good or excellent credit required The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card is part of the Visa card network, which means it's widely accepted globally. The Visa payment network is available in 160+ countries around the world. While you can use your card widely in your travels, keep the rewards categories in mind as you spend and consider packing a backup card. A card that offers flat-rate rewards on all your purchases or one with more general travel categories is likely a good option. Chase issues the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, and you can pay your bill in a few different ways: Online via your Chase account By mail:Cardmember ServicesP.O. Box 6294Carol Stream, IL 60197-6294 By phone: 1-800-436-7958 If you have questions about your card or need help with your account, the Chase customer service team is available through the following channels: Phone: 1-800-792-0001 Southwest Priority Credit Card login page Secured email form The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card offers big benefits for Southwest loyalists, but it's not the right card for everyone's wallet. Here are three alternatives to consider if you're exploring other options. If you're a frequent Southwest flyer but prefer a lower annual fee, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card could be a great fit. Offering an annual fee of just $69, a generous welcome offer, and up to 2X points on your purchases, this card has similar perks to its higher-tier counterpart with a lower annual Chase Sapphire Preferred is very popular — and for good reason. This card offers a welcome bonus valued at up to $750 when redeemed in the Chase travel portal. While it does have a modest annual fee, cardmembers get generous rewards, travel insurance, and hotel you'd prefer a card with no annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited is worth a look. While it's marketed as a cash-back credit card, you actually earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points from your spending, just as you would with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The Freedom Unlimited also offers a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on purchases and balance article was edited by Alicia Hahn. Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank's website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
