Southwest Cards Hike Fees and Welcome Offers, Add Perks and Bonus Categories monthlywealthstream

Starting July 24, 2025, Chase’s Southwest credit cards are adding new benefits but increasing their annual fees.

Most notably, the annual fees on all three personal Southwest cards are increasing:

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card will charge $99 a year (up from $69).
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card will charge $149 a year (up from $99).
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card will charge $229 a year (up from $149).

In addition, those cards are all featuring the same massive limited-time welcome offer: From July 25 to Sept. 17, 2025, new cardholders can earn 100,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first five months of account opening. Southwest points are worth about 1.3 cents each, according to NerdWallet’s valuations, so that bonus — one of the largest these cards have ever offered — could be worth around $1,300.

Cardholders will get some new benefits in exchange for the cards’ higher annual fees, including added bonus categories, as well as key side perks like free checked bags, seat selection when available, and early boarding. However, it’s worth remembering that Southwest ditched its popular free checked bag policy earlier in 2025, and the airline will soon be doing away with open seating on all flights.

It’s fair to say, then, that some of the cards’ new benefits are simply regifts of perks that Southwest used to offer all customers, for free. Because of those airline changes, though, it’s also fair to say that for frequent Southwest flyers, holding one of these cards likely makes more sense than ever.

The following chart summarizes the annual fees, rewards and benefits of the Plus, Premier and Priority credit cards, noting what’s new and what’s staying the same. (Some existing reward categories and perks — noted with asterisks — will be going away in 2026. More on that below the table.)

What’s changing at a glance

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card	Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card	Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

2x points on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases.* 2x points on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming.* 1x points on all other purchases. NEW: 2x points on first $5,000 in combined annual spend at gas stations and grocery stores.	3x points on Southwest purchases. 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases.* 2x points on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming.* 1x points on all other purchases. NEW: 2x points on first $8,000 in combined annual spend at grocery stores and restaurants.	2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases.* 2x points on local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming.* 1x points on all other purchases. NEW: 4x points on Southwest purchases. (Previously 3x points.) NEW: 2x points at gas stations and restaurants with no annual cap.
3,000 points every anniversary. 10,000 Companion Pass points per calendar year. Two EarlyBird Check-Ins each year.* NEW: Free checked bag for cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: When available, standard seat selection within 48 hours prior to departure for the cardholder and up to eight passengers on the same reservation for flights operating in 2026. NEW: Group 5 boarding for the cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: One promotional code for a 10% flight discount each anniversary year except on Basic fares. NEW: No foreign transaction fees.	No foreign transaction fees. 6,000 points every anniversary. 10,000 Companion Pass points per calendar year. 1,500 tier-qualifying points for every $5,000 spent on the card each calendar year. Two EarlyBird Check-Ins each year.* NEW: Free checked bag for cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: When available, Standard or Preferred seat selection within 48 hours prior to departure for the cardholder and up to eight passengers on the same reservation for flights operating in 2026. NEW: Group 5 boarding for the cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: One promotional code for a 15% flight discount each anniversary year except on Basic fares.	No foreign transaction fees. 7,500 points every anniversary. 10,000 Companion Pass points per calendar year. 25% discount on in-flight purchases. $75 Southwest travel credit per year.* NEW: Free checked bag for cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: When available, Standard or Preferred seat selection within 48 hours prior to departure for the cardholder and up to eight passengers on the same reservation for flights operating in 2026. NEW: When available, unlimited upgrades to Extra Legroom seats within 48 hours prior to departure for the cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: Group 5 boarding for the cardholder and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation. NEW: 2,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually. (Previously 1,500 TQPs.)

NOTE: Benefits denoted with an asterisk are available only for a limited time. After Dec. 31, 2025, the Priority card will eliminate its $75 Southwest travel credit, and all of the Southwest personal credit cards will no longer earn 2x points on Southwest Cruises, Rapid Rewards Hotels and car rental partners, internet, cable, phone, select streaming, and local transit and commuting. After Jan. 27, 2026, Early Bird Check-In will no longer be available for purchase.

Current Southwest cardholders will start paying the increased annual fee on their 2026 account anniversary date. The new seating and boarding benefits are effective when Southwest begins selling assigned seating on July 29, 2025, and operating with assigned seating on Jan. 27, 2026, according to Chase.

The Southwest portfolio refresh follows closely on the heels of major changes to other Chase-issued credit cards:

In May 2025, the United Airlines cards added new benefits and, in most cases, hiked their annual fees.
One month later, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® increased its annual fee to $795, among several other significant changes.

What’s changing at a glance

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