Best Southwest Credit Cards (+ Rewards Calculator)

Southwest offers a handful of credit cards that you can use to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards Points across your everyday purchases. You can also earn a bunch of points with Southwest by using credit cards offered by Southwest's transfer partners which gives you alternative ways to build your points faster spending across different categories.

Best Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards for Southwest

Chase Ultimate Rewards is the only major U.S. credit card transfer partner of Southwest. You can transfer points to the Rapid Rewards program at a rate of 1,000 Chase points for 1,000 Southwest points.

Here's our top Ultimate Rewards credit card picks for Southwest:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Best For Flexible Travel Rewards

Earning Rate: Earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2X on other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
Annual Credits: $50 credit towards hotels booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
Main Highlights: 10% bonus points annually based on how much you spent the prior cardmember year and a 25% boost to point value when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Ultimate Rewards Points = 1,000 Southwest Points.
Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Annual Fee: $95.
Summary: The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best flexible travel rewards credit cards available. Not only can you transfer points to Southwest and other programs, but you can also redeem points for 1.25 cents each through the Chase Travel portal. This provides an alternative way to get solid value out of your points if you can't find good redemption value booking with Southwest.
Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Best Overall Value For Most Travelers

Earning Rate: Earn 10X points on Chase Dining and both hotel and car rental purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 5X on airfare through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on dining and other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
Annual Credits: $300 travel credit.
Main Highlights: Priority Pass Select membership, up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, top-notch travel insurance, and a 50% boost to point value on travel redemptions made through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Ultimate Rewards Points = 1,000 Southwest Points.
Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Annual Fee: $550.
Summary: High annual fee, but offers excellent value and solid benefits. If you can't find solid redemption value with Southwest, you can redeem points through Chase Travel for a very nice 1.5 cents each. Great option if you still want access to lounges before and between your Southwest flights.
Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Best For Flexible Business Travel Rewards

Earning Rate: Earn 3X points on up to $150,000 on travel, shipping, internet, cable services, phone services, and advertising purchases each account anniversary year. All other purchases earn 1X.
Main Highlights: 25% point value boost towards travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Ultimate Rewards Points = 1,000 Southwest Points.
Intro Bonus: Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Annual Fee: $95.
Summary: The Ink Business Preferred is the best business credit card for earning points on business purchases and travel. Points earned with the card can be transferred to Southwest and other partners as well as be redeemed for 1.25 cents each towards travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
Learn More about the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.
Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Ink Business Preferred Card.

Best Co-branded Southwest Credit Cards

Southwest offers five co-branded credit cards that consists of three personal/consumer cards and two business cards. These cards offer a range of benefits including bonus points on purchases, Early-bird check-ins, and the ability to earn Tier Qualifying Points spending on the card.

Here's our top co-branded credit card picks for Southwest:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Best For Frequent Southwest Travelers

Earning Rate: Earns 3X Southwest Rapid Rewards Points on Southwest purchases, 2X across local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and streaming purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.
Annual Credits: $75 travel credit and 7,500 anniversary points.
Main Highlights: Receive 4 upgraded bookings annually and earn Tier Qualifying Points spending on the card which counts towards earning the annual Companion Pass.
Intro Bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $149.
Summary: Choose this Southwest card if you want to receive the 4 upgraded bookings every anniversary year that you have the card.
Learn More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card.
Calculate Card Value & Southwest Points per dollar spent for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Best Well-Rounded Southwest Card

Earning Rate: Earns 3X Southwest Rapid Rewards Points on Southwest purchases, 2X across local transit, commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and streaming purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.
Annual Credits: 6,000 anniversary points
Main Highlights: Receive 2 EarlyBird Check-ins per year and earn Tier Qualifying Points spending on the card which counts towards earning the annual Companion Pass.
Intro Bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $99.
Summary: If you don't care about the upgraded bookings offered on the Southwest Priority credit card, then you'll want to pick up this card instead.
Learn More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card.
Calculate Card Value & Southwest Points per dollar spent for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Best For Frequent Southwest Business Travelers

Earning Rate: Earns 4X Southwest points on Southwest purchases, 3X points on purchases made with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, 2X points on local transit and commuting, social media and search engine advertising, and internet, cable, and phone services, and 1X points on everything else.
Annual Credits: 9,000 anniversary points and $8 per day for in-flight Wi-Fi on Southwest flights.
Main Highlights: 4 upgraded bookings per anniversary year, up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee, and the ability to earn Tier Qualifying Points on card spend which counts towards earning the annual Companion Pass.
Intro Bonus: Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $199.
Summary: Fantastic option for frequent business travelers. It's a bit of a high pricing point annual fee wise, but between the upgraded bookings, 4X points on flights, anniversary points, and whatever you can make back from the Wi-Fi credit, it should be well worth it.
Learn More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card.
Calculate Card Value & Southwest Points per dollar spent for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card.

Best Credit Card Offers

Want to boost your Rapid Rewards balance? Here are 10 of the best credit card offers currently available for Southwest Airlines from our partners. This table is updated automatically whenever our partner offers change, so you will always find the most up-to-date bonuses listed.

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Southwest Credit Card Points Per $1

This table lists how many Southwest points you can earn per dollar spent with Southwest Airlines credit cards and all credit card transfer partners. This allows you to see how different cards compare and can help shine some light on which credit cards might be best for you.

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Southwest Points Calculator

Use the Southwest Points Calculator to find out which credit cards will earn you the most Southwest Points based on the spend amounts you enter.

Results will be sorted by net return which is the average value of the rewards earned, plus annual credits, and minus annual fees. You'll want to take into consideration the benefits a card offers as well on top of the estimated value calculated.

Results will consist of top-rated credit cards that either earn Southwest Points directly or earn rewards that can be transferred directly to the Southwest Rapid Rewards program.

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Results

These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card. They should be used for illustrative purposes only.

You can click on the estimated earnings to see the calculations or click on the card to learn more and apply for the card through our partners.

Do note that all spend amounts entered into the tool above will carry over to every credit card rewards calculator on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend if you choose to dive deeper into calculating rewards for credit cards on the site.

Best Credit Cards

Listed below are up to 10 of the best rewards credit cards based on the spend you entered. You can click on a card to learn more from our partners (when applicable).

Travel Cards

Travel credit cards are great for building rewards redeemable towards a wide variety of travel including airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more. Most travel cards also offer a range of benefits that can make your trips more enjoyable and save you money.

Cash Back Cards

Cash back is one of the most flexible form of rewards and most easy to understand. Rewards earned are worth face value and they can be used towards almost anything.

Rewards Cards

If you're looking to earn a solid return on your spend, rewards credit cards are the way to go. These cards offer general rewards that can be used towards a number of different redemptions including cash back, statement credits, travel, gift cards, and more.

Airline Cards

These are the best credit cards if you're looking to use rewards towards award flights. Co-branded credit cards offer benefits such as lounge access the ability to earn qualifying miles through spending.

Hotel Cards

If you're looking to use rewards towards free nights at hotels, these are the best cards for you. Many co-branded hotel cards offer great benefits such as annual free nights, complimentary elite status, and more.

No Annual Fee Cards

If you're looking to minimize your immediate costs while still earning plenty of value, you may want to consider a credit card with no annual fee. Some of these cards also offer lower interest rates and balance transfer offers.

No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards

When you make a charge with your credit card outside of the U.S., many card issuers will charge you a foreign transaction fee which is typically around 3% of the purchase price. Luckily, many credit cards waive foreign transaction fees which is great if you're looking to earn rewards on international spending and travel.

^**Amount of rewards when transferred to program.

Southwest points calculators

Check out all of our Southwest points calculators and calculate everything from how many points you can earn spending on credit cards to the cash value of your points based on redemption!

Looking to earn lots of Southwest points? Check out these calculators and guides for maximizing your earnings via intro bonuses and everyday spending!

Best Southwest Credit Cards (+ Rewards Calculator)

Check out the best offers and our top credit card picks. Plus, calculate which cards will earn you the most points.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card Points Calculator

Input your monthly and yearly spend amounts into our tool to get a list of up to 10 credit cards that will earn you the most Southwest points.

Use our Southwest credit card calculators to estimate how many points you can earn and the cash value of the card based on the spend amounts you enter, how much you value benefits, and annual fees.

Our calculators allow you to compare up to two additional credit cards side by side based on same or different spend. Plus, all spend amounts you enter in the Primary card's column rolls over to all credit card rewards calculators on the site!

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Best for maximum Southwest benefits.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Best overall for Southwest travelers.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

Best for low annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Best for frequent Southwest business travelers.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Card

Best for occasional Southwest business travelers.

Reminder: Don't forget that you can also transfer credit card points from partners to Southwest Rapid Rewards!

Need more Southwest points? You can transfer rewards from other programs directly to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account or buy them directly from the Southwest Buy Points portal.