Best Credit Cards For Southwest Points
Enter your spend across multiple categories, get a list of the best credit cards for earning Southwest Rapid Rewards Points, and compare results.
Southwest offers five credit cards consisting of three personal cards and two business cards that can earn you Southwest Rapid Rewards Points on everyday spend. You can also earn Southwest Points by earning rewards with partner programs and transferring those rewards over to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account.
Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards
Chase Ultimate Rewards is also a great option for earning Southwest Rapid Rewards Points due to the 1:1 transfer ratio. With Chase's line-up of credit cards, you can easily earn the equivalent of 2x-3x Southwest Points across many categories.
With the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, you'll earn 3x on travel purchases which includes purchases with Southwest. You'll also earn 5x on spend with Lyft and 3x across several other categories including shipping, internet, and phone services.
If you're looking for a premium travel card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve can be a great choice with it's 3x earnings across both travel and dining spend along with the 10x earning on Lyft spend. You'll also receive a bunch of elite travel benefits such as Priority Pass lounge access, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, and Chase's great travel and purchase protections.
If you own a Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card, you can transfer cash back earned with Chase into Ultimate Rewards Points at a 1 cent for 1 point ratio. This makes the Chase Ink Business Cash Card a great choice for earning the equivalent of 5x Southwest Points across office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone services spend.
Best Credit Card Options
If you're looking to earn a good amount of Rapid Rewards Points, your best bet will come from using Southwest Credit Cards and Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards.
Southwest Credit Cards
Southwest credit cards are great for anyone who wants to earn a few additional benefits with Southwest such as annual points, the ability to earn Tier Qualifying Points with spend, save on in-flight purchases, and to work their way towards the Southwest Companion Pass.
The best entry level card for Southwest is the Southwest Premier Card or the Southwest Business Premier Card. The cards earn double Southwest Points on Southwest, hotel, and car rental purchases and also offers annual bonus points and the ability to earn Tier Qualifying Points with spend.
If you're looking for a little more, you can take a step up to the Southwest Priority Card which offers the same double earnings across Southwest, hotel, and car rental purchases along with an annual travel credit, boarding upgrades, 20% off in-flight purchases, and a higher amount of annual anniversary points.
On the business side, you have the Southwest Performance Business Card which offers the highest earning of 3x on Southwest spend along with 2x across advertising, internet, cable, and phone service purchases. You'll also get a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, in-flight WiFi credits when flying Southwest, and more.
Best Credit Card Calculator
This calculator will give you a list of the best credit cards for earning Rapid Rewards Points based on your monthly, yearly, or quarterly spend across different categories. Results will include credit cards that earn Rapid Rewards Points directly and credit cards that earn rewards that are transferable to your Rapid Rewards account.
Credit Card Search Types
Best Cards By Estimated Return - Get a list of credit cards that gives you the best return. This is based on spend, currency value, annual credits, and annual fees.
Best Cards By Total Points - Get a list of credit cards that earns you the most points/miles based on spend. Currency value, annual credits, and annual fees are not factored into this search. Great for those who get waived fees (i.e. military).
After your results are displayed, I recommend clicking on a card's Rewards Calculator. This allows you to come up with a more accurate number by adjusting the cash value of perk, being able to calculate spend bonuses & other savings, add in sign up bonuses, toggle annual fees and authorized user fees, and much more. You'll also be able to compare the results side by side any credit card featured on the site!
