Southwest Airlines Credit Card

CreditCardGuru · 09:06 PM

WARNING: Like many other airlines who have released their own credit cards in conjunction with a bank, Southwest also has credit cards for its frequent fliers. Although Southwest is considered one of the most popular airline services in the country, many complain about the high annual fee that the Southwest Airlines credit cards carry. In turn, many are looking elsewhere...

Ad: Signup Promo: Get 12,000 free bonus miles on the no annual fee Discover Miles Card

Southwest Visa Credit Card
The Southwest Visa Credit cards are offered in conjunction with Chase bank. They come in two versions- The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa Signature Card and Visa Signature Business Card. The difference between the two cards is that with the Visa Signature card, you get double Reward Dollars for Southwest tickets purchase, on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card, you don’t get double points. Also, you don’t get any anniversary credits on the latter card.

Reward Points
The rewards program of Southwest Airlines Credit Cards uses what is called Reward Points. You get one Reward Point for every dollar you spend on your Southwest Airlines credit card. Once you reach the 1200 Reward Point mark, you get awarded 1 Southwest Rapid Reward Point. In some cases, you get double Reward Points for all the Southwest Airlines tickets, related travel purchases including hotel bookings, car rental, etc. When you first use your card, you will also get a few Southwest Rapid Reward Points and they are also available up to a certain limit when you opt for balance transfer.

Southwest Airline Credit Card Benefits
When you accumulate 16 Southwest Rapid Reward Points, you get a free roundtrip award. Earning a free round trip is easier and faster with Southwest Airline credit cards compared to any other airline credit card available in the industry today. You could get yourself a free round trip with the Southwest Rapid Reward Points you accumulate with your joining bonus and your balance transfer bonus. In the case of the Visa Signature card, you also get free bonus points on anniversaries, making it even easier for card holders to accumulate more Reward Points. Additionally, many exclusive travel offers are available to users of Southwest Airline credit cards.

The Downsides
While Southwest Airlines credit cards do offer many benefits to their frequent fliers, there is a significant downside to using Southwest Airline credit cards. Even though Southwest Airlines do carry the maximum number of travelers every year, to begin with they are only a domestic carrier. So, every time you make an international trip, you do not get any airlines mileage benefit, nor do you get to accumulate frequent flier miles. In the case of international flights, the frequent flier miles you would accumulate would be considerably higher compared to domestic flights and you lose out this huge chunk with Southwest Airlines Credit Cards.

Additionally, however popular Southwest Airlines may be, they do not serve every sector very efficiently. You are very likely to find that you cannot travel Southwest Airlines every time you need to fly, especially since they've condensed their operations lately. This also reduces the value of the card considerably.

Advertisement:
Interested in a no annual fee airline credit card with a free 12,000 mile signup bonus? Then read our Discover Miles card review to find out how.

fly5zz · 01:13 PM

I had this card through Chase and I was dis-satisfied with the service. I updated my mailing address online but it didn't register before my statement was mailed out, so then I missed a statement when I moved to a new apartment, and I got hit with a late fee and finance charges. My main complaint is that unlike other credit card companies who offer at least one "courtesy" call - that is, they will refund a late fee and finance charge if you miss a due date, Chase does not refund any finance charges and only removes the late fee. And I imagine they only due that once. (I've been able to do that 2-3 times with other companies if, for instance, my automatic bill payment showed up a couple days late.) Their website and online management is difficult to navigate and not nearly as useful as other card sites I've used. And, the customer service people I talked to were short and rude. I canceled the card.

hrishi · 07:16 PM

The rapid rewards and everything is all OK, but the chase people are not very customer friendly. I would ask everyone to be very careful with their rules, as there is no forgiving even if you make a small mistake. They wont forgive you even for a single day delay in payments.

I would completely agree with what fly5zz said earlier.

09:06 PM	#1
CreditCardGuru Moderator/Staff Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 100	Southwest Airlines Credit Card WARNING: Like many other airlines who have released their own credit cards in conjunction with a bank, Southwest also has credit cards for its frequent fliers. Although Southwest is considered one of the most popular airline services in the country, many complain about the high annual fee that the Southwest Airlines credit cards carry. In turn, many are looking elsewhere... Ad: Signup Promo: Get 12,000 free bonus miles on the no annual fee Discover Miles Card *Southwest Visa Credit Card* The Southwest Visa Credit cards are offered in conjunction with Chase bank. They come in two versions- The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa Signature Card and Visa Signature Business Card. The difference between the two cards is that with the Visa Signature card, you get double Reward Dollars for Southwest tickets purchase, on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card, you don’t get double points. Also, you don’t get any anniversary credits on the latter card. *Reward Points* The rewards program of Southwest Airlines Credit Cards uses what is called Reward Points. You get one Reward Point for every dollar you spend on your Southwest Airlines credit card. Once you reach the 1200 Reward Point mark, you get awarded 1 Southwest Rapid Reward Point. In some cases, you get double Reward Points for all the Southwest Airlines tickets, related travel purchases including hotel bookings, car rental, etc. When you first use your card, you will also get a few Southwest Rapid Reward Points and they are also available up to a certain limit when you opt for balance transfer. *Southwest Airline Credit Card Benefits* When you accumulate 16 Southwest Rapid Reward Points, you get a free roundtrip award. Earning a free round trip is easier and faster with Southwest Airline credit cards compared to any other airline credit card available in the industry today. You could get yourself a free round trip with the Southwest Rapid Reward Points you accumulate with your joining bonus and your balance transfer bonus. In the case of the Visa Signature card, you also get free bonus points on anniversaries, making it even easier for card holders to accumulate more Reward Points. Additionally, many exclusive travel offers are available to users of Southwest Airline credit cards. The Downsides While Southwest Airlines credit cards do offer many benefits to their frequent fliers, there is a significant downside to using Southwest Airline credit cards. Even though Southwest Airlines do carry the maximum number of travelers every year, to begin with they are only a domestic carrier. So, every time you make an international trip, you do not get any airlines mileage benefit, nor do you get to accumulate frequent flier miles. In the case of international flights, the frequent flier miles you would accumulate would be considerably higher compared to domestic flights and you lose out this huge chunk with Southwest Airlines Credit Cards. Additionally, however popular Southwest Airlines may be, they do not serve every sector very efficiently. You are very likely to find that you cannot travel Southwest Airlines every time you need to fly, especially since they've condensed their operations lately. This also reduces the value of the card considerably. Advertisement: Interested in a no annual fee airline credit card with a free 12,000 mile signup bonus? Then read our Discover Miles card review to find out how.

07:16 PM	#3
hrishi Green Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: San Jose Posts: 1	Do not mess with their rules The rapid rewards and everything is all OK, but the chase people are not very customer friendly. I would ask everyone to be very careful with their rules, as there is no forgiving even if you make a small mistake. They wont forgive you even for a single day delay in payments. I would completely agree with what fly5zz said earlier.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01:13 PM	#2
fly5zz Green Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: dc Posts: 1	I had this card through Chase and I was dis-satisfied with the service. I updated my mailing address online but it didn't register before my statement was mailed out, so then I missed a statement when I moved to a new apartment, and I got hit with a late fee and finance charges. My main complaint is that unlike other credit card companies who offer at least one "courtesy" call - that is, they will refund a late fee and finance charge if you miss a due date, Chase does not refund any finance charges and only removes the late fee. And I imagine they only due that once. (I've been able to do that 2-3 times with other companies if, for instance, my automatic bill payment showed up a couple days late.) Their website and online management is difficult to navigate and not nearly as useful as other card sites I've used. And, the customer service people I talked to were short and rude. I canceled the card.