I used to be anti-Southwest till I obtained considered one of its bank cards — now I am a convert
I have been residing within the U.S. for nearly a decade, and one of many strongest opinions I encounter amongst vacationers right here is about Southwest Airways. Plainly the one folks extra vocal than the airline’s haters are its loyal followers.
I feel there are legitimate arguments on either side of the coin. And, certainly, I used to be extra of a Southwest hater for many of my time residing right here — till I obtained considered one of its cobranded bank cards.
At TPG, we do not push bank cards only for enjoyable; we promote those that supply the very best worth to our readers. An airline bank card could make your travels extra comfy — and prevent cash within the course of.
Proper now, the airline’s three private playing cards — the Southwest Fast Rewards® Plus Credit score Card, Southwest Fast Rewards® Premier Credit score Card and Southwest Fast Rewards® Precedence Credit score Card — are providing a excessive welcome bonus. When you apply earlier than June 26, you’ll be able to earn 85,000 factors after spending $3,000 within the first three months from account opening.
So, if you happen to dwell close to an airport with a Southwest presence, it may be price getting considered one of its bank cards. This is how I grew to become a Southwest convert after opening the Southwest® Fast Rewards® Efficiency Enterprise Credit score Card in 2023.
Big home route community
To start with, Southwest has a broad home community, making it straightforward to fly throughout the nation.
The airline has a very robust presence within the jap half of the U.S., Texas and California, overlaying a big portion of the nation’s inhabitants. It additionally flies to Hawaii and quite a few locations in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.
Since I dwell in Austin, Southwest is a straightforward selection for me; it operates nearly 40% of flights out and in of the airport. Plus, it is only a brief hop to Dallas Love Discipline (DAL) and Houston’s William P. Passion Airport (HOU), Southwest’s fifth- and seventh-largest hubs, respectively, for simple one-stop connections all through the service’s community.
Unparalleled flexibility
Southwest prides itself on having no cancellation or change charges, which may turn out to be useful for award vacationers and those that change plans on the final minute.
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Living proof: This summer time, I’m taking a break from the warmth in Texas to spend June in Chicago, July in Europe and August some other place within the U.S. I am not 100% certain the place I need to be for my last month, so I’ve booked a number of Southwest reward flights to spend time in both Chicago or Portland, Maine.
I can cancel any flight as much as 10 minutes earlier than departure, which is a particularly beneficiant coverage, giving me the ability to regulate my flights as my plans agency up.
Simple-to-redeem flights
I intention to get not less than 2 cents in worth out of every frequent flyer level or mile I redeem throughout varied packages. That is roughly the worth that we peg the main issuers’ currencies at, together with Chase Final Rewards factors and Capital One miles.
Southwest Fast Rewards factors’ mounted redemption worth of 1.3-1.5 cents per level might not provide outsize worth, because the redemption fee is tied to the price of a income fare. Nonetheless, it is simple to know, and I respect figuring out that I’ll nearly at all times get the identical worth out of my Southwest factors, regardless of which flight I exploit them on.
Precedence boarding
One of many essential gripes vacationers have when flying on Southwest is the uncertainty about which seat they are going to be in. The service has an open-seating coverage with no preassigned seats. Nonetheless, each Southwest bank card means that you can board a choose variety of flights early annually.
The lower-tier Plus card, Premier card and Southwest® Fast Rewards® Premier Enterprise Credit score Card every provide two EarlyBird Verify-Ins per yr. These will let you robotically reserve your boarding spot 36 hours earlier than your flight. Additionally they imply you do not have to recollect to test in proper at 24 hours earlier than departure.
The upper-tier Precedence and Efficiency Enterprise playing cards provide 4 upgraded boardings annually. I discover this perk to be beneficial as a result of even when I overlook to test in proper at 24 hours earlier than departure, I can nonetheless get an A1-A15 boarding place (when obtainable), which will increase my probabilities of snagging among the best seats on the aircraft.
Frequent gross sales
Southwest is fairly beneficiant in relation to flash gross sales for each money and award flights.
Most flights I e book with Southwest price 10,000-15,000 factors every. Nonetheless, by maintaining a tally of the Southwest web site and app, in addition to deal alerts on TPG, I can usually get a reduction on new flights — and even ones I’ve already booked.
For instance, I initially booked considered one of my flights to Portland talked about above for 8,021 factors plus $5.60 in taxes. Then, every week later, Southwest introduced its 50%-off birthday sale. The route and date I had booked have been eligible for the low cost, so I canceled my unique flight after which instantly rebooked it for the lower cost, saving myself nearly 4,000 factors to make use of on a future flight.
Bonus anniversary factors
Other than the massive 80,000-point welcome bonus I acquired when opening my Efficiency Enterprise card and assembly the minimal spending requirement, I feel it is price holding on to a Southwest card into future years — if you happen to fly Southwest not less than just a few instances yearly.
Along with all of the perks talked about above, I obtain 9,000 bonus anniversary factors annually I maintain the cardboard; these factors are price $117, in line with TPG’s June 2024 valuations. That covers greater than half of the cardboard’s $199 annual price.
The opposite 4 playing cards provide 3,000-7,500 bonus anniversary factors. In keeping with our calculations, these bonus factors cowl 56%-79% of the annual price, relying on which card you maintain.
Associated: Learn how to resolve if a bank card’s annual price is price paying
Backside line
Typically, it is vital to confess you have been misguided and make a correction. I’m so blissful I lastly utilized for a Southwest bank card, because it’s confirmed to be very helpful in reserving versatile flights and upgrading my journey expertise with Southwest.
If you wish to choose up one of many three private Southwest playing cards, intention for a bonus of not less than 75,000 factors. If you’d like a Companion Cross, the greatest time to use is in February-March, when the issuer tends to supply bonus factors plus a short lived Companion Cross, or within the final quarter of the yr, when you’ll be able to time your utility to maximise your factors incomes for the Companion Cross the next yr. When you simply need bonus factors, the center of the yr (Might-June) is your greatest wager.
When you’re trying to apply for a Southwest enterprise card, the welcome bonuses do not change usually. So, I like to recommend making use of if you may get 60,000 factors on the Premier Enterprise or 80,000 factors on the Efficiency Enterprise.
To study extra, learn our full critiques of the — so as of lowest to highest annual price — Southwest Plus, Premier, Precedence, Premier Enterprise and Efficiency Enterprise playing cards.
Apply right here: Southwest Plus
Be taught extra: Southwest Premier
Apply right here: Southwest Precedence
Apply right here: Southwest Premier Enterprise
Apply right here: Southwest Efficiency Enterprise
Associated: Evaluating the Southwest Fast Rewards Precedence, Premier and Plus bank cards
