Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus card: An inexpensive option to earn factors, now with a 75,000-point bonus
Editor’s notice: This submit has been up to date with new info.
Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card overview
The Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card has the bottom annual price of any Southwest bank card available on the market, which is both a energy or weak spot relying on the way you have a look at it.
Whereas the $69 annual price is inexpensive, the Plus card doesn’t have as many perks as its higher-priced counterparts to maintain you previous the preliminary welcome bonus. Card score*: ⭐⭐⭐½
* Card score relies on the opinion of TPG’s editors and isn’t influenced by the cardboard issuer.
In a pastime now seemingly dominated by ultra-premium bank cards with $450-plus annual charges and laundry lists of luxurious perks, it’s laborious to think about {that a} cobranded airline bank card with a $69 annual price may be invaluable to loyal Southwest prospects, however the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card does make sense for some flyers — beneath the best situations.
Southwest is already comparatively uncommon in that it provides three inexpensive private bank cards. With all three playing cards at the moment providing similar 75,000-point welcome bonuses after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, it’s much more essential to take a look at the variations amongst your three selections. These provides finish Dec. 5, 2022.
Let’s check out how the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card and its perks measure up in opposition to its higher-end siblings.
Who is that this card for?
This isn’t the cardboard that’s going to unlock the doorways of fancy first-class suites or provide you with all the trimmings of elite standing, however that’s by no means been what Southwest is about. The Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus provides stable points-earning charges and minimal advantages, however if you happen to’re solely flying Southwest sometimes, that’s actually all you want.
That mentioned, it’s essential to remember that the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus is topic to Chase’s 5/24 rule. When you’ve opened 5 or extra new bank card accounts (together with being added as a certified consumer) previously 24 months, you probably received’t be accepted for this card. If you’re beneath the 5/24 threshold, do not forget that opening this card will rely towards that restrict, so make certain this particular product might be value a slot.
There’s one other limitation, although. When you at the moment maintain any private Southwest bank card — or earned a sign-up bonus on a private Southwest card within the final 24 months — you received’t be eligible for the bonus on this card. Happily, this restriction is simply on private playing cards and doesn’t apply to Southwest enterprise bank cards. This implies you possibly can have each a Southwest private and a enterprise card open concurrently, which is one thing you would possibly wish to do (extra about this beneath).
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Associated: Battle of the airways: Why I believe Southwest Airways is the perfect
Welcome supply: A faster option to the Southwest Companion Cross
Whether or not you decide on the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card or go for certainly one of its siblings (the mid-tier Southwest Speedy Rewards Premier Credit score Card or the top-tier Southwest Speedy Rewards Precedence Credit score Card), you’ll earn the identical sign-up bonus — 75,000 factors after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Provide ends Dec. 5, 2022.
TPG values Southwest Speedy Rewards factors at 1.5 cents every, making this sign-up bonus value roughly $1,125.
What’s extra, although, is that these 75,000 bonus factors rely towards incomes the airline’s ultra-valuable Companion Cross, which is doubtlessly value hundreds of {dollars} relying on how typically you and a associate fly.
The Southwest Companion Cross is mainly a two-for-one profit that permits the holder to deliver a delegated good friend or member of the family alongside on any Southwest flight they take. With the Companion Cross, you simply pay the taxes and charges on the second ticket, form of such as you would on an award ticket. Even higher, the Companion Cross might be utilized to each paid and award tickets. So if you happen to repeatedly fly with one other individual, this one perk might be very, very profitable.
As a way to attain the Southwest Companion Cross, it is advisable earn 135,000 qualifying factors (up from 125,000 factors; efficient Jan. 1, 2023) or take 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar 12 months. By incomes the sign-up bonus with this card, you’re already greater than midway there.
Whereas Southwest is elevating the qualifying benchmark for the Companion Cross by 10,000 factors from 2023, cobranded bank card holders will get a ten,000-point increase both initially of the 12 months (for current cardholders) or inside 30 days of opening an account (for brand spanking new members).
So that you’d earn 75,000 factors with this sign-up bonus, plus 10,000 further factors, which means you’d want 50,000 extra to hit that qualifying threshold. When you do your cross might be good for the remainder of that calendar 12 months and the next one.
Learn extra: 13 classes from 13 years’ value of Southwest Companion Passes
Principal perks and advantages
The worth of the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus card doesn’t simply finish with the sign-up bonus. Listed here are the entire perks you’ll get in trade for its $69 annual price:
- Reimbursement for as much as two EarlyBird check-ins each card anniversary.
- 3,000 bonus factors every account anniversary 12 months, value about $45 by TPG valuations.
- Baggage delay insurance coverage: As much as $100 per day for as much as three days when your luggage are delayed greater than six hours.
- 25% again on inflight purchases of drinks and Wi-Fi on Southwest Airways flights.
- Prolonged guarantee safety: As much as one 12 months added to eligible producers’ warranties of three years or much less.
- Buy safety: As much as $500 of harm or theft protection for 120 days for eligible purchases you make in your card.
Incomes and redeeming
Listed here are the present incomes charges on the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus:
- 2 factors per greenback on native transit and commuting purchases, together with ride-hailing companies.
- 2 factors per greenback on web, cable, telephone companies and choose streaming service purchases.
- 2 factors per greenback on Southwest purchases and people made with Speedy Rewards resort and automotive rental companions.
- 1 level per greenback on all different eligible purchases.
These bonus classes assist make the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card a forerunner for on a regular basis purchases.
Whereas most of Southwest’s route community is targeting home U.S. flights, be warned that the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card does have a 3% overseas transaction price if you happen to intend to make use of it for purchases made overseas.
Speedy Rewards provides a couple of low-value redemption choices, together with reward playing cards, merchandise, resort stays, rental automobiles and journey experiences. You may even redeem for worldwide flights on different carriers — however for all of those choices, the charges are worse than what you’d get by redeeming for Southwest flights.
The airline provides 4 tiers of fares, starting from the most cost effective Wanna Get Away tickets to the costlier Enterprise Choose ones with Wanna Get Away Plus and Anytime fares in between.
The award charges are tied to the money value of the tickets, in contrast to another airways that use fixed-value charts. This implies you don’t have to fret an excessive amount of about saving up for an excellent redemption alternative. When you’ve got Speedy Rewards factors, it’s virtually all the time a good suggestion to make use of them as a substitute of holding them for future redemption.
Associated: redeem factors with the Southwest Speedy Rewards program
How does the Southwest Plus card stack up?
The obvious opponents to the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card are the Southwest Speedy Rewards Premier Credit score Card and the Southwest Speedy Rewards Precedence Credit score Card. The Premier has a barely larger annual price of $99, plus a greater anniversary factors bonus (6,000 factors) and a better incomes price on Southwest purchases (3 factors per greenback versus 2 factors per greenback with the Plus) and waives overseas transaction charges.
When you’re desirous about getting extra out of your Southwest bank card, it is best to set your sights on the top-tier Precedence Card. Your $149 annual price is successfully minimize in half because of a $75 annual Southwest journey credit score. The Precedence card confers all the advantages of the opposite two playing cards, however it has a 7,500-point anniversary bonus, plus 4 upgraded boardings per 12 months and the power to earn limitless tier qualifying factors towards elite standing.
The query you in the end have to reply for your self is whether or not you need the most cost effective Southwest card — or if you’re keen to pay extra money upfront and basically have it returned to you within the type of Southwest journey credit and anniversary factors bonuses. By answering that query, it is best to have the ability to work out if the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus is the best card for you, or if you happen to ought to go for one of many airline’s higher-end merchandise.
Associated: Evaluating the Southwest Speedy Rewards Precedence, Premier, and Plus bank cards
Backside line
For less than $69 per 12 months, the Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus card comes with an attractive sign-up bonus that’s sufficient to make this card value contemplating, particularly for many who like Southwest however solely fly with the airline sometimes.
Official software hyperlink: Southwest Speedy Rewards Plus Credit score Card with 75,000 bonus factors. Provide ends Dec. 5, 2022.
Extra reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Stella Shon and Christina Ly.
