If there’s one thing that divides travelers, it’s whether or not they like the Southwest Airlines boarding process. I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum. Open seating was great when my daughter was young, but now that I have American Airlines elite status and have gotten used to priority boarding and sitting in the front, I’m not a fan.
Ultimately, though, this debate no longer matters. Southwest recently announced that it will switch to assigned seats and add premium extended legroom seats, blurring the lines between them and legacy carriers like American and United.
So, what does this have to do with Southwest credit cards? A lot, actually. As it stands, some of the most useful perks on these cards include upgraded boarding and EarlyBird check-in credits. Since these will be eliminated, it’s reasonable to expect that Southwest will also take this opportunity to overhaul other aspects of the cards.
Let’s review what we know so far and speculate about what changes might be coming.
Overview of Southwest Credit Cards
Southwest Airlines offers a mix of 5 credit cards — 3 consumer and 2 business cards. Here’s a quick look at those offerings, along with each card’s most valuable benefits:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: 3,000 anniversary points, 2 EarlyBird check-ins
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: 6,000 anniversary points, 2 EarlyBird check-ins
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: 7,500 anniversary points, $75 annual Southwest travel credit, 4 upgraded boardings
- Southwest®Rapid Rewards®Premier Business Credit Card: 6,000 anniversary points, 2 EarlyBird check-ins
- Southwest®Rapid Rewards®Performance Business Credit Card: 9,000 anniversary points, 4 upgraded boardings, 365 Wi-Fi credits per year, earn 4x points on Southwest flights
Hot Tip: All Southwest credit cards have a 10,000-point Companion Pass qualifying points boost. This means that if you have any Southwest card, you only need to earn 125,000 points to get a Companion Pass instead of 135,000 points. This 10,000-point boost is applied once yearly regardless of how many Southwest cards you have, and these aren’t redeemable Rapid Rewards points.
What Could Change About Southwest Credit Cards?
Currently, frequent and even occasional Southwest flyers can find value by having 1 or more Southwest credit cards in their wallet.
However, some of these perks, including complimentary EarlyBird check-In and upgraded boarding will be obsolete once the airline introduces its new boarding process and assigned seating. That means changes are definitely coming to Southwest credit cards to ensure that the perks are worthwhile.
It has also been reported that Southwest has even sent out surveys to select cardholders with some possible changes. Here are some of the ideas included in that survey:
- Increase the annual fees
- Eliminate anniversary points
- Add a discount on point redemptions
- Add an early boarding or seat upgrade benefit
Obviously, I don’t want to see higher annual fees. However, it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprising move as many issuers have increased their annual fees over recent years.
That said, the possibility of eliminating anniversary points is bad news for consumers. These points, which are awarded each year after the card’s anniversary, offer automatic value and makes it easier to justify annual fees year after year. Plus, they do count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass, which is a nice little bonus.
Eliminating the anniversary points would make it easier for many customers (including me) to cancel the card when the annual fee is due.
Discount on Award Flights: Good or Bad?
Offering point redemption discounts to credit card customers isn’t a new idea. Most Delta credit cards offer a 15% savings on award redemptions, and United cardholders often have access to more award inventory.
It could be possible that a discount on point redemptions would replace the anniversary points. Depending on the discount, this perk could easily be worth more than the anniversary points, but it would require you to actually redeem your points to get value. That won’t be a problem for many frequent Southwest flyers, but I prefer the ease of getting anniversary points.
So far, in 2024, I’ve redeemed about 63,000 Southwest points. A 15% rebate would be worth 9,450 points. However, with the current anniversary points perk, I earn 16,500 points per year (9,000 from the Southwest Performance Business card and 7,500 from the Southwest Priority card), so a 15% points discount would work out to be less valuable for me.
Of course, depending on how the Southwest cards are changed, I might not keep 2 credit cards long-term, so a possible award redemption discount could be a decent value going forward.
What’s on My Southwest Credit Card Wishlist
1. Premium Seat Coupons
Since the EarlyBird check-in and upgraded boarding perks will soon become futile, I’d love to see them replaced with premium seat credits. I’d happily take 4 premium legroom seat credits per year rather than upgraded boarding credits per year.
Whether or not this is realistic is anyone’s guess. Other airline credit cards don’t offer seat upgrade coupons, so this would be a unique perk that could really add value to Southwest credit cards. However it’s probably more realistic that access to these seats will be added as a perk of holding Southwest elite status.
2. Upgraded Boarding Group
Other airline credit cards offer some type of priority boarding for cardholders, and I hope Southwest adds this perk. I like being able to get on the plane early so I don’t have to worry about overhead bin space. I’m sure priority boarding will be added as a perk of Southwest elite status, but I’d also love to see this introduced as a credit card benefit.
3. Better Earning Categories
The current bonus categories on Southwest credit cards are underwhelming, so I’d love to see them revamped. The consumer cards earn 2 points per dollar spent on categories like Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental purchases, local transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming. Yawn.
Most people probably don’t spend big money in these categories, so points don’t add up quickly. Now, change that 2x category (or better yet, 3x) to groceries and restaurants, and you have my attention. I don’t think this is unreasonable, either.
Earlier this year, I was targeted for a promotion to earn 3x points per dollar spent on gas stations, grocery stores, and dining for the rest of the year on the Southwest Priority card.
That made spending on Southwest cards much more appealing — earning 3x points while finishing my Companion Pass qualification earlier this year was great.
Bottom Line: The official Southwest credit card changes haven’t been announced yet. However, we can expect to see card updates once Southwest’s new assigned seating system is implemented.
Final Thoughts
Southwest Airlines recently announced changes to its longstanding open seating policy, switching to assigned seats and adding extra legroom seats. This will undoubtedly lead to changes for Southwest credit cards since they currently offer upgraded boarding and EarlyBird check-in perks.
While we don’t know yet what these changes will be, it’s fun to imagine what might be coming. While I’d love to see 8x points per dollar on all purchases, automatic elite status, and a 50% award redemption discount, that’s likely not going to happen. More realistically, we’ll probably see annual fee adjustments, some type of priority boarding group, and maybe even preferred seat coupons.
