Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card Review: Worth $99 in 2026?

Key Points

  • The Premier card is the right Southwest co-brand for occasional Southwest flyers who want the free first checked bag perk after the 2025 bag policy change.
  • Heavy Southwest flyers do better with the Priority card, and travelers who fly multiple airlines do better with a flexible-points card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
  • The 6,000 anniversary points and free first checked bag for the cardholder and a companion can offset the $99 annual fee within a single round-trip.

TL;DR

At $99 a year, the Southwest Premier earns its keep for occasional Southwest flyers, mainly through 6,000 anniversary points and free first checked bag coverage. Heavy flyers should size up to Priority instead.

Introduction

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card sits in an awkward middle spot. It is more card than the no-fee starter option and less card than the Priority. For a long time, that middle spot was hard to recommend with conviction, because the Premier did not do anything dramatically better than its siblings. Then Southwest changed its checked-bag policy in May 2025, and the math shifted.

If you are deciding whether the Premier card belongs in your wallet for 2026, the question is no longer "does this card earn enough on Southwest flights?" The real question is whether the bag perk, the anniversary points, and the Companion Pass progress justify the $99 annual fee for the way you actually fly. Let me walk you through it.

Quick Summary

Best For: Occasional Southwest flyers, two to four round-trips a year, who want free first checked bag coverage and steady Companion Pass progress without committing to the $149 Priority card.

Standout Benefit: Free first checked bag for the cardholder and one companion on the same reservation, after Southwest ended its default "two bags fly free" policy in 2025.

Biggest Drawback: The earning structure is shallow outside of Southwest spend. You will not want this as your primary card for everyday purchases.

Current Offer: The welcome bonus on the Premier has historically run between 50,000 and 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after a minimum spend requirement. Confirm the current offer on Chase's site before you apply, because Southwest co-brands cycle promotions frequently.

Southwest Premier Card Overview

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier is issued by Chase. It is the mid-tier of the three Southwest personal credit cards, sitting between the Plus ($69 annual fee) and the Priority ($149 annual fee). All three earn Rapid Rewards points, all three help you make progress toward the Companion Pass, and all three carry the same fundamental relationship with Southwest: this is a co-brand card, not a flexible-points card.

The Premier has a $99 annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and grants you 6,000 anniversary points each year on your cardmember anniversary. It earns 3x on Southwest purchases, 2x on local transit and commuting, 2x on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services, 2x on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, and 1x on everything else.

That earning structure is fine. It is not what makes the card worth carrying.

Key Features and Benefits

The 6,000 Anniversary Points

Every year on your cardmember anniversary, Southwest deposits 6,000 Rapid Rewards points into your account. Rapid Rewards points are typically worth around 1.3 to 1.5 cents each on Wanna Get Away fares, so call those points roughly $78 to $90 in flight value. That alone offsets most of the $99 annual fee.

This is the cleanest way to think about the Premier's value proposition: you are paying $99 to get back $78 to $90 in points before you swipe the card a single time. The remaining $9 to $21 gap closes fast with the bag benefit and the foreign transaction savings.

Free First Checked Bag (Post-2025 Policy)

In May 2025, Southwest ended its longstanding "two bags fly free" default policy. That policy was a load-bearing reason a lot of casual flyers picked Southwest in the first place, and removing it changed the calculus for the Southwest co-brand cards.

The Premier now grants the cardholder and one companion on the same reservation a free first checked bag. On a round-trip with a companion, that perk alone is worth around $70 to $90 depending on Southwest's current bag pricing. One trip a year covers most of the annual fee. Two trips and you are clearly ahead.

If you fly Southwest with a partner or family even occasionally, this is the single biggest reason to hold a Southwest co-brand card in 2026, and the Premier is the cheapest card that delivers it.

25% In-Flight Purchase Discount

Premier cardholders get 25% back as a statement credit on in-flight purchases, including Wi-Fi, drinks, and snacks. It is a small benefit. If you buy Wi-Fi twice a year at $8 a session, that is $4 back. Useful, not load-bearing.

Two EarlyBird Check-Ins Per Year

You get two EarlyBird Check-Ins each year as a cardholder benefit. EarlyBird typically runs $15 to $25 per direction, so that is roughly $30 to $50 of additional annual value if you would have bought them anyway. If you have never paid for EarlyBird, this benefit will not change your life.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Premier is the cheapest Southwest card that drops foreign transaction fees. The Plus charges 3% on every purchase outside the US. If you travel internationally even once a year, that 3% adds up fast, and the Premier's no-FX-fee structure is a meaningful upgrade over the Plus.

Companion Pass Progress

Every Rapid Rewards point you earn on the Premier counts toward the Companion Pass, which lets a designated companion fly with you for just taxes and fees on every Southwest flight for the rest of the calendar year you earn it plus the entire next year. As of the most recent program update, the Companion Pass threshold is 135,000 qualifying points or 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year.

The 6,000 anniversary points count. The welcome bonus counts. Your Southwest spend at 3x counts. Companion Pass is the single biggest reason serious Southwest flyers carry these cards, and the Premier participates fully in that ecosystem.

Earning Structure and Real Spending Math

Here is what the earning structure actually looks like in dollars:

If you spend $4,000 a year on Southwest flights at 3x, that is 12,000 points, worth roughly $156 to $180. If you spend $2,000 a year on local transit and rideshare at 2x, that is 4,000 points, worth $52 to $60. Add the 6,000 anniversary points at roughly $78 to $90.

Rough total: 22,000 points, or about $286 to $330 in Rapid Rewards value, before the bag benefit.

Subtract the $99 annual fee and you are netting roughly $187 to $231 a year, plus the bag perk on top. That math holds up. The catch is the 1x rate on non-bonus spend. If you put $25,000 of general spend on this card hoping for value, you are leaving real money on the table compared to a 2x flat-rate card like the Capital One Venture, which earns transferable miles you can move to over a dozen partners.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • The 6,000 anniversary points alone offset 80% of the annual fee in points value.
  • Free first checked bag for cardholder plus one companion is a meaningful post-2025 perk.
  • No foreign transaction fees, which the Plus card cannot match.
  • Full Companion Pass earning, including from the welcome bonus.

Cons

  • The 1x rate on general spend makes this a poor primary daily-driver card.
  • The 2x category set is narrow and oddly defined ("local transit" and "internet, cable, phone").
  • Heavy Southwest flyers earn more long-term value from the Priority card's 7,500 anniversary points and higher tier-credit boost.

How the Premier Compares

Premier vs. Plus ($69 AF): The Plus charges foreign transaction fees and gives only 3,000 anniversary points. If you want the cheapest Southwest card and never travel internationally, the Plus works. For most readers, the extra $30 a year buys you the no-FX-fee benefit and 3,000 more anniversary points, which is a worthwhile trade.

Premier vs. Priority ($149 AF): Priority is the right pick for people who fly Southwest a lot. It includes 7,500 anniversary points (instead of 6,000), a $75 Southwest travel credit, four upgraded boardings per year when available, and a tier-qualifying point boost that helps with A-List status. If you fly Southwest more than four or five times a year, run the Priority math.

Premier vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF): The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the better choice for travelers who fly multiple airlines. It earns Ultimate Rewards points that transfer 1:1 to Southwest plus a dozen other partners, gives you stronger trip protections, and is not locked to a single carrier. The Premier wins only if you are committed to flying Southwest.

This comparison pattern is the same one we run in our broader airline card analysis: co-brand cards win when you are loyal to the airline and lose when you are not.

Who Should Get the Premier

Great Fit For:

  • Occasional Southwest flyers (two to four round-trips a year) who want the bag perk and Companion Pass progress.
  • Travelers upgrading from the Plus who want to drop foreign transaction fees.
  • People who want a Southwest card to anchor their Companion Pass strategy without committing to the Priority's $149 fee.

Not Ideal For:

  • Heavy Southwest flyers (five-plus round-trips a year). The Priority is a better dollar-for-dollar deal.
  • Travelers who fly multiple airlines. A flexible-points card earns more on the same spend.
  • People looking for a card to put all their everyday spend on. The 1x base rate is uncompetitive.

Application Notes

Chase applies the 5/24 rule to all Southwest co-brand applications, and you cannot hold more than one Southwest personal card at a time. If you already have the Plus or the Priority, you will need to product-change rather than apply fresh. Our credit card application guide walks through the timing rules in more detail.

If you are pursuing the Companion Pass through a card welcome bonus, plan your application timing carefully. Earning the bonus in January gives you the longest possible Companion Pass window, since the pass is good for the rest of the year you earn it plus all of the next year.

For a broader look at which co-brand cards still grant free checked bags after the 2025 policy shifts across the industry, our checked bag credit card roundup covers the field.

Final Verdict

The Southwest Premier earns a recommendation in 2026 for a narrow but real audience: occasional Southwest flyers who want the bag perk, the Companion Pass earning, and the no-FX-fee coverage without paying for the Priority. The 6,000 anniversary points cover most of the fee, and the bag benefit handles the rest after a single round-trip with a companion. If you fly Southwest more than that, size up to Priority. If you fly other airlines too, a flexible-points card serves you better. Pick the card that matches how you actually travel, not the one with the most benefits on paper.

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