Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Visa Signature Review (before July 2018)
Updated April 13, 2018. Please see our updated review here.
The Facts
The Math
Since 6,000 bonus points almost cancel out the annual fee, assuming redeeming for WGA fare, this is a 3.33% and 1.67% card. Fidelity Amex (2% cash back) is still on the upper hand - you have to spend quite a bit on 2x categories to make up for the loss in general spending. To do the exact math: your spending in 2x categories is $A and your total spending is $B, 3.33% x $A + 1.67% x ($B - $A) = 2% x $B, i.e., A/B=1/5, i.e., your spending in 2x categories needs to be greater than 20% of your total spending for Southwest Visa to edge out Fidelity Amex, which is quite a task.
The Conclusion
This is a great card for Southwest flyers, especially who are working toward Companion Pass.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $99
- Signup Bonus for Personal Version: 40,000 points after spending $1,000 within 3 months of new account opening. This bonus is not available if you currently have a personal Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card (Southwest Premier Visa or Southwest Plus Visa) or have received a signup bonus for any personal Southwest credit card in the past 24 months. Chase changed the rule in April 2018 to prevent double dipping bonuses from two personal Southwest cards. Based on anecdotal reports, this card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (you won't be approved for this card if you have opened 5 or more new accounts within the past 24 months; any new account with any issuer will count, not just with Chase; new accounts include most credit cards and charge cards but exclude non-Chase business cards and store charge cards). Historical best bonus of this card: 60,000 points in May 2017; 50,000 points for many times in the last several years; Companion Pass status for one year + 40,000 points for CA residents only in 2017.
- Application Landing Page for Personal Premier Visa
- Signup Bonus for Business Version: 60,000 points after spending $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening.
- Application Landing Page for Business Premier Visa
- Rewards: 2x Southwest and its Preferred Hotel and Rental Car Partners, 1x everywhere else
- Best Use of Southwest Rapid Rewards points: Unlike miles of the other frequent flyer programs, the value of Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards points is fixed and has three tiers: one point = 1.67 cents on WGA fare (the lowest fare requiring advance booking, 60 points per dollar) = 1 cent on Anytime fare (the full fare, 100 points per dollar) = 0.83 cent on Business Select fare (priority boarding with drinks, 120 points per dollar). Note that for award travel you only need to pay 911 Security Fees ($2.50 per segment) and the aforementioned value (e.g. 1.67 cent on WGA fare) is based on ticket price before all fees and charges, thus in reality you actually achieve slightly higher value - on short flights the value may be as high as 1.96 cent. So redemption on domestic economy cabin is surprisingly valuable compared to other miles programs due to the fact that there is no capacity control. But of course we know that the value of the miles in other programs mostly lies not in domestic economy cabin but rather in international premium cabin. Southwest announced in mid 2013 that as of March 31, 2014, the redemption rate for WGA fare will increase from 60 points per dollar to 70 points per dollar, essentially devaluating one RR point from 1.67 cents to 1.43 cents before fees and charges.
- Other Benefits: 6,000 anniversary points (~$90). Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip. You also get 1,500 TQPs (Tier Qualifying Points) towards status for every $10K charged on the card. The annual cap of TQPs earned from the card is 15K, which is half through the lowest status A-List. Well the earning ratio of TQPs is not so great, but if you are charging the card anyway this is a plus. Another great feature of the card is that the points earned from credit card spending count toward qualification for Southwest's top-tier status - Companion Pass which allows you to take a companion for free as many times as you like. Since now Southwest is no longer a transfer partner of SPG, Chas Southwest Visa seems to be the only way to earn points toward Companion Pass through credit card spending.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa: There is a "Plus" level card with a $69 annual fee which offers 3,000 anniversary points (~$45, not even offsetting the annual fee) and does not have the waived forex and TQP features. It is pretty much worthless compared to the Premier level, unless you want the signup bonus. Application Landing Page for Personal Plus Visa (50,000 points after $2,000 spending within 3 months of new account opening; $69 annual fee not waived for the first year). This bonus is not available if you currently have a personal Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card (Southwest Premier Visa or Southwest Plus Visa) or have received a signup bonus for any personal Southwest credit card in the past 24 months. Based on anecdotal reports, this card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. Historical Best Bonus: (1) 60,000 points in 2017; (2) California residents only: 40,000 points + Companion Pass in 2017.
The Math
Since 6,000 bonus points almost cancel out the annual fee, assuming redeeming for WGA fare, this is a 3.33% and 1.67% card. Fidelity Amex (2% cash back) is still on the upper hand - you have to spend quite a bit on 2x categories to make up for the loss in general spending. To do the exact math: your spending in 2x categories is $A and your total spending is $B, 3.33% x $A + 1.67% x ($B - $A) = 2% x $B, i.e., A/B=1/5, i.e., your spending in 2x categories needs to be greater than 20% of your total spending for Southwest Visa to edge out Fidelity Amex, which is quite a task.
The Conclusion
This is a great card for Southwest flyers, especially who are working toward Companion Pass.