Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card
An airline card whose fee is mostly refunded through a travel credit — and whose real prize is the Companion Pass math.
- Annual fee
- $149
- What defends the fee
- Annual travel credit and upgraded boarding credits
- The real prize
- Points and bonuses that count toward Companion Pass
Fits
Southwest regulars, especially anyone chasing or holding a Companion Pass.
Doesn't fit
Travellers who fly whoever's cheapest, or who fly internationally.
What changed on this card
Documented changes only. If we haven't verified it against the issuer's own terms, it isn't on this timeline.
- Neutral
Southwest ended its two-free-checked-bags-for-everyone policy; cardholders kept a limited free-bag allowance
The card's bag benefit stopped being redundant and became one of the reasons to hold it. If you check bags on Southwest, the fee is now partly defended by baggage you would otherwise pay for.
What's the answer for this card?
What we checked
- 1Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card — benefits and fee
Chase — Published fee, annual travel credit, and boarding benefits.
- 2Rapid Rewards Companion Pass — qualification rules
Southwest Airlines — The qualifying-points threshold that drives the whole strategy.