The Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Card aims to appeal to those who frequently fly with Southwest Airlines by offering solid perks and bonuses for a $69 annual fee.

It currently has a welcome bonus of 50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus earn 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 within your first year.

Cardmembers can earn 3,000 bonus points after each account anniversary year. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Card’s rewards program allows you to earn 2X points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases and 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases. Read on to discover what this card has to offer you.

Editor’s Note: There is now confirmation data points that if you apply using the link when you’re not on a Southwest flight or at a participating airport you still get the bonus. Here’s the Direct Link to Offer, however YMMV.

Why You Should Apply for This Card

Sign Up Bonus: Earn 50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Since Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth around 1.5 cents per point, this bonus will earn you about $600 worth of free Southwest flights. This bonus also gets you almost half the required 110,000 points toward a Companion Pass.

Annual Bonus: This card offers a unique perk where you can earn 3,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary. This bonus is worth about $45 worth of free Southwest flights.

Earn Up to 2X Points: Enjoy 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. You can earn unlimited points, and your points don’t expire as long as your account is open. You can redeem your points for flights, hotel stays, gift cards, access to events, and more. When you redeem your points for flights, there are no blackout dates or seat restrictions. Bags fly free, up to two bags, and there are no change fees.

Other Card Benefits

Track to a Companion Pass: Companion Pass status is designed for heavy spenders who regularly fly Southwest. To earn it, you have to have 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 110,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points during the calendar year. You can earn qualifying points with participating Rapid Rewards partners for travel, home, and dining purchases.

With this pass, you can bring along a travel partner at no additional fare charge (fees and taxes must be paid) for the rest of this year and next year. There’s no limit to how many times you can use this benefit. Companion Pass holders can travel with as many individual companions throughout the year as you like, but you can’t travel with more than one companion per flight.

Travel and Purchase Perks: Get travel and purchase coverage such as lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, extended warranty protection, and purchase protection.

Bottom Line

Although the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Card does not offer the most generous perks as an ultra-premium travel rewards card does, it’s a fantastic low-cost card that suits any Rapid Rewards member looking for a low-fee travel rewards credit card. Offering a valuable sign up bonus for its $69 annual fee, you’ll earn 50,000 points after hitting a low minimum spend and will earn you a good amount of travel if you’re able to utilize it. And the 3,000 bonus points comes very close in value to covering the annual fee, lowering the out-of-pocket expense if you use those points every year.

If you want to make A-List or A-List Preferred via spend alone, this card does not earn Tier Qualifying Points (TPQs). If you’re traveling overseas, I would not recommend using this card because it charges a 3% foreign transaction fee. If you’re interested in what else Chase has to offer, check out our list of best Chase credit card promotions and browse our other featured credit card bonus promotions to find the one that best suits you.