Southwest is an Airlines company having the world’s largest low-cost carriers and is known to be one of the major airlines companies in the United States.
It was founded back on 15th March 1967 as Air Southwest by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King and was renamed Southwest Airlines in 1971.
Its headquarters is located in Dallas, Texas, United States, has more than 60,000 employees working under them and operates more than 4000 flights a day during peak travel seasons.
For easing the process of ticket bookings, managing flights, and providing a premium travel experience to its customers, Southwest Airlines has partnered with Chase to offer Southwest credit cards to its customers.
Customers, often have a query that whether they can use their southwest credit card anywhere.
For answering this, let me brief you first about what Southwest credit cards are.
About Southwest credit cards:
Southwest in partnership with Chase offers two types of credit cards:
- For Personal use
- For Business use.
They are as follows:
Southwest Personal Credit Cards:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Cards
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Cards
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Cards
Southwest Business Credit Cards:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Cards
Can I use my southwest credit card anywhere?
The Southwest credit cards are Visa cards so if the place or platform where you want to use a credit card accepts Visa cards then they will also accept Southwest credit cards for making payments.
However, keep in mind that the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card charges foreign transaction fees while traveling internationally unlike the rest of the four Southwest credit cards.
So, if you are traveling domestically in the U.S. then you won’t be charged anything extra but if you are traveling internationally then you’ll need to pay the foreign transaction fees along with your payable amount.
So, consider this if you own a Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card.
What are the benefits of Owning a Southwest Credit Card?
Following are the benefits of owning a Southwest Credit Card:
Rewards points on spending:
The Southwest personal credit cards reward 2 points per dollar and Southwest business credit cards rewards 3 points per dollar spent on making a Southwest purchase.
Additionally, both type of credit cards rewards 1 point per dollar in the purchase made from everywhere and specifically rewards 2 points per dollar spent on:
- Rapid Rewards hotels,
- Car rental-purchase & local commuting services like rideshare,
- Internet, phone, and media streaming services.
Signing Bonus Points:
Southwest rewards the following bonus points in the purchase made in the first three months of the credit cards:
- 40,000 bonus points after spending one thousand dollars on all of the Southwest personal credit cards.
- 60,000 bonus points after spending three thousand dollars on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card.
- 80,000 bonus points after spending five thousand dollars on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Cards.
Additionally, all the Southwest credit cards reward anniversary bonus points each year on the anniversary of the customer’s card.
Access to Lucrative Companion Pass:
If you own a Southwest Credit card and manage to acquire an A-list status, then you’ll be awarded the Southwest Companion Pass which will allow you to have a travel buddy who can fly with you almost for free, you’ll only need to bear the cost of taxes and fees (if any) for your him/her.
Additionally, being an A-list member will provide you with:
- Access to priority boarding, check-ins, and dedicated security lanes.
- 25% more Rapid Rewards earning than usual whenever you fly.
- The facility of same-day standby at no cost.
- Access to a dedicated phone line for A-list members.
Note: Owning a Companion Pass needs you to qualify for a certain amount of qualifier points and a set number of one-way flights per year in a calendar. The bonus points will help you in achieving the qualifier points.
Benefits of International Travels:
Other than the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, no Southwest credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee for international travel.
Why you should not own Southwest Credit Cards?
Following are the reasons why owning a Southwest credit card may not be the right choice for you:
Not rewarding for traveling on non-southwest flights:
- If you live near a place or fly from a Southwest hub then using Southwest credit cards for using southwest flights for travel is affordable and beneficial for you in terms of rewards.
- However, if this is not the case then owning a Southwest credit card won’t be much beneficial to you.
Not always cost-effective:
- If you usually travel on a tight budget and optimally select the airline based on cost-effectiveness instead of benefits provision, then general travel credit cards will be better for you than an airline-specific credit card like that of Southwest.
Not for royalty loving customers:
- Southwest prioritizes more on providing benefitting services to its customers instead of royalty services like premium cabins, dedicated lounges, etc. Hence if you want to travel royally then Southwest might not be the best option for you.
- Moreover, owning a southwest credit card for the same reason will also not be a great option to go with.
Conclusion:
Southwest Airlines is a famous domestic airline in the United States and flies millions of passengers every year. It’s a good airline if it meets your needs.
Same way, owning a Southwest credit card depends on your needs and requirements.
Hence consider them carefully before opting for any of their credit cards.
