I used to be anti-Southwest till I received one in every of its bank cards — now I am a convert

I have been residing within the U.S. for nearly a decade, and one of many strongest opinions I encounter amongst vacationers right here is about Southwest Airways. Evidently the one individuals extra vocal than the airline’s haters are its loyal followers.

I believe there are legitimate arguments on each side of the coin. And, certainly, I used to be extra of a Southwest hater for many of my time residing right here — till I received one in every of its cobranded bank cards.

At TPG, we do not push bank cards only for enjoyable; we promote those that supply the greatest worth to our readers. An airline bank card could make your travels extra comfy — and prevent cash within the course of.

Proper now, the airline’s three private playing cards — the Southwest Speedy Rewards® Plus Credit score Card, Southwest Speedy Rewards® Premier Credit score Card and Southwest Speedy Rewards® Precedence Credit score Card — are providing a excessive welcome bonus. Should you apply earlier than June 26, you’ll be able to earn 85,000 factors after spending $3,000 within the first three months from account opening.

So, in the event you dwell close to an airport with a Southwest presence, it may be price getting one in every of its bank cards. This is how I turned a Southwest convert after opening the Southwest® Speedy Rewards® Efficiency Enterprise Credit score Card in 2023.

Big home route community

To begin with, Southwest has a broad home community, making it straightforward to fly throughout the nation.

The airline has a very sturdy presence within the japanese half of the U.S., Texas and California, protecting a big portion of the nation’s inhabitants. It additionally flies to Hawaii and plenty of locations in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

Since I dwell in Austin, Southwest is a straightforward selection for me; it operates nearly 40% of flights out and in of the airport. Plus, it is only a brief hop to Dallas Love Discipline (DAL) and Houston’s William P. Interest Airport (HOU), Southwest’s fifth- and seventh-largest hubs, respectively, for simple one-stop connections all through the provider’s community.

Southwest prides itself on having no cancellation or change charges, which may turn out to be useful for award vacationers and people who change plans on the final minute.

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Living proof: This summer season, I’m taking a break from the warmth in Texas to spend June in Chicago, July in Europe and August someplace else within the U.S. I am not 100% positive the place I wish to be for my ultimate month, so I’ve booked a number of Southwest reward flights to spend time in both Chicago or Portland, Maine.

I can cancel any flight as much as 10 minutes earlier than departure, which is a particularly beneficiant coverage, giving me the ability to regulate my flights as my plans agency up.

I goal to get at the very least 2 cents in worth out of every frequent flyer level or mile I redeem throughout varied packages. That is roughly the worth that we peg the key issuers’ currencies at, together with Chase Final Rewards factors and Capital One miles.

Southwest Speedy Rewards factors’ mounted redemption worth of 1.3-1.5 cents per level could not provide outsize worth, because the redemption charge is tied to the price of a income fare. Nevertheless, it is easy to know, and I recognize understanding that I’ll nearly all the time get the identical worth out of my Southwest factors, irrespective of which flight I exploit them on.

Precedence boarding

One of many primary gripes vacationers have when flying on Southwest is the uncertainty about which seat they are going to be in. The provider has an open-seating coverage with no preassigned seats. Nevertheless, each Southwest bank card means that you can board a choose variety of flights early annually.

The lower-tier Plus card, Premier card and Southwest® Speedy Rewards® Premier Enterprise Credit score Card every provide two EarlyBird Examine-Ins per 12 months. These will let you mechanically reserve your boarding spot 36 hours earlier than your flight. In addition they imply you do not have to recollect to test in proper at 24 hours earlier than departure.

The upper-tier Precedence and Efficiency Enterprise playing cards provide 4 upgraded boardings annually. I discover this perk to be precious as a result of even when I overlook to test in proper at 24 hours earlier than departure, I can nonetheless get an A1-A15 boarding place (when out there), which will increase my probabilities of snagging top-of-the-line seats on the airplane.

Most flights I e-book with Southwest price 10,000-15,000 factors every. Nevertheless, by maintaining a tally of the Southwest web site and app, in addition to deal alerts on TPG, I can typically get a reduction on new flights — and even ones I’ve already booked.

For instance, I initially booked one in every of my flights to Portland talked about above for 8,021 factors plus $5.60 in taxes. Then, per week later, Southwest introduced its 50%-off birthday sale. The route and date I had booked have been eligible for the low cost, so I canceled my unique flight after which instantly rebooked it for the lower cost, saving myself nearly 4,000 factors to make use of on a future flight.

Bonus anniversary factors

Aside from the massive 80,000-point welcome bonus I acquired when opening my Efficiency Enterprise card and assembly the minimal spending requirement, I believe it is price holding on to a Southwest card into future years — in the event you fly Southwest at the very least just a few occasions yearly.

Along with all of the perks talked about above, I obtain 9,000 bonus anniversary factors annually I maintain the cardboard; these factors are price $117, in keeping with TPG’s June 2024 valuations. That covers greater than half of the cardboard’s $199 annual charge.

The opposite 4 playing cards provide 3,000-7,500 bonus anniversary factors. Based on our calculations, these bonus factors cowl 56%-79% of the annual charge, relying on which card you maintain.

Associated: Find out how to resolve if a bank card’s annual charge is price paying

If you wish to choose up one of many three private Southwest playing cards, goal for a bonus of at the very least 75,000 factors. If you’d like a Companion Move, the greatest time to use is in February-March, when the issuer tends to supply bonus factors plus a brief Companion Move, or within the final quarter of the 12 months, when you’ll be able to time your software to maximise your factors incomes for the Companion Move the next 12 months. Should you simply need bonus factors, the center of the 12 months (Could-June) is your greatest wager.

Should you’re seeking to apply for a Southwest enterprise card, the welcome bonuses do not change typically. So, I like to recommend making use of if you may get 60,000 factors on the Premier Enterprise or 80,000 factors on the Efficiency Enterprise.

To study extra, learn our full opinions of the — so as of lowest to highest annual charge — Southwest Plus, Premier, Precedence, Premier Enterprise and Efficiency Enterprise playing cards.

Apply right here: Southwest Plus
Study extra: Southwest Premier
Apply right here: Southwest Precedence
Apply right here: Southwest Premier Enterprise
Apply right here: Southwest Efficiency Enterprise

Associated: Evaluating the Southwest Speedy Rewards Precedence, Premier and Plus bank cards