On July 24, 2025, Chase announced that they would be enhancing the benefits of their Southwest credit cards while also increasing the annual fees. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card will now charge $99 a year, up from $69. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card will charge $149 a year, up from $99. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card will charge $229 a year, up from $149. However, all three cards will feature a limited-time welcome offer where new cardholders can earn 100,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first five months of opening an account. This bonus could be worth around $1,300 based on BW’s valuations.
In exchange for the higher annual fees, cardholders will receive new benefits such as added bonus categories and perks like free checked bags, seat selection, and early boarding. Some of these benefits are similar to perks that Southwest used to offer for free to all customers. Despite these changes, holding one of these cards may make more sense for frequent Southwest flyers.
The Plus, Premier, and Priority credit cards will have different rewards and benefits, with some existing categories and perks going away in 2026. For example, the Priority card will eliminate its $75 Southwest travel credit and its annual “four upgraded boardings” perk. Additionally, all Southwest personal credit cards will no longer earn 2x points on certain categories like Southwest Cruises, internet, cable, phone, select streaming, and local transit and commuting after a certain date.
Current Southwest cardholders will start paying the increased annual fee on their 2026 account anniversary date. The new seating and boarding benefits will be effective once Southwest begins assigned seating on July 29, 2025, and operates with assigned seating on Jan. 27, 2026, according to Chase. This refresh of the Southwest credit card portfolio comes after similar changes to other Chase-issued credit cards, such as the United Airlines cards and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.