If you're going to travel on Southwest Airlines, it pays to have one of the airline's credit cards. Cardholders automatically earn extra points on Southwest purchases, not to mention a bonus each year the card is renewed, amid myriad other benefits. So how does a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card work? Here, we'll go over how many points you can earn with it and the perks you'll receive as a cardholder.

How travel credit cards generally work

Travel credit cards are a way for cardholders to earn points or miles that can be redeemed later for free flights, hotel stays and other services or items. Specifically, co-branded airline credit cards, like the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards, offer bonus points on airline purchases (and sometimes other categories) so that members can earn rewards more quickly.

Similar cards exist for hotel frequenters, too, but for the purposes of this explanation, we'll stick to airline cards.

Many airline cards include automatic benefits just for being a cardholder, like access to upgraded boarding passes each year. Other cards may offer additional perks, such as elite status credits or lounge access.

The points that you earn from the credit card are fed to your airline loyalty program account after the statement closes each month. Once the points have been posted, they are yours to redeem. This type of credit card thus makes it faster to accrue enough points for an almost-free award flight. These points are earned on top of the points accrued by flying with the airline.

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BROWSE CARDS

Southwest credit cards

Southwest Airlines offers several credit card options based on your budget and the perks that are most appealing to you. In addition to consumer credit cards, they offer business versions for entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

These are the five Southwest credit cards that are currently available, along with their annual fee:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: $69.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: $99.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: $149.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: $99.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card: $199.

Three of the cards are for personal accounts, and two are set up for businesses. You can have two Southwest credit cards if you apply for one personal card and one business card. Just keep in mind the Chase 5/24 rule.

Sign-up bonuses for these cards typically range from 40,000 points to 70,000 points, but the airline is currently running a special bonus for all three personal cards: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.