Executive Summary -
In our final section of this review, we highlight the reasons why we think this is a great card to get for those who fly a lot on SouthWest Airlines and AirTran Airways as well.
Is this a good card? Let's just say that if you fly SouthWest, I don't see why you should not get this. There are many things that I like about the card.
For example, I like the anniversary bonus that you get. The value of the 6,000 points is one $100 wanna get away ticket. Given that the annual fee of the card is $99, this easily covers it. What I also like about the card is that fact that you can earn elite qualifying points based on your credit card spending. Not many frequent flyer programs allow this. Based on the formula of this card, if you spend $100,000 a year on the card (ie you are a high spender), you will get quite a bit of qualifying miles which will help you in either your quest for an elite status or simply to bump you up to the next level.
I suspect that most folks who get this card will not really fly overseas a lot. But nevertheless, it is still a great that the card waives foreign transaction fee.
You will also notice that this card has no features like first bag checks in free or any access to club lounges. The reason is simply because SouthWest does not charge any baggage fees at all and they have no club lounges! So the card does not need to offer these features.
Before we wrap up this review, it is also important to note that there are other ways to earn SouthWest Rapid Reward points. SouthWest is a partner of the Ultimate Rewards program. Some of Chase rewards card like the Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card allow you to transfer points to your Rapid Rewards account. The account allows you to earn double points on dining. So having it as a supplementary card to your SouthWest one is actually a good idea as well (you also get some nice sign up bonus points which you can transfer to your SouthWest account).
Also, since SouthWest has merged with Air Tran, you can transfer yoru SouthWest points into an Air Tran account. Air Tran has recently launched a credit card with Chase and if you fly both these airlines, you might also want to consider getting the card from Air Tran as a complement to this card as well.
Verdict - If you fly SouthWest and AirTran regularly, you should definitely get this card. You will earn more points from your credit card spending (that means more free flights) and also qualifying points which will help you achieve elite status faster. The anniversary bonus along pays for annual fee of the card. Highly recommended.
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