Southwest Rapid Rewards Debit Card
Southwest has officially launched a new Rapid Rewards Debit Card, issued by Sunrise Banks. The card earns Rapid Rewards points on debit spend and includes a few small travel perks and annual bonuses.
- Fees: $6.99 monthly fee, waived with a $2,500 average monthly balance.
- Welcome bonus: 2,500 Rapid Rewards points after making two recurring deposits and spending $100 within the first 90 days.
Key Details
Earning structure:
- 1 point per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on dining and subscriptions, including internet, phone, streaming services, utilities, and insurance premiums
- 1 point per $2 spent on all other purchases
Benefits:
- Up to 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year based on annual net purchases: $5,000–$9,999 = 2,500 points; $10,000–$14,999 = 5,000 points; $15,000+ = 7,500 points
- 7,500 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year
- “You will earn one bonus of 7,500 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year. The bonus will be deposited into your Rapid Rewards account by January 31 each calendar year or up to 30 days after account opening. Only one card account per person is eligible for one bonus of 7,500 Companion Pass qualifying points per calendar year. Card account must be open, in good standing, and linked to an active Rapid Rewards Account at the time of transfer.”
- $35 annual Southwest statement credit
- “A statement credit will be applied to your account when your card is used for Southwest Airlines flight purchases (excludes Upgraded Boarding and inflight purchases) up to a maximum of $35 per calendar year. Statement credit(s) will be applied to your card account balance up to 140 days after your qualifying Southwest Airlines flight purchase posts to your account. The annual $35 statement credit will be issued for the year in which the transaction posts to your account. For example, if you buy a Southwest Airlines flight ticket, but the airline does not post the transaction until after the current calendar year ends, the cost of the ticket will be allocated toward the following calendar year’s annual $35 statement credit.”
- 20% off promo code issued each January
- “You will receive one 20 percent off Promotion Code each calendar year. The Promotion Code will appear in your Rapid Rewards account each year by January 31 so long as your card account is open, in good standing and linked to an active Rapid Rewards account as of December 31 of the previous calendar year. The Promotion Code will be valid within one year of delivery, the exact date of which will be listed in your Rapid Rewards account. The Promotion Code is not valid on Basic fare bookings. The Promotion Code must be entered into the Promo Code box during checkout and will be applied to the base fare before government taxes and fees. Please note that the Department of Transportation (DOT) requires advertised fares to include all government taxes and fees, however the Promotion Code applies to the base fare only. All flights are subject to taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges of at least $5.60 per one-way trip. Applicable taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges can vary significantly based on your arrival and departure destination. The payment of any taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges is your responsibility and must be paid at the time travel is booked. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. The Promotion Code is not redeemable for cash and may not be used in conjunction with other promotion codes, special offers, or toward the purchase of a gift card or previously booked flight, or change to a previously booked flight. The Promotion Code is only valid for flights booked on Southwest.com and the Southwest mobile app. The Promotion Code is not valid on group travel, Getaways by Southwest™ packages, fares booked via swabiz.com, our Southwest Partner Services API or through Global Distribution Systems, or special fares, such as military and government fares.”
Other Notes:
- All points earned (including bonuses) count toward Companion Pass
- No fees at Cirrus network ATMs
- No credit check required
Our Verdict
This product mirrors the earlier Wyndham debit card, as we guessed in the prior lead-up post, and it will be interesting to the anti-credit-card people. The earn rates aren’t great and you also have to swallow the $84/yr in fees or park $2,500 there to avoid the fees.
That said, the benefits here can help offset the $84/yr in fees. I can see someone signing up for the card to help them meet the Companion Pass requirement with the 7,500 Companion Pass points. The $35 annual Southwest credit and the 20% coupon will also have value to Southwest flyers.
It looks like someone can sign up for the card in Nov/Dec/Jan time-range and get the 7,500 Companion Pass points and the 20% coupon and also use up the $35 Southwest credit while signed up. You’ll also get the 2,500 points signup bonus then as well (total 10,000 points toward Companion Pass eligibility). Then you can decide whether to keep the product throughout the year or to close it out. That said, I don’t know if the bank will allow opening the card each year or it’ll be limited to opening once, so keep that in mind before closing it out.
Another angle might be to get the card to use at merchants that allow debit card only (or who charge a fee to use a credit card). This card can be a way to rack up points on that spend as well.
