Is the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus worth its $99 annual fee?
Short answer: no combination of the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus’s credits covers its $99 fee; its one credit comes to $39. The remaining $60 has to come from status, lounges, perks and points. Most of it posts automatically; the question is whether you spend at these merchants at all.
$39 in advertised credits against a $99 fee. Here is every credit, how it is paid out, where it works, and the fine print that decides whether your spending will reach it.
What it takes to cover the $99 fee
Even if you reached every one of the one credit, they would cover $39 of the $99 fee. The remaining $60 has to come from status, lounges, perks and the points the card earns, all valued below.
What you actually reach depends on your own charges: the audit matches every credit against 12 months of real transactions, counts what actually landed on the card toward the fee, and shows the rest as upside.
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus · the arithmetic
Face values from the issuer pages cited below, as of 2026-09-06. Your reachable number comes from your own charges.
The one credit on the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus, with the fine print.
Face value per year, how the issuer chunks it, where it actually pays, and what you have to do first. Sorted by value.
| Credit | Per year | Paid out as | Works at | Setup | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 Anniversary PointsA points deposit, not a statement credit: 3,000 Rapid Rewards points each account anniversary, valued at 1.3¢, worthless if the holder never flies Southwest. | $39 | $39 a year, resets on your card anniversary | Southwest Airlines | posts automatically, no spend needed | — |
Beyond the credits: status, lounges and points
- Southwest flight perks: a free checked bag worth $35 each way, for you and up to 8 companions; preferred seating valued at $12 each way. Counted on flights the card can see you take, and worth nothing once you hold A-List status, which includes them.
What it earns
Headline rates, with the conservative point value the audit uses. Earning below a no-fee 2% cash-back card is worth nothing extra; only the premium over that counts toward the fee.
| Rate | On | Program and value |
|---|---|---|
| 2× | Southwest Airlines purchases | Southwest Rapid Rewards at 1.3¢ |
| 2× | Gas stations and grocery stores (first $5,000 per anniversary year) on up to $5,000 a year | Southwest Rapid Rewards at 1.3¢ |
| 2× | Lyft (through 2027) | Southwest Rapid Rewards at 1.3¢ |
| 1× | Everything else |
The cheaper card it’s compared with
The catalog lists no cheaper card in this family that the issuer lets you move to. If the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus fails its audit, the verdict is cancel, and the report says what you would give up.
Questions about the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus’s credits
How much are the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus’s credits worth?
$39 a year at face value across one credit, against a $99 annual fee. Covering the fee on credits alone takes more than every credit combined. What you reach depends on your own charges; Worth My Fee scores each credit against 12 months of real transactions.
What is the downgrade option for the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus?
The catalog lists no cheaper card in this family that the issuer lets you move to, so a failing audit means cancel rather than downgrade.
What does the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus earn on spending?
2× on Southwest Airlines purchases, 2× on gas stations and grocery stores (first $5,000 per anniversary year) and 2× on Lyft (through 2027), and 1× on everything else. Worth My Fee values Southwest Rapid Rewards at 1.3¢ per point, and counts only the premium over a no-fee 2% cash-back card toward the fee.
Sources
Issuer and loyalty-program pages first; commentary only where the issuer’s own page is ambiguous. Each link carries the date we last checked it, and a weekly job diffs these pages against the catalog.
Issuer and program pages
- Chase — Southwest Rapid Rewards cards compared (fees and anniversary points) creditcards.chase.com · checked 2026-09-06
- Chase — Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus official page creditcards.chase.com · checked 2026-09-06
Which of these would you reach?
Connect the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus and Worth My Fee scores every credit above against your last 12 months of charges, nets out the traps, and gives one verdict: keep, downgrade or cancel. The topline is free.
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