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Find the perfection Travel credit cards With a huge number of options, including a variety of premium cards, issuers, reward structures, and co-branded cards, it can be challenging.
In this battle, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card versus Chase SapphirePreferred® Card. Both of these credit cards offer rewards to enthusiastic travelers, but the difference comes down to your way of travel.
If you’re loyal to the Southwest brand and its travel partners, Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus may appeal to you more. However, if you want more flexibility in terms of redeeming rewards and getting more rewards in more bonus categories, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card may be more suitable.
This is a simplified breakdown of these cards, but it will help you explore the details, perks and perks of additional cards and choose the one that’s best for your lifestyle. Here’s how these cards stack up on each other based on your spending habits.
Main details
| card | Southwest RapidRewards® and Credit Card Points | Chase SapphirePreferred® Card Points |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | After spending $1,000 on a purchase in the first three months, you earn 50,000 bonus points. | Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening an account. |
| Remuneration rate |
|
|
| Intro April | n/a | n/a |
| Annual fees | $69 | $95 |
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus vs. Chase Sapphire’s favorite highlights
Which cards make the most money?
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus vs. Chase Sapphire Expense Example
This is an example of spending on what you can earn with each card. Of course, if spending habits differ significantly from this example, the reward yields could also be very different.
| Expense Category | Annual spending | Southwest Rapid Rewards and Credit Card Rewards | Chase Sapphire preferred rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| I bought the food in-store | $2,343.50 | 2,344 | 2,344 |
| Grocery purchased online | $2,343.50 | 2,344 | 7,031 |
| dining | $2,375.00 | 2,375 | 7,125 |
| gas | $1,313.00 | 1,313 | 1,313 |
| Apparel and Services | $1,434.00 | 1,434 | 1,434 |
| Streaming** | $1,200.00 | 2,400 | 3,600 |
| Entertainment | $1,200.00 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| Internet, cable, telephone | $1,200.00 | 2,400 | 1,200 |
| Personal Care Products and Services | $646.00 | 646 | 646 |
| Travel booked directly with Southwest and Rapid Rewards Partners | $1,440.00 | 2,880 | 2,880 |
| Travel booked the Chay Travel Portal | $720.00 | 720 | 3,600 |
| All other trips | $720.00 | 720 | 1,440 |
| Account Anniversary Bonus | 3,000 | 1,694 | |
| total | $16,935.00 | 23,776 South West Rapid Reward Points | 35,507 Chase Ultimate Reward Points |
*All points revenues are rounded to the nearest integer
**In this example, all streaming purchases fall under the Select Streaming Services category, with Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus and Chase Sapphire earning the recommended bonus points.
In this example, Chase Sapphire preferred to make the Southwest Rapid Rewards card stand out even without the card’s welcome bonus. According to Bankrate ratings, Chase’s ultimate reward points are worth on average, on average, than Southwest Rapid Reward Points.
One thing that has not been mentioned yet is the anniversary bonus each card offers. This is also taken into consideration in the above expenditure examples. Rapid Rewards Plus offers an account anniversary bonus of 3,000 points per year, while Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a 10% per year bonus. Earn bonus points at 10% of your previous account anniversary and is calculated at a rate of 1 point per dollar. For example, a $25,000 spend will earn 2,500 bonus points at the end of the year.
Why get Southwest Rapid Rewards and Credit Cards?
Why should you prefer Chase Sapphire?
Conclusion
Getting a proper credit card can be a big way to travel discounts, perks and perks, but not all travel cards offer the same benefits to the same type of traveler. In this case, if you are a stubborn southwest fan with a buddy that shares the same affinity, this card will win, mainly because you may earn qualifying points. Southwest Companion Passand there are additional southwest perks.
Chase Sapphire Preferred has a slightly higher annual fee, a wide range of redemption options for points offsetting annual fees, and even more travel protection and foreign transaction fees. These characteristics make them ideal for international travelers looking for a wider range of travel benefits, and provide greater flexibility in reward redemption.
The final choice between these cards has been up to the traveler you are – it’s up to you.
