This Southwest Airlines card carries a $99 annual fee, but it can earn you free domestic flights and trips to the Caribbean

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Southwest Airlines

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card offers a big sign-up bonus - 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on your card within three months of account opening and 20,000 more points after you spend $12,000 on your card within the first year.
• If you earn 110,000 Southwest points within a calendar year, you can earn the Southwest Companion Pass. This pass lets your companion fly free for the rest of the year you earn it and the entire next year.
• There are tons of ways to rack up Southwest points, including credit card spending, the Southwest dining program, Southwest shopping, and hotel and rental car bookings.

If you're looking for a way to fly domestically or to the Caribbean for a price you can afford, there are few airlines that offer more value than Southwest.

Beyond offering affordable fares and nearly constant sales on their domestic flights and flights to the Caribbean, Southwest offers a unique policy known as "transfarency" that promises no hidden fees or rules. You can change or cancel your Southwest flight at almost any time and get credit toward your next flight, and Southwest offers two free checked bags per person.

Southwest also offers one of the best airline loyalty programs in the business. With Southwest Rapid Rewards, you can book any open seat on a plane provided space is available. And since the loyalty program is fare-based, you can often book one-way flights for as little as 4,000 points.

Earning miles with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

With all this in mind, it may be time to give the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card a second look. Not only does the Premier offer a big sign-up bonus, but you'll also earn points for each dollar you spend.

The current offer on this card is for up to 60,000 points - 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on your card within three months of account opening and 20,000 more points after you spend $12,000 on your card within the first year. In terms of ongoing rewards, you'll earn 2 points per $1 spent with the airline (including Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partners) and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

In addition to these perks, you will also get no foreign transaction fees and 6,000 bonus points on your cardmember anniversary each year.

While earning up to 60,000 points your first year is a great way to cover two round-trip flights to the Caribbean (and possibly more travel), don't forget about the Southwest Companion Pass, either. This annual pass allows a selected individual to fly free as your "companion" for the remainder of the year you earn it and the following year. The Southwest Companion Pass is also usable whether you book the original flight with points or with cash.

To earn the Southwest Companion Pass, you only need to earn 110,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points within a calendar year. The Premier can get you more than halfway there with the sign-up bonus alone.

Keep in mind, however, that this card does come with a $99 annual fee.

How to earn more Southwest Rapid Rewards points

If you're thinking long and hard about a Southwest credit card, the Premier is one of three personal credit cards you can consider.

In addition to the Premier, Southwest also offers the similar Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, with the same sign-up bonus, 3,000 annual bonus points on your cardmember anniversary, and a $69 annual fee. But, there's also a Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card that comes with the same sign-up bonus and additional perks such as 7,500 anniversary points, four upgraded boardings per year (based on availability), and a $75 annual Southwest travel credit in exchange for a $149 annual fee.

In addition to these options, Southwest also offers a co-branded business credit card with Chase. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card comes with 60,000 points after you sign up and use your card for $3,000 in purchases within three months of account opening. You also get the same 2:1 earning structure, no foreign transaction fees, and free cards for employees.

Why are we telling you all this?

If you can qualify for the Premier and another co-branded Southwest credit card, you can earn considerably more bonus points. If you were able to qualify for two cards and earn the sign-up bonus on both within the same year (a personal Southwest card and a business card, for example), you would have earned more than enough miles to secure the Southwest Companion pass for the rest of the year and the entire following year.

In addition to the points you can earn with credit card spending, the Southwest dining program and Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal offer even more ways to earn rewards. Southwest even offers additional points if you book hotels through their website with the possibility to earn as much as 10,000 points per paid night with select stays.

Finally, don't forget that Southwest Airlines is a partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards.

This means that, if you have a premier Chase travel credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer Chase points to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. While transferred points don't count toward the Companion Pass, you can use them to book free flights and other travel through the Southwest website.

The bottom line

While Southwest is known as a domestic airline, they offer a multitude of international flights to Caribbean destinations such as Aruba, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Grand Cayman, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Points within this program can also stretch a long way thanks to their ongoing sales. While prices can vary in both points and cash, I have personally used this program to book round-trip flights to the Caribbean for less than 20,000 points plus airline taxes and fees.

If you're aching for a trip around the US or craving a tropical vacation to the Caribbean, you would be hard-pressed to find a better deal than the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card and Southwest Airlines.

With a sign-up bonus worth two round-trip flights or more, two free checked bags per person, a fair rebooking process, and no hidden fees, what's not to love?

Click here to learn about the Southwest Premier from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy

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