What credit score do you need to get a Southwest credit card?

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® credit card welcome bonus mentioned below is no longer available.

For avid Southwest Airlines travelers, there are three personal and two small business cobranded Chase credit cards that can help you earn rewards for your next trip. Each card offers higher rewards rates on your Southwest purchases, and the Rapid Rewards® points you earn can be redeemed for gift cards, travel and merchandise, among other things. 

Below, Select looks at what credit score you'll need to qualify for each of the Southwest and Chase cobranded cards.

All three personal Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards are currently offering the same welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has a $99 annual fee and lets you earn *2X points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases, local transit, commuting, ridesharing, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services, plus 1X points on other purchases made with the card. You'll also receive 3,000 points after your card member anniversary each year. (see rates and fees)
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has a $149 annual fee and gives you 3X points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases; *2X points per dollar spent on local transit, commuting, ridesharing, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services; and 1X points on all other purchases. Other perks include 6,000 points on your cardmember anniversary and two *EarlyBird Check-Ins per year.
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card has a $229 annual fee and lets you earn 4X points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases; *2X points per dollar spent on local transit, commuting, ridesharing, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services; and 1X points on all other purchases—and throws in unlimited tier qualifying points (TQPs) that can be put toward earning Southwest Airlines A-list elite status. It also offers perks like a *$75 Southwest annual travel credit and four upgraded boardings per year (based on availability). (See rates and fees)

The two credit cards geared toward small businesses are the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees) and the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (see rates and fees). They offer slightly larger welcome bonuses than the personal cards, as well the opportunity to earn bonus points on more common business expenses.

Like other travel rewards credit cards, you'll likely need at least a good credit score to qualify for any of the Southwest Rapid Rewards cards. A good credit score, according to FICO®, is a score of 670 or above. Note that cardholders can be approved or rejected for these cards even if they don't have at least a score of 670.

FICO Score Ranges:

• Very poor: 300 to 579
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Good: 670 to 739
• Very good: 740 to 799
• Excellent: 800 to 850

Most card issuers look at your FICO® 8 score when evaluating your creditworthiness. The FICO® 8 score ranges from 300 to 850, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood that a cardholder will pay off their bills on time and in full.

FICO scores are based on five factors:

• Payment history (35%) — If you've made your previous payments on time
• Amounts owed (30%) — Your credit utilization ratio, or the ratio of the amount of credit you're using to the amount that's been extended and owed on your accounts
• Length of credit history (15%) — The amount of time you've had credit
• New credit (10%) — How often you open new accounts
• Credit mix (10%) — Whether you have different types of credit, such as installment loans or revolving lines of credit

While credit scores are not the only factor that credit card issuers look at, it's one of the most important. You'll want to make sure to pay your bills on time and in full, keep your credit utilization ratio low and limit the number of credit applications you submit in a short period of time. 

Card issuers will also look at your income, the length of your credit history and how many credit cards you've acquired recently. Generally, you'll be looked at more favorably if you have a longer credit history and higher income. 

Chase also has a 5/24 rule for cardholders. This applies to most Chase credit cards and co-branded cards. This means that cardholders will be denied a Chase card if they've acquired five or more credit cards (any credit cards, not just Chase cards) in the past 24 months.

If you get rejected for a card, issuers must inform you of why they denied you within 60 days. You may be able to give Chase a call to negotiate your approval, but you'll need to make a compelling case for why you should be approved.

In order to get one of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® credit cards, you'll probably need at least a FICO® score of 670. Since the card is a co-branded Chase credit card, applicants should also limit the total number of credit cards they get — Chase's 5/24 rule means that applicants who have gotten five credit cards or more in the past 24 months will automatically be rejected for a new card.

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