Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card: When All You Need Are the Basics

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There are three Southwest consumer credit cards for fans of the airline, and the has the lowest annual fee of the bunch. It also offers the fewest benefits, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, you don't want to pay for benefits you never wind up using.

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If you enjoy flying Southwest Airlines and don't want to spend $99 or more on credit card annual fees, the could be right up your alley. It offers a large intro bonus and an extra 3,000 Rapid Rewards^® points every cardholder anniversary. However, there's still a annual fee, so you'll want to make sure the benefits will outweigh the cost.

If you fly often, the high-end could be worth the annual fee. You get a $75 annual Southwest travel credit, bringing your effective cost down to $74, and you receive 7,500 anniversary points—worth about $112.50.

You can also use the card for in-flight Southwest drinks and Wi-Fi and get a statement credit for 20% of your purchase. You'll also get statement credits for up to four upgraded boarding purchases ($30 to $50 each) every year.

Receive Travel and Purchase Protections

Although the has the lowest annual fee of the three Southwest cards, it offers the same travel and purchase protections as the other two cards.

With all three, the benefits change slightly depending on if you get approved for a Visa Signature version of the card, which has a minimum $5,000 credit limit, or a Visa Platinum version with a lower credit limit. With the Visa Platinum version, you don't receive travel and emergency assistance services and get a lower limit for the travel accident insurance.

The travel and purchase protections include:

• Auto rental collision damage waiver: Will cover you if a vehicle you rent is stolen or damaged and your primary insurance doesn't cover all the costs.
• Roadside dispatch: Call to get connected to a roadside dispatch service with pre-negotiated rates.
• Lost luggage reimbursement: Receive the cash value for items that are lost, stolen or damaged while you're traveling—up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Baggage delay insurance: If your bags are delayed for more than six hours, you can get up to $100 daily (three days maximum) for eligible emergency supplies.
• Travel accident insurance: If you lose a limb or die while traveling, the insurance may pay up to $250,000 or up to $500,000 for Visa Signature cardholders.
• Travel and emergency assistance services: Only available with the Visa Signature version, the assistance services can help connect you with medical, legal, translation and transportation services while you're traveling, but won't help you pay for it.
• Extended warranty protection: Get up to one extra year of warranty coverage on items that you purchase. To qualify, their original warranty must be for three years or less and meet other eligibility requirements for the program.
• Purchase protection: You can get up to $500 per incident (up to $50,000 per account) if something you buy with your card gets lost or stolen within 120 days.

These benefits may be available on other Visa Platinum and Signature cards, and you may be able to get additional benefits from Visa if you're a Signature cardholder. The protections also are often only available if you used your card for the purchase or to book travel.

Authorized-User Policy

There's no fee to add an authorized user to the . The person will receive a card that they can use for purchases, but you'll be responsible for paying the bill for transactions from both the primary and authorized user cards. Additionally, the authorized user's purchases can earn points that will be added to your Rapid Rewards^® account.