Personal Finance

How Will Southwest Airlines New Bag Fees Impact Frequent Flyers and Credit Cardholders, Should We Switch To Another Card?

David Beren

Published: March 14, 2025 1:31 pm

Southwest Airlines has been known as one of the friendliest companies in the friendly skies for as long as the airline industry can remember. Airlines are often seen as some of the most consumer unfriendly businesses, but Southwest Airlines was a bright spot in a dark industry. 

Unfortunately, an announcement made the week of March 10, 2025, has changed everything. The airline best known for “2 bags fly free” is changing the rules and charging customers who want to check their bags after May 27, 2025. 

As a result of this change, one Redditor posted in r/CreditCards inquiring whether or not this change will impact Southwest Credit Card holders and whether it might be time to make a card change. 

The Question 

Ultimately, the original poster questions how the new bag policy will affect Southwest Airlines customers and their current loyalty benefits. To be more direct, this question is highlighted by the idea that Southwest has indicated they will only credit one checked bag for all Rapid Rewards credit card members. 

The bottom line is that this change will undoubtedly impact how many potential flyers view Southwest. While its open seating can sometimes be chaotic, flying Southwest has always been an experience full of personality, as the company’s flight attendants have always invoked personality into announcements and safety procedures. 

While this “fun” may not disappear with the announcement, it has undoubtedly soured customers and is likely to significantly impact the company’s reputation in the short term. 

The Process Change

According to the Southwest announcement, all hope is not lost, depending on your status level with the airline. Southwest has indicated that it will continue to offer “two free check bags” to Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and Customers who are flying after booking a Business Select fare. Of course, to become an A-List Preferred Member you have to accrue “40 one-way qualifying flight segments or earn 70,000 tier qualifying points” per calendar year. 

If you are a Rapid Rewards Credit card member, which is where this specific Reddit post applies, Southwest has indicated it will “credit one checked bag for Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers.” 

Unfortunately, customers who don’t fall into any of these status areas will soon lose the ability to have free bag options. Southwest will begin charging customers for their first and second checked bags on or after May 28, 2025. The good news is that any flights purchased before that date, even for travel after that date, will not be subject to additional charges. 

The Comparison

As anyone who has ever used Reddit can imagine, the reception to this change has been less than favorable, and sometimes to the point of disgust. The comment section on this post is undoubtedly disappointed, and there is a very valid reason why some of Southwest’s most loyal customers, including its credit card members, are now looking elsewhere. 

The biggest challenge here (for Southwest) is that its most attractive benefit is gone and essentially falls in line with other airlines. Alaska Airlines card holders also receive one free checked bag, but they add this benefit for up to six different people on your reservation, besting Southwest’s changing policy. 

The same is true for Delta across all of its card levels, as you can get one free checked bag for every person on the reservation. Southwest only does it per person, so Delta and Alaska are two examples of airlines doing it better. 

Southwest customers have two options, and this Redditor points out one of them, in that you can become a cardholder and take advantage of one free bag if you still love flying this airline. Alternatively, you can look for a credit card from Alaska, United, Delta, American, Hawaiian, or JetBlue, all offering better benefits. 

The Bottom Line

Even with Southwest introducing a “basic” fare to try to remain competitive on price, the reality is that the Redditor poses a great question. Knowing that Southwest makes it challenging to achieve A-List Preferred Member status and will only allow one checked bag for one person (compared to other airline cardholders), the easy answer to the original Redditor is yes, it’s time to reconsider Southwest entirely, and not just as a card member. 

Southwest might still be worthwhile for individual business flyers going business class, but it is no longer the best choice for families traveling with multiple checked bags.