Southwest Airlines Follows Suit By Tying Free Checked Bags to Its Revamped Card Loyalty Program

Southwest Airlines announced changes to its fare products this week and added benefits for cardholders and tier members.

Southwest plans to roll out three new fare classes: Choice Extra, Choice Preferred, and Choice. These will replace Business Select, Anytime, and Wanna Get Away Plus and will be available for booking in the third quarter of 2025 for travel beginning in 2026.

“With new choices like seat selection and Extra Legroom, our enhanced fare bundles let Customers customize their trip while still enjoying our industry-leading reliability and hospitality,” said Tony Roach, Executive Vice President Customer & Brand.

For decades, Southwest Airlines made a name for itself with its simplicity — fare rules that don’t take a rocket scientist to understand, and no fees for bags. That recipe worked for travelers who didn’t want to play mind games to get a flight. 

But a month ago, the airline killed off its long-standing two-free-bags policy. Some observers were taken by surprise, and others said they had simply been waiting for the day. For years, there had been whispers that this perk would be exclusive to credit card holders. Now, that shift is underway.

Let’s talk about credit cards. If you have one of those Rapid Rewards Priority or Premier cards, you’ll likely quickly become acquainted with the small bonuses: points on your cardmember anniversary, a $75 travel credit, and a rebate for an EarlyBird Check-In purchase. 

Fares are changing, long-held freebies are in retreat, and those “little extras” are beginning to pay their own way. 

EarlyBird, for example, used to be a low-grade upgrade. Now, it might well just be the only way you’re going to get a decent boarding position without paying more. And if bags get moved behind the cardholder curtain? Now, that makes the card a lot more appealing.

Southwest is following other airlines, like Delta and United, in tying bag benefits to their co-branded credit card.

It was just a matter of when, some watchers believe. After all, Delta, American, and United already tied bag benefits to the use of their co-branded credit cards. It isn’t a surprise that Southwest eventually followed suit. 

Industry watchers predict the airline may add cardholder benefits such as bag fee waivers, broader EarlyBird access, and other fare-related bonuses to help keep customers loyal.

Airlines of every stripe are looking to squeeze more from their frequent flyer programs — and from flyers themselves. That means selling features à la carte, bundling services by fare type, and leveraging partnerships with banks to sell branded credit cards.

Southwest, a longtime holdout, is joining that club. Wrapping EarlyBird Check-In and bags to their credit cards keeps the upfront price low, while still getting travelers to spend a little more in bits and pieces. And that is something the budget airlines have become good at.

Those are some of the strategies that have helped Southwest turn flyers who were just random customers into loyalists. That helps — the bills don’t stop piling up just because idled planes aren’t flying.

The airline announced plans to end its free bag policy effective May 28, 2025. What used to be free will now depend on what card a consumer carries in their wallet.

The current benefits are not shabby: travel credits, incremental additions to tier and EarlyBird refunds. But the free bag offer for cardholders could be the tiebreaker. And if Southwest does add new cardholder-only benefits, it’s likely more flyers will apply for one outright — or upgrade to a better one.

In the new calculus, flying smart is all about marrying your ticket to the right piece of plastic.