Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus vs. Capital One Venture Rewards

Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

The best travel credit cards can help you reach your goals of world travel while delivering some nice perks and benefits along the way. A big part of choosing a travel card is deciding between a co-branded card tied to a loyalty program or a general credit card that earns rewards toward any type of travel.

We compare two such cards — the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card — to see how they stack up when it comes to welcome bonuses, rewards and other perks. We also compare how they differ, and how that affects which is best for you, depending on your spending and travel habits.

Main details

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus vs. Capital One Venture Rewards highlights

Which card earns the most?

When it comes to choosing a credit card, the right card for you is usually dependent on your goals for earning rewards and your personal spending habits. Both the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus and Capital One Venture cards are solid travel cards, so let’s take a look at a spending example to see how each card might benefit you.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus vs. the Capital One Venture Rewards spending example

In this spending example, the Capital One Venture Rewards card earns 38,190 miles, while the Rapid Rewards Plus card earns 25,215 points. At their base value of 1 cent per point, these points are worth about $382 and $252, respectively. That is a difference of about $130 in earnings — although it could potentially be even more because Capital One Miles are slightly more valuable than Rapid Rewards points when transferred to high-value travel partners. 

The 2X miles earned on all “other” spending makes a considerable difference in how much you can earn with the Venture Rewards card. This also makes it a much better card for everyday spending.

That doesn’t mean the Rapid Rewards Plus is without its place. Although the card earns less than the Venture Rewards card on most everyday expenses, it does earn 2X points on Southwest purchases. And the card comes with valuable benefits when you fly with Southwest — including 2 free checked bags and 25 percent back on eligible in-flight purchases. It also comes with an annual anniversary bonus of 3,000 points, which closes the earnings gap slightly. So if you’re a frequent Southwest traveler, you may want to consider using this card when flying Southwest.

Why should you get the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card?

Additional benefits

One perk of a co-branded like the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus is the ability to earn points and benefits with airlines or hotels you frequent. As Southwest Airlines’ entry-level card, the Rapid Reward Plus offers basic perks and benefits:

• 25 percent back on in-flight purchases

• 2 EarlyBird Check-In upgrades each year

• Lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger) and baggage delay insurance (up to $100 per day for 3 days)

• Extended warranty and purchase protection (terms apply)

• Annual cardmember account anniversary bonus of 3,000 bonus points

• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass first 12 months (terms apply)

• Boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year

Although other Southwest cards come with the opportunity to earn points toward either A-List and A-List Preferred status, the benefits available with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus are still pretty solid — especially considering it’s an entry-level card.

Redemption options

Rapid Rewards points can be redeemed for flights on Southwest as well as gift cards, hotel stays, merchandise and other experiences (though redemption values vary). Southwest’s hotel and resort partners include big names like:

You can earn and redeem Rapid Rewards points when you book with eligible Southwest partners. If you want more details on earning and redeeming points with your Rapid Rewards Plus card, check out Bankrate’s Southwest Rapid Rewards guide.

Why should you get the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card?

Additional benefits

The Capital One Venture card offers cardholders access to the Capital One Travel portal. This portal includes neat features like price prediction, price watch, price drop protection, price match guarantee and “cancel for any reason” to cardholders who book accommodations through the site.

In addition to the travel portal, other noteworthy Venture Rewards card benefits include:

• Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

• Lost luggage reimbursement

• 24-hour travel assistance services, which can help you get cash if your card is lost or stolen

• Car rental insurance, extended warranty coverage, fraud coverage and travel accident insurance

• Virtual credit card numbers

• Capital One Eno assistant

• Access to exclusive events, restaurants and more

• A $50 experience credit and other benefits with Lifestyle Collection hotel stays

Redemption options

The main redemption options include booking travel through the Capital One rewards portal, receiving a statement credit for recent eligible travel purchases (within the last 90 days) or transferring miles to partner airline and hotel programs. If you don’t want to redeem your miles for travel, you can cash them out in the form of a statement credit, check or gift cards. You can also use them for Amazon.com or PayPal purchases and more.

The bottom line

Both the Rapid Rewards Plus and Venture Rewards are formidable competitors in the entry-level travel credit card space. If you’re a die-hard Southwest fan, the Rapid Rewards Plus card could provide value — especially if you can score the Companion Pass when it occasionally appears as part of the card’s welcome bonus. On the other hand, the Venture Rewards offers a higher rate for general spending with the option to get much more value (and earnings) for travel bookings. Overall, the card you choose will depend on how you spend and how you prefer to travel.