Should you keep or cancel your Southwest credit card?

Would you pay the fee again?

Look at next year’s annual fee, anniversary points, bags, seats and earning rates. Count the benefits you’ll use on the trips you expect to take. Leave the first-year welcome bonus out of this calculation.

The annual Companion Pass boost may help if you’re earning another pass. If your current pass already covers next year and you won’t be requalifying then, the boost may not do much for you right now.

Before closing an account

• Read the bonus and cardmember terms for account-closing or rewards conditions.
• Confirm earned rewards have transferred to the correct Rapid Rewards account.
• Resolve the balance, recurring charges, refunds and pending disputes.
• Check upcoming trips for seating or baggage benefits tied to holding the card.
• Ask Chase about the fee-refund policy that applies to your actual account and dates.

Many rewards hobbyists wait until after the first anniversary before considering a closure. Waiting a year doesn’t override your offer’s account-closing or rewards terms.

The pass and card benefits are different

A standard Companion Pass is an airline benefit earned through qualifying activity. Closing a credit card doesn’t automatically cancel a standard pass you’ve legitimately earned. But your card-linked benefits can end, and untransferred points or rewards affected by account misuse are a separate issue.

Chase requires an eligible card to be open and not in default for its seat benefits. Closing before travel may release card-based seat selections. The first-checked-bag benefit also depends on eligible account status. Check those benefits before you close the card.

Ask Chase about the fee before closing

Older guides may tell you to cancel within 30 days of the annual fee for a full refund. Ask Chase what applies to your account: how long you have, when the clock starts, and whether closing or changing cards affects the refund.

Set a reminder before renewal and check again when the fee posts. That gives you time to decide and contact Chase.

Repeat bonuses are a separate eligibility question

Closing now doesn’t restart or erase the period since a prior welcome bonus. Before applying again, check the then-current personal-family or business-product restrictions and your exact bonus-received date.

For a household alternating earners, keep a record for each person. Avoid a fixed promise of “a new pass every two years” when approval, offers and the timing of another bonus remain uncertain.