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Chase is considering significant changes to its Southwest Airlines credit card portfolio, influenced by Southwest's planned move to assigned seating. These potential modifications include raising annual fees, eliminating anniversary points, and introducing a percentage discount on redemptions. Additionally, there may be new benefits related to early boarding or seat upgrades replacing the current Early Bird and Upgraded Boarding credits.
Higher annual fees align with a broader trend in rewards cards as co-brand deals become more costly. American Express has led this shift by increasing fees while adding benefits that are often too niche or cumbersome for many cardmembers to utilize effectively.
Eliminating anniversary points would reduce costs but might also lead to higher attrition rates since these points encourage consumers to retain their cards when annual fees are due. Offering such rewards helps prevent cancellations.
