Name: American Express® Gold Card
Brand: American Express

Quick summary

Southwest Airlines is introducing assigned seating in 2026, renaming its fare classes and updating benefits for each tier.
The new fare structure will include Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred and Choice Extra, with varying seat selection, baggage and refund policies.
Extra Legroom, Preferred and Standard seats will be available, but all remain standard coach seats with differences in legroom and location.
Frequent flyers and select cardholders will gain enhanced seat selection privileges and free checked bags for themselves and companions.

What to consider

Checked bag fees begin May 28 for most fares, but cardholders and elite members receive complimentary checked bags.
Assigned seating and new fare classes will apply to flights departing in 2026, with sales starting in the third quarter of 2025.
Extra Legroom seats may include additional soft product perks, but will not offer a full premium cabin experience.

What you'll miss from the article

A detailed breakdown of the new fare benefits, elite status changes and how cardholder privileges will work under Southwest's updated policies.

Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.

It’s been a dizzying few months for Southwest Airlines, from its shift away from open seating to its new checked bag fees that take effect next month.

And the changes aren’t done.

On Monday, the Dallas-based carrier announced a handful of new perks for its frequent flyers and credit card holders that’ll take effect once the airline launches assigned seating in 2026.

Southwest is planning to rename all of its fare products once assigned seating begins — not just its hallmark Wanna Get Away fare, which will become the airline’s new Basic (aka basic economy) class next month.

Plus, the airline revealed its highest-end credit card holders — like its elite status members — will be able to select its new Extra Legroom seats in the not-too-distant future.

Southwest New Seats Boarding Policy — SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

Meanwhile, TPG has learned Southwest is mulling new “soft product” services it’ll offer flyers who select its more spacious seats.

And one of the airline’s top executives is shedding light on why Southwest decided to ditch its one-of-a-kind boarding process.

Here’s a rundown of all the changes to know about.

New fare products

For starters, Southwest on Monday announced it will rename all of its fare classes once it shifts to assigned seating.

We already knew Wanna Get Away would become Basic. That will happen when the carrier starts charging checked bag fees, which will apply to flights sold from May 28 onward.

Then, later this year:

Wanna Get Away Plus will become Choice.
Anytime will become Choice Preferred.
Business Select will become Choice Extra.

The three “choice” fares will go on sale sometime between July and September, when Southwest starts selling assigned seats for flights departing in early 2026.

New seat types

The benefits you’ll get with Southwest’s renamed fare classes will actually look quite similar to the benefits of its current fare products — that is, the revamped fare classes the airline announced last month when it pivoted to bag fees and shook up Rapid Rewards earnings rates.

A Southwest Airlines jet taxis at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

The fare you select will dictate the row of the plane you’ll be able to access.

Starting next year, Southwest plans to designate three types of seats:

Extra Legroom (first five rows of the aircraft, and three rows around the midcabin exit door)
Preferred (standard rows situated closer to the front of the aircraft)
Standard (the seats in the back of the plane)

The seats themselves will all be standard coach seats, so we’re not exactly talking about the difference between economy and lie-flat business class — but this will figure into how much legroom, or how close to the front of the aircraft, you’ll be.

Here's the full picture of Southwest's updated fares and benefits:

Benefit	Choice Extra	Choice Preferred	Choice	Basic
Previously	Business Select	Anytime	Wanna Get Away Plus	Wanna Get Away
Effective	Goes on sale in the third quarter of 2025, for 2026 flights	Goes on sale in the third quarter of 2025, for 2026 flights	Goes on sale in the third quarter of 2025, for 2026 flights	Goes on sale May 28
Seat selection	Extra Legroom (or any seat)	Preferred (or any standard seat)	Standard	Not included; standard seat assigned at check-in
Checked bags (starts May 28)	Two free	Costs extra	Costs extra	Costs extra
Rapid Rewards earnings (same as what TPG reported in March)	14 points per dollar	10 points per dollar	6 points per dollar	2 points per dollar
Boarding	Early	Earlier group within general boarding	General boarding	Last to board
No cancellation fees	√	√	√	√
Refundability	Fully refundable	Fully refundable	Transferable flight credit	Nontransferable flight credit
Flight credit expiration	12 months	12 months	12 months	Six months
Itinerary changes	√ (fare difference)	√ (fare difference)	√ (fare difference)	-
Same-day changes/standby	√	√	√	-
Free inflight entertainment	√	√	√	√
Priority/express lane access	√	√	-	-
Free premium drink in flight	√	-	-	-
Free inflight Wi-Fi	√	-	-	-

Credit card benefits

As part of Monday’s announcement, Southwest revealed a few new perks with its credit card portfolio.

Once assigned seating begins, members with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (see rates and fees) and Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees) will be able to upgrade an Extra Legroom seat within 48 hours of departure (when available).

But all Southwest cardholders will, at a minimum, be able to select a seat for free on every flight within 48 hours of departure (when available).

That goes even for passengers flying on a Basic fare. Remember, for standard passengers, basic economy won't come with seat selection in the future.

Here are the updated card benefits:

Card	Extra Legroom seat selection	Preferred seat selection	Standard seat selection
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card	Within 48 hours of departure	At booking	At booking
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Card Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (see rates and fees)	-	Within 48 hours of departure	Within 48 hours of departure
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (see rates and fees) Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Business Card	-	-	Within 48 hours of departure

The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier and Southwest Rapid Reward Plus Business has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Checked bag benefits, too

Plus, effective May 28, every Southwest cardholder will get a free checked bag, and so will up to eight companions traveling on the same reservation.

Larger card 'refresh' to come

Expect more card-related announcements to come soon; the airline is framing these card changes as part of an overall “refresh” of its card portfolio, after recently reaching an amended deal with Chase.

The airline didn’t rule out an annual fee increase in the near future — but also teased new bonus categories that could allow cardholders to earn more points for everyday spending.

“That’s an area of our card that we feel like we can do better at,” Southwest Executive Vice President of Customer and Brand Tony Roach told TPG. “If you use your card for your top-of-wallet purchases, you’re going to earn more.”

A-List elite status

As TPG reported in recent months, elite status at Southwest will come with a few new perks related to the airline’s updated seating, baggage and boarding policies.

Here’s a reminder of how A-List and A-List Preferred baggage and seating perks will shake out:

Status	Baggage benefit	Extra Legroom seat selection	Preferred seat selection	Standard seat selection
A-List Preferred	Two free checked bags	At booking	(included)	(included)
A-List	One free checked bag	Within 48 hours of departure	At booking	(included)
Begins	When checked bag fees launch May 28	When assigned seating begins (flights in 2026)	When assigned seating begins (flights in 2026)	When assigned seating begins (flights in 2026)

Most other A-List perks will remain unchanged, from priority lane access on the ground to up to two free premium inflight drinks for A-List Preferred members.

Boarding benefits

One additional benefit for both A-Listers and cardholders: They'll get access to earlier boarding groups.

In recent weeks, Southwest revealed plans to shift away from its classic single-file boarding process — and ditch those silver, numbered posts in the boarding area. That's after airline executives told me in January the carrier hoped to keep the spirit of its unique boarding procedures in place.

Southwest Airlines boarding area at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY). SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

The process, Roach said, will now look quite similar to those found at other airlines, with eight groups now planned.

“Just kind of what everybody else is used to,” Roach said, explaining the thinking. “We expect there will be a lot of customers that will be new to Southwest, because, frankly, they’ve told us, ‘Once you go to assigned seating I’ll consider you.'”

What about Companion Pass?

Rapid Rewards members who earned the airline’s coveted Companion Pass will be able to extend their boarding, bag and seat selection privileges to their designated companion.

Additional services in the Extra Legroom section?

Southwest executives have maintained the new Extra Legroom seats are not meant to resemble a full first-class cabin with hot meals and the like.

But Roach told TPG the carrier is mulling some new, elevated benefits for its more spacious rows.

Southwest jet — A Southwest Airlines aircraft at the gate at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY). SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

“We are looking at things like enhanced snacks, a more elevated experience for customers that choose to buy the extra fare,” he said. “You can expect it to be not just extra-legroom seats, but come with something extra in all the soft products.”

No restrictions on full-size carry-ons

Checked bag fees are a sizable change for customers, on their own. At least for now, Southwest is not implementing restrictions on full-size carry-on bags — something a handful of its competitors have done, historically, on basic economy fares (United Airlines still does it).

“We looked at it,” Roach said. “But it wasn’t something that we decided to do.”

So, if you're not an A-List member, a cardholder and want to fly basic economy, you can always carry your bag onto the plane ... assuming, of course, that everything inside meets the Transportation Security Administration's 3-1-1 liquids rules.

Related reading:

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