(Limited-time offer: Southwest is now offering a special Companion Pass offer on select consumer cards that bypasses the usual 135,000 point earning requirement. Details below.)
Southwest Airlines offers a very flexible Rapid Rewards program where the points can be used to book basically any seat that they sell for cash, instead of trying to nab just the ones some airlines set aside for awards. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to roughly $650+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 50,000 points. Add in those two free checked bags on all flights, and you see why Southwest is popular wherever they fly.
Another unique Southwest feature is their unique , which lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book both paid AND award flights (including to Hawaii!) on Southwest. Note: Starting 1/1/2023, the Companion Pass for 2023 will require 135,000 points (increased from 125,000 points). However, Southwest-branded credit cardholders will receive a new benefit – a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year – which brings it back down to 125,000 points again. Once you qualify, you earn the Companion Pass for both the rest of the year in which you earn it AND all of the next year (ex. rest of 2023 + all of 2024). Importantly, points earned from credit cards are qualifying points toward the requirement, including sign-up bonuses. This is on top of the value you can get by redeeming those bonus points for Southwest flights.
Limited-time offer: Southwest is now offering a special Companion Pass offer on select consumer cards listed below that bypasses the usual 135,000 point earning requirement. The Companion Pass earned through this offer will last until February 28, 2024. Look for “Earn a Companion Pass(R) good through 2/28/24 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening”. 30,000 Southwest points can be redeemed for approximately $390 worth of Wanna Get Away airfare, which can also be used together with the Companion Pass.
- Limited-time offer: Earn a Companion Pass(R) good through 2/28/24 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 3,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
- 2X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
- NEW: 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- NEW: 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
- NEW: 25% back on inflight purchases
- All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
- $69 annual fee.
- Limited-time offer: Earn a Companion Pass(R) good through 2/28/24 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
- NEW: 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
- NEW: 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- NEW: 2X points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
- NEW: 25% back on inflight purchases
- All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
- $99 annual fee.
- Limited-time offer: Earn a Companion Pass(R) good through 2/28/24 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 7,500 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
- NEW: 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
- NEW: 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- NEW: 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
- NEW: 25% back on inflight purchases
- NEW: 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points towards A-List Status for every $10,000 in spend
- 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
- $75 Southwest annual travel credit.
- $149 annual fee.
The following are business credit cards:
- 80,000 points after $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
- NEW: 4X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
- 3X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car partners.
- NEW: 2X points on rideshare.
- 2X points on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
- Inflight WiFi Credits (up to 365 x $8 credits per year).
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit in the form of a statement credit of up to $100 every four years.
- $199 annual fee.
- 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
- NEW: 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
- 2X points and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
- NEW: 2X points on rideshare.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
- $99 annual fee.
Value of Rapid Rewards points. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to $650+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 50,000 points or $1,300+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 100,000 points (you are still liable for taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way). Importantly, Southwest does NOT have blackout dates or seat restrictions when you redeem with points. This means that Southwest points are much easier to use than a “saver award” on traditional airlines.
Now, if you manage to qualify for the the Companion Pass on every trip that you book with those points, that doubles the potential value of each award redemption. In other words, 125,000 Rapid Rewards, would usually get you $1,850 in Wanna Get Away airfare, but with the Companion Pass you’d get an extra companion ticket for every flight booked.
There may be other options like gift cards, but the redemption value is less than half the value you could get from redeeming for flights.
Southwest points expiration policy, per Southwest.com:
Do the points I earn expire?
No, your Rapid Rewards points do not expire. However, if you choose to close your account, the points in your account will be terminated.
Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person. The fees on the other airlines have crept up to $30 per bag, each-way. That adds up.
Our family policy is to not try out a new credit card unless it offers us $500 in total value. Just the free award flights from the points are enough to satisfy that rule, and then you can add on the potential value of the companion tickets.
Card restrictions. All of these Southwest credit cards are subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:
The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.
Basically, you can get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card once every 24 months. You can also get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest business card once every 24 months.
Stack your Companion Pass with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. If you have the or , you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest points on a 1:1 basis. If you book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, you can double the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.
Bottom line. Southwest credit cards offer new cardholders the opportunity to earn hundreds of dollars worth of Wanna Get Away airfare, but if you time things right and maybe combine a personal and business card, you can also grab the Southwest Companion pass, which provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash or points booked both during the rest of the year in which you earned it, AND the full next calendar year. Finally, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person on every flight.
Also see: and the .
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