The Southwest Airlines® Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is again offering a 50,000 point welcome bonus when you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months (OFFER EXPIRED).
Typically this offer is released several times a year and an amazing way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass!
It appears that the 50,000 point sign-up is available on all versions of the card (personal & business). You can find the business version of the card by clicking to apply and then finding "Are you a business owner?" at the bottom of the page, which leads to the business application.
The normal offer on this card is for 25,000 points, so this increased 50,000 points offer is double the standard welcome bonus.
Note: The offer is only available if you have not earned the welcome bonus within the past 24 months. Depending if you have had one the cards before you can still earn the bonus on a difference version of the card.
Southwest 50k Welcome Offer
This 50,000 bonus point offer on the Southwest Airlines® Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card normally comes out several times a year and is a great way to get the Southwest Companion Pass, which allows you to fly a travel partner for free for the remaining part of this year plus the whole next calendar year.
The card does have a $99 annual fee that is not waived the first year, but I'd say it's easily worth paying since you get $700 to $1,000 in free travel. If you keep the card past the first year you'll earn 6,000 bonus points upon cardmember anniversary.
What Are 50K Southwest Points Worth?
As you may already know, you can get an amazing value from Southwest points when redeemed on 'Wanna Get Away' fares. You'll have to book these fares in advance since they are limited, but the value per point when redeemed at this level is around 1.5 to 2.0 cents each.
This means that the 50,000 bonus points will be worth $750 to $1,000 in free Southwest flights when redeemed at the "Wanna Get Away" fare level. If you don't redeem your points at this level you can still get a great value per point, but it comes in at around 1.0 to 1.2 cents per point.
The ultimate way to maximize this offer is to use the 50,000 Rapid Rewards points on Southwest flights at the lowest redemption level. However, you can also redeem 50,000 Rapid Rewards points for $500 in gift cards.
Free Ticket Changes, Free Bags, and The Companion Pass
Remember that Southwest Rapid Rewards also offers some of the most generous customer service benefits in the industry. This makes using their points and flying with them much less stressful, and you won't pay ridiculous fees most of the time!
No Change/Cancellation Fees
You can change and cancel your Southwest award ticket for free. This means you can book a flight in advance at the lowest redemption level available and don't have to worry if your travel plans change.
If you change or cancel a flight your points will simply by redeposited back into your account within four days.
Free Checked Bags & No Foreign Transaction Fees
With the Southwest credit card you get the benefit of two free checked bags, this makes it easy to pack what you need without worrying about paying extra luggage fees.
The Southwest Airlines® Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card does not have a foreign transaction fee, which also makes it a good card choice to use when traveling internationally.
Companion Pass
One of the most enticing and valuable aspects of the Southwest Rapid Rewards is that it offers an incredible benefit called the 'Companion Pass'.
It works like this, each year you earn 110,000 points you will earn the Southwest Companion Pass. This pass allows you to fly a travel partner (whoever you dedicate the pass to) with you for free on Southwest flights.
They can fly for free with you on both paid and points tickets, all they have to pay is the ~$5.60 in taxes and fees! You can also change your dedicated travel partner up to 3 times per year.
The points that go towards earning the Companion Pass can come from the welcome bonus, credit card spend, flying on Southwest, and also indirectly from points transfers from hotel programs. If you go the route of transferring from hotel programs, you could for instance transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt and then transfer points to Southwest.
The other option with I have used in the past is to apply for two Southwest credit cards (business and personal) at once and earn 100k points directly from the two 50k welcome bonuses. The bonus points plus points earned from the minimum spends puts you extremely close (104,000 points) to attaining the Companion Pass, all without even taking a single flight!
Note: When you earn the Companion Pass it is valid for the remainder of the current year plus the entire next calendar year. This means you can get close to two years of use!
The Bottom Line
The value from the 50,000 point welcome bonus on the Southwest Airlines® Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card really makes this card standout. This offer is among the best and my favorite ways to get free flights within the U.S. and can be worth $750 to $1,000 in free Southwest flights.
If you earn the Southwest Companion Pass you can fly a partner for free anytime you fly, so you can potentially double this amount in free flights!
The card does have a $99 annual fee, but given the size of the welcome bonus, free checked bags benefit, 6,000 anniversary bonus points, and no change/cancellation fees on award flights the card offer really is a great deal.