Chase has increased the best public offer of the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Card back up to 50,000 points (OFFER EXPIRED). Both the personal and business versions of this card are offering the 50k welcome bonus so this could mean up to 100,000 bonus points if you get both. Over the last couple years I was able to get approved for both the personal and business version of these cards at the same time.
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Card has $2,000 minimum spend requirement and a $99 annual fee for ~$714 in travel value. When you leverage the 50,000 bonus miles with earning the Companion Pass it’s possible to get upwards of 15+ free round trip flights within the US.
However, if you would rather transfer your Rapid Rewards welcome bonus for something tangible, you can also redeem 50k points for a $500 Amazon gift card.
Regardless, 50,000 miles is always a great bonus offer. But the real win in my opinion is earning the welcome bonus from the business and personal cards because with a 100,000, you will be close to earning the companion pass.
In order to get the companion you have to earn 110,000 points in one calendar year of having the credit card. Once earned, the Companion Pass is good for the remaining current year plus the entire following calendar year. With the Companion Pass a designated companion can fly wherever the cardholder flies for free with the exception of the taxes and fees (about $10).
If you haven’t already done so, currently new members who sign up for a Rapid Rewards account can earn 500 points just for registering.
Southwest Airlines is a great domestic carrier for cheap flight options, plus you can also redeem the points on most AirTran flights. I love the Southwest cards for a few reasons, one being that there is always seat availability if booking within a reasonable time, the first bag you check in is always free and even though the offer is advertised as 2 round trip flights, you can redeem the points for several round trip flights at the Wanna Get Away level.
Between Burbank and Portland for example, a round trip award ticket booked at the Wanna Get Away fare level is about 12,000 Rapid Rewards points. So it’s possible to get about 8 round trip flights between two west coast cities.
As a reminder, Southwest Airlines recently devalued its points, 70 points per $1 so it may cost a bit more to redeem Rapid Rewards awards. It’s always best to redeem your miles rather than hoarding them away.
Is now the time to apply? This card seems to always offer 50k points every couple of months, and likely it will continue to for the time being. That said, it's a great credit card and one of my favorites for free domestic flights.
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