Last night I was logging into my Rapid Rewards account through the Southwest website and noticed that the banner for the 50,000 point offer after spending $2,000 within 3 months (OFFER EXPIRED) says that it is the “Last Chance” to get the cards. I saw this a couple of days ago as well, but didn't think anything of it because there was not a posted date. When I logged into my account today, the banner was completely gone.
Now after doing a bit more research it does seem that today, March 28, may be the last day to get this offer for 50,000 points. On Slickdeals people are reporting that today is the last day for 50K points on the Southwest Premiere cards.
There is also a post on the Southwest card FlyerTalk thread that says the offer is “Alive until 3/27/2013: Chase Southwest Visa 50,000 Rapid Reward points offer.” So if you still want in on this amazing offer I would suggest applying today before its gone for a while.
Why This Offer is Good: Domestic Travel and Companion Pass
For domestic travel the Southwest credit cards are my favorite card. The award tickets are a great value, easy to book, and there are a lot of routes. You can also redeem the points to book hotels around the world for some great values using Southwest's "more rewards" options.
The real benefit that sets the Southwest credit card offer apart from the rest is the lucrative Companion Pass that allows a person to travel with you for free on any paid and award tickets. You need to earn 110,000 points (within 1 calendar year from January 1 to December 31) to qualify for the Companion Pass. Currently the points earned from the welcome bonus are eligible for the 110,000 points needed for the Companion Pass. The best part, the Southwest Companion Pass earned this year will be good until the end of 2014!
The best way to get the Companion Pass:
- Apply for 1 Southwest personal card for 50,000 points
- Apply for 1 Southwest business card for 50,000 points
- Spend the $2,000 min spend per card to earn 4,000 points
- Earn an extra 6,000 points by spending and you will have reached the total 110,000 points for the Southwest Companion Pass.
I calculated the total possible flights this deal could be worth from PDX to SFO if I redeemed all my points using the Companion Pass on 'Wanna Get Away' fares offered by Southwest. This deal could be worth up to 22 roundtrip domestic flights!
The Bottom Line
The Southwest 50,000 point offers usually show up on the Southwest website every 3-4 months, and the offers tend to cycle through the Premier and Plus cards. So if you are not ready to apply for a credit card today, most likely this will not be your last chance to get the 50,000 offer from Southwest.
Over the course of the two years these offers have been available, I have been able to get 200,000 points from being approved for both the personal and business cards for both the premier and plus versions. So if you want to get both versions of the card you should plan on applying for one this year and the other next year.
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