Earlier this month I posted about about the increased sign up offer for all three Southwest credit cards – 60,000 points which is a very rare offer! Typically, these cards offer anywhere between 25,000-50,000 points, so seeing an even higher offer for all 3 of the cards is awesome! With these offers, you’ll need to spend $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months of card membership and the annual fee is NOT waived the first year. You can learn more about all Airline credit card offers here.
When the offer was first announced, there was no expiration date for this increased offer. However, just yesterday I received a Facebook ad for the offer stating that it is ending June 29, 2017. So, if you are looking to apply for one of these three cards, you have just a few more days to do so!
More about the card and offer…
For those who are new to Southwest, 60,000 points is worth approximately $840 towards a future “Wanna Getaway†fare. With Southwest, you are redeeming pretty much at a fixed value. The more expensive the flight, the more points required. One of my favorite aspects about booking Southwest flights with points is that if you have to cancel, there are no fees! You simply cancel your flight and the points go straight back into your account. One huge perk of Southwest overall.
Unfortunately, these cards are not available to those that have received a bonus within the past 24 months. However, if you applied for one card recently, you are still eligible to earn the bonus points for another card as they are three separate products. Also keep in mind that the Southwest credit cards are subject to Chase’s “5/24†rule.
Earning the Southwest Companion Pass from the cards…
The BEST THING about these offers are that the points earned from the credit card sign up currently count towards the 110,000 point required for the Southwest Companion Pass. For those new to the Southwest Companion Pass, I want to quickly point out that this pass allows another passenger to fly with you for FREE an UNLIMITED number of times! This means that if you get two of these cards, you’ll immediately earn the companion pass after the points from the sign up offer post to your account. Points post to your account a few days after your statement closes after you meet the minimum spend. If you earn the 110,000 points required that will earn you the Companion Pass for the rest of 2017 and then all of 2018. With the companion pass there are NO restrictions and NO blackout dates. Not only that, even if the main passenger is flying on a free ticket with points, you can still use the companion pass! So that means on your first few flights, you can use the sign up bonus points earned from the credit card PLUS a companion can fly with you. So while 110,000 points are worth approx $1,154, if a companion flies with you on these flights, then that is essentially doubling the value of the sign up bonus!
Some things to keep in mind:
- Once you accrue the necessary 110,000 points to earn the companion pass status, the pass will be available for you the entire year it was earned PLUS the entire following calendar year. So if you earn the pass now, your pass with be active for the rest of 2017 and all of 2018
- You cannot combine points between two accounts to count for the companion pass.
- Transferring Chase Ultimate Reward points to Southwest DO NOT count towards the companion pass, but transferring hotel points DO count (through March 31, 2017)
- Your companion can fly with you an UNLIMITED number of times during the life of the pass. You can change your companion 3 times per year.
- The only amount your companion pays is the tax which is $5.60 per one-way. International flights are more and depends on where you are flying to/from.
- You CAN use the companion pass when the main passenger is flying on a free ticket!
Should you apply now, or wait?
A 60,000 point offer for these cards is really good. Actually, really really really good! I do not believe I’ve ever seen all three cards offering a 60,000 point offer at the same exact time. In the past, usually an increased offer is 50,000 points and sometimes one of the cards will offer the 60,000 point offer. So if you are looking to earn the most amount of points from the sign up offer, this is the time to apply. BUT… I personally like to maximize my Companion Pass and get it as early in the year as possible. If you apply for the offers now and are aiming for the Companion Pass, you will get approximately 18 months out of the pass. If you were to earn all 120,000 points in January, for example, that would get you 23 months to utilize the pass. Ideally, the best time to apply is in the November timeframe and hit the minimum spend threshold on January 1st. But there is no way of telling IF the cards will offer an increased sign up bonus this Fall/Winter. We also never know when they will stop counting the sign up bonus towards the pass. So, if you have a decent amount of Southwest flights over the next 18 months and want a companion to fly with you for free, then now is a great time to apply for the cards and get the companion pass!
Key Links:Â
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Card:Â Earn 60,000 points after spending $2,000 on the card within the first 3 months; $69 annual fee. This card will earn you 3,000 bonus points on your account anniversary.
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Card: Earn 60,000 points after spending $2,000 on the card within the first 3 months; $99 annual fee. This card will earn you 6,000 bonus points on your account anniversary.
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Business Premier Card: Earn 60,000 points after spending $2,000 on the card within the first 3 months; $99 annual fee. This card will earn you 6,000 bonus points on your account anniversary.
Let me know if you have any questions!
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Here’s a question for you. I will be under the 5/24 rule on July 1st. With the signup ending the 29th what would that do for my application and chances of getting the card if I apply on the 29th?
@patrick – there is no cut and dry answer for this, but what you could do (no guarantees) is apply on the 29th and then on july 1st called the reconsideration line to try to get approved.