(Updated with new cash + points offer. It is now late enough in the year that you should consider timing things to get your points credited in early 2025 so that you can go for obtaining your Companion Pass for the rest of 2025 + all of 2026. However, this new cash + points offer doesn’t really help with that; this current offer is better if you would rather have part of your bonus as a fixed statement credit instead of points to redeem. Total first-year value is still very strong.)
Southwest Airlines Rapid points are very flexible, as they let you use points to book basically any available seat that could be bought with cash. A conservative approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to roughly $520+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 40,000 Southwest points. That also means 85,000 points is worth roughly $1,100 in Wanna Get Away airfare. Plus, they still offer two free checked bags on all flights.
In addition, their Companion Pass lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book both paid AND award flights (including to Hawaii!) on Southwest. Once you qualify by earning 135,000 points in a calendar year, 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 2025 + all of 2026). Importantly, all points earned from credit cards count toward the requirement, and each card also offers a 10,000 point boost toward the Companion Pass requirement. Oftentimes if you get both a new personal and a new business card in the same year, you can meet this requirement with the new cardmember bonuses alone (especially if you include the spending required to unlock the bonus).
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
$400 statement credit and 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening.
Receive 6,000 anniversary points each year.
10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year.
3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
2X points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
25% back on inflight purchases
All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
$99 annual fee.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
The following are business credit cards:
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
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 Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, 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 the welcome offers from 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: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and the Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.
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