Earn a Companion Pass & 30K Points with New Southwest Credit Card Offers!

by thriftytraveler.com thriftytraveler.com February 7, 2023, 7:27 pm 1.3k Views

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Chase and Southwest are out with a new limited-time offer to earn a free year of the Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of card membership on any of the Southwest personal credit cards!

The Southwest Companion Pass is easily one of the best deals in the world of travel, unlocking unlimited buy-one-get-one flights whether you pay in cash or redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points – no blackout dates, no questions asked. The Companion Pass you’ll get from these credit card offers won’t last as long as earning it the old-fashioned way, but this is an incredibly easy way to get it for nearly a full year of BOGO flights.

While many travelers have understandably soured on Southwest after its historic holiday meltdown, this deal could be too good to pass up. Beyond the identical Companion Pass and points bonus, what you get with each of these Southwest credit cards is different.

Read on for everything you need to know about these new limited-time Southwest credit card offers and the benefits available on each of them.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card

Earn a Companion Pass® valid through Feb. 28, 2024, plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. This limited-time offer is only available until March 13!
Anniversary Bonus: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 3,000 Rapid Rewards points.
Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines and its hotel and rental car partners.
Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares like Uber and Lyft. You’ll also earn 2x points per dollar spent on internet/cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases.
Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
Get 2 Early Bird check-ins each year.
Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
Annual Fee: The card has an annual fee of $69, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.

Click Here to get more details on the Southwest Plus Credit Card.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

Earn a Companion Pass® valid through Feb. 28, 2024, plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. This limited-time offer is only available until March 13!
Anniversary Bonus: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 6,000 Rapid Rewards points.
Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines.
Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares like Uber and Lyft. You’ll also earn 2x points per dollar spent on internet/cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases.
Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
Get 2 Early Bird check-ins each year.
No foreign transaction fees
Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
Annual Fee: The card has an annual fee of $99, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.

Click Here to get more details on the Southwest Premier Credit Card.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card

Earn a Companion Pass® valid through Feb. 28, 2024, plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. This limited-time offer is available until March 13!
Anniversary Bonus: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 7,500 Rapid Rewards points.
Priority Boarding: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive four upgraded boarding positions. Simply purchase an upgrade on the day of your travel with the Priority card. You’ll receive a boarding number between A1 and A15, and be reimbursed via statement credit within eight weeks.
Annual Travel Credit: Receive an annual travel credit of $75 to use on Southwest Airlines flights.
20% Back on In-Flight Purchases: Receive 20% back via statement credits for in-flight purchases. This can be used for drinks, movies, and purchasing Wi-Fi and messaging.
Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on purchases with Southwest Airlines.
Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares like Uber and Lyft. You’ll also earn 2x points per dollar spent on internet/cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases.
Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
Get 2 Early Bird check-ins each year.
Unlimited Tier Qualifying Points can be earned towards A-List status each year.
Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
Annual Fee: The card has an annual fee of $149, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.

Click Here to learn more about the Southwest Priority Credit Card.

What to Know Before You Apply

There are some considerations to work through before you apply. And the first comes down to whether you’re even eligible to open one of these Chase Southwest cards.

Chase only lets you hold one Southwest personal credit card at a time. That means if you already have one Southwest credit card open, you will not be approved for a second card. On top of that, these welcome bonuses are not available if you have earned a welcome bonus on any of the three Southwest Airlines personal credit cards in the past 24 months (or two years).

And of course, these cards are also subjected to the dreaded Chase 5/24 rule, so getting approved for one of these cards may be difficult depending on how many credit cards (from any bank, not just Chase) you’ve opened in the last 24 months. If you’ve opened five or more five credit cards with any bank in that time span, you will not be approved for Chase credit cards, regardless of your credit score or history with Chase bank.

But if you are eligible, these Southwest credit cards are easily among the best credit cards you can get if you are under the Chase 5/24 rule. That’s especially true with this new offer to earn a Companion Pass for the first year.

Then again, is this the best way to earn that Companion Pass? It’s certainly the easiest route.

Open a card, meet the minimum spending requirement, and voila – you’ve got nearly a full year of buy-one, get-one flights. Keep in mind, though: Credit cards are serious business. If you can’t afford to charge and immediately pay off $4,000 within three months, even a year of BOGO flights isn’t worth digging yourself into debt.

The traditional route of earning the Companion Pass is far more difficult … but also potentially much more lucrative. If you earn 135,000 qualifying Southwest Rapid Rewards points in a year (up slightly from years past) and you’ll get a Companion Pass for the remainder of the year and the entire following year. But earning all those points essentially requires opening both a personal and small business Southwest credit card.

If you’ve got the ability to open a small business credit card, it could be smarter to skip these offers and wait for something better. If not, nearly a year of a Companion Pass from one credit card is tough to beat.

Pair with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve

All three of these Southwest credit cards make great companions to either the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. That’s because Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account on a 1:1 basis, meaning 1,000 Chase points get you 1,000 Southwest Rapid Reward points. And those transfers are instant.

You can even transfer these points to Southwest to book one ticket to use with your Companion pass, paying just the taxes and fees on both tickets. It’s a great deal.

Click Here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

Click Here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Bottom Line

Chase and Southwest are out with a new limited-time offer to earn a free year of the Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of card membership on any of the Southwest personal credit cards.

These offers will only be around until March 13. While you’ve got a month to mull things over, it’d be wise to hop on this now if you’re ready: The sooner you get it, the sooner you can start putting that Companion Pass to use.

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