I wasn’t really planning on trying for companion fare for 2023/2024. In September I had acquired the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, mostly for the 15-month zero interest intro offer (plus $200). We had some home improvements planned and the 0% on purchases would be a great benefit. But then Chase offered a 75,000 Rapid Rewards (RR) points personal card, a 60,000 RR points business card and started crediting 20,000 RR points for referral.
I obtained the personal card in mid-November 2022 and got the business card shortly thereafter. Getting approved for the personal card actually got me to the 5/24 Chase limit but I was still approved for the business card a couple days later. I should have applied for the business card first. Fortunately it worked out.
On both the SWA cards, I did most of the spending in 2022. I made sure the final spending to get me to the $3000 spend required on each card happened in early January. It isn’t clearly stated in the T+C, but even though my closing date was January 7th on one card and January 14th on the other card, I believe if I would have completed the spending in late December ( even though part of the current billing cycle), those points toward companion fare would have occurred in 2022, not 2023).
So, as of January 18th, I have companion fare for 1 year, 11 months and 13 days. I earned 135,000 RR points from sign up bonuses. Add that to my accumulated balance and I have about 275,000 points and almost 2 years to use them. Plus, referrals now earn 20,000 RR points. And if you have a Chase SWA card on account on January 1st, you get 10,000 points towards Companion fare ( but not points to use for air travel.
Let’s say you want to start now to get companion fare. A personal and a business card will get you there. Or get a personal card (75,000 RR points), the new card companion point boost (10,000 companion points), complete the $3,000 spend (3000 RR points). Get 3 referrals (20,000 RR point each) and you are there. Also, the SWA Shopping portal sometimes has some great points offers. I have seen as high as 30 points per dollar spent.
It’s a great time to get companion fare on Southwest. And if you need a referral, you can email me at [email protected]. I will give you half of the referral bonus gift card value once the referral bonus hits my account. The current bonus is 20,000 RR points, which could be used for $200 in gift cards on the SWA shopping portal. I would send you $100.
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Jimmy thanks for providing this information. I signed up for SWA card at the end of last year and have received the 75,000 points to my account already with the $3K spend. I also did the referral with Jimmy and true to his word once he received the 20,000 points he sent me $100.
Look forward to reading more of your content here and hopefully your back on the podcast in the near future. If our trips to Vegas ever cross paths I’ll be sure to get you a drink.
John