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Our “must read” on credit cards: The Pros and Cons of Credit Cards
***Updated 10/17: Southwest has increased the requirement for the Companion Pass from 110,000 points to 125,000. The bonuses below will still get you there!***
Before we touch on the Southwest Airlines Credit Cards, let’s talk Southwest Airlines. Southwest does everything differently from its competitors. It offers single-class flights without seat assignments. It avoids connecting passengers at its hubs, preferring to “connect the dots” by pairing up cities. And they charge reasonable prices with few fees. They also happen to be one of the best ways to get to a number of small and mid-sized cities, including Las Vegas.
Their frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards, is also different and, arguably, superior. Instead of giving you points and then making you hope that there is a reasonably-priced award ticket available, like the network carriers do, Southwest sells every seat for either dollars or points, and the value of the points is virtually fixed at about 1.5 cents each.* In other words, a ticket that costs $150 will require about 10,000 points, while a fare of $300 will require about 20,000.
By the way, as much as great a deal as the Southwest cards are, read to the bottom for what might be a better option.
Note: The business card promotion ends on October 15. The personal promo could end at any time, since we don’t have a definitive date.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Cards
There are a few varieties of Southwest Airlines credit cards, both on the personal and business sides. But one thing that they have in common is that their sign-up bonuses are higher than usual, at 40,000 points for the personal card and 70,000 for the business cards. That’s $600 — $1,100 in flights, just for getting the card and hitting the minimum spend requirements.
On the personal side, don’t worry about the annual fee (either $69 for the Southwest Rewards Plus card or $149 for the Southwest Rewards Priority card). The card comes with annual benefits that offset most or all of it. In fact, the latter card comes with an anniversary bonus of 7,500 points (worth $112.50) and a $75 travel credit, which means that you actually make money on it.
The Best Southwest Business Card
The best business card, the Southwest Performance Business Card, come with a different range of benefits, including potential WiFi credits and Global Entry fee rebates. But its 70,000 point bonus is worth about $1,100 in travel. That’s the real play here.
The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass
Don’t forget that all points (including those from the sign-up bonus) count toward your requirements to earn a Companion Pass, which allows you to bring a friend with you for free on every flight for a year. All you’ll need to pay is the 9/11 security fee. You can confirm your companion at the time of booking and you can change your designated companion three times per year.
Get one of these cards and you’ll be more than halfway there. Get two and you’ll be bringing a complimentary guest with you everywhere you go. Now, here’s how to get two years of buy-one-get-one on Southwest Airlines…
There’s a Reason to get the Card Now
The Southwest Companion Pass is always a good reason to get the card, but this is the best time of year to do so. Why is that? I’m glad you asked.
When you earn the Companion Pass, you get it not only for the remainder of that calendar year but also the entire following year. In other words, if you the Pass in the first month of 2020, you’ll have it for almost all of 2020 as well as the entirety of 2021.
Best of all, points earned through the credit card, including your sign-up bonus, count toward your goal of 110,000 points (125,000 points as of January 1, 2020). So here’s the plan:
- We’re into October, so you can get the card now.
- You’ll have a certain minimum spend level that you’ll need to hit in the first three months. Don’t cross the threshold until January. You don’t want your bonus points until next calendar year. It’s October now, so the first three months finally extend into next year.
- If you get two cards (There are five available, in total.), you’ll automatically get enough points for the Pass. Otherwise, front-load your spending as much as possible.
- Note: While points earned from the cards do count toward you Companion Pass requirements, points transferred into Southwest from another source, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card below, do not.
Credit Card Bonus – Two Big Deals – Up To $1000 Bonus
(Or More, With Our “Southwest Loophole”)
But Is The Chase Sapphire Preferred Even Better?
We recently wrote about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which is one of our favorite cards for travel in general.
If you only fly Southwest, one of the SWA cards is probably a better option, but if you simply like big bonuses or getting around the world, the Chase Sapphire Preferred should be your weapon of choice:
- The 60,000 — 80,000 point sign-up bonus is worth up to $1,000, possibly more.
- The card provides primary rental car insurance for CDW. Avoid having to pay for it at the rental counter.
- If you don’t want Southwest Rapid Rewards points, you can convert your sign-up bonus into points from JetBlue, United or one of seven international airlines.
- You’ll get two points per dollar spent on all dining and travel purchases. Use the extra cash at the blackjack tables.
Regardless of what card you use, the best play will come from the card that most meets your needs. Which one of these cards gets you closest to your journey?
*It’s actually just a touch higher, but I don’t want to go too crazy with the decimal places. Like most airline currencies, the value has come down over time, but at least it’s consistent across fares at any time.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Ink Business Preferred
