The Chase Southwest personal credit cards now have a new offer!
Update 11/12/24: Limited time offer ends 12/16/24! All Southwest personal cards currently have a welcome bonus of a $400 statement credit + 40,000 Rapids Rewards® points for $4,000 spend in 3 months.
Southwest Rapid Rewards is among one of our favorite rewards programs for free travel. For those booking with points, Southwest has no cancellation fees if your plans change — regardless of the fare type. This means you can cancel at any time and get your points back immediately, which is one of the many reasons that we love Southwest points here at Travel Freely.
But there’s another reason to pay attention to Southwest. The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best in the industry and the welcome offers from their credit cards enable you to earn this coveted pass.
If you’re interested in signing up for a Southwest card, now might be the time to do so! But not necessarily these specific offers. (Be sure to read more on strategy below.)
In the case of these current personal card offers, you earn fewer Rapid Rewards points than you would during a regular signup bonus. Fewer points = fewer flights. Typically, signup bonuses for these cards are 50,000 Rapid Rewards points, so this is an inferior points offer. You need a total of 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in order to earn the Companion Pass, so this inferior offer means less points and more spend required to get you to Companion Pass status (even if you eventually apply for and are approved for a business card, too.)
If you are still interested in earning the Companion Pass for 2025 and 2026, we have another great option for you that involves ignoring these personal card offers. Given the latest personal card offers, we currently recommend both business cards (instead of a business and personal card). Although Chase doesn’t allow you to hold 2 Southwest personal cards at the same time, this doesn’t hold true for the business cards. So you can hold both cards at the same time.
These cards currently have different offers and different perks. Successfully apply for both cards and meet the minimum spend required and you will receive enough bonus points to earn the Companion Pass.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (60,000 points – $99 annual fee)
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (80,000 points – $199 annual fee)
If you are not planning to travel much in the year ahead or earning the Southwest Companion Pass is not a priority for you, then the new personal card offers may be a great option. It’s essentially cash in your pocket. It’s no coincidence that the timing of this offer coincides with what is a historically expensive time of year. Looking to reduce those holiday purchase costs? Use this card to make those purchases and once you meet the spending requirements, receive a $400 statement credit in your account that offsets those expenses.
They each have the same offer, but varying perks:
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card ($400 statement credit + 40,000 points – $69 annual fee)
We recommend either the Plus or Priority based on the benefits you need. The Premier is often seen as somewhat of an awkward middle child. Note that the Plus is the only Southwest card that charges foreign transaction fees.
Application Rules
There are some specific application rules for getting any of these bonuses. Perhaps the easiest thing to do is to check out your CardGenie to see if you’re eligible for any of these cards. The rules are:
Southwest business cards:
1) Cannot currently have the same card open.
2) Cannot have earned a bonus for this same card in the last 24 months.
3) Must be under 5/24 (check your 5/24 number at the top of your My Cards list in your Travel Freely account).
Southwest personal cards:
1) Cannot currently have ANY Southwest personal card open.
2) Cannot have earned any Southwest personal card bonus in the last 24 months. All 3 cards are considered a family. So, if you have one, then you cannot get approved for another.
3) Must be under 5/24 (check your 5/24 number at the top of your My Cards list in your Travel Freely account).
Again, the CardGenie knows these rules, so you just need to check if they are showing up in your card recommendations.
Note: If you currently have a Southwest personal card, none of the Southwest personal cards will show up in your CardGenie. BUT if it’s been more than 24 months since your last Southwest personal card bonus, you can close it, wait at least a week (more if possible), then re-open a new Southwest personal card in order to earn the bonus.
Final Thoughts: Who should consider the latest personal card offers?
#1) The personal card offers ($400 statement credit + 40,000 bonus points) are good for those who do not do a lot of traveling on Southwest and would like to take advantage of a statement credit opportunity for expenses you have to make anyway.
OR
#2) You don’t care about the Companion Pass but want a decent bonus from Southwest.
Who should skip this offer?
If you’re on track to earning the Companion Pass for 2 years (2025 and 2026), I say stick with your original plan. While this current offer is easier for the short-term, it’s not necessarily the best route for those who plan to make the most of their Companion Pass.
If you’re frustrated by only getting 40,000 miles, then I suggest holding off on opening one of the personal cards until this offer ends on 12/16/24.
Even better, if you’ve already opened one business card, you are technically allowed to get the other business card. That’s a lot more miles and would earn the regular “2-year” Companion Pass.
Important note: For those who want the Companion Pass for 2025 through 2026, your time to focus on Southwest offers should be the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025. Qualifying points earned towards the Companion Pass do NOT carry over into the next year and instead reset. If you earn the points from the welcome offer in 2024, those points won’t count towards your qualifying points for earning a Companion Pass in 2025. So you need to make sure you have enough time to meet the minimum spend AFTER January 1, 2025.
If you’re interested in the Companion Pass, here’s the lowdown on the best strategy for earning the Southwest Companion Pass. Without earning a few signup bonuses, the Southwest Companion Pass can be difficult to achieve.
Regardless of whether we think this is a great offer, we always make sure that beginners know about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card as it’s a great way to earn transferable points. If Southwest Airlines is your preferred airline, you can use your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points towards a Southwest flight. Check out our blog post where we explain why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the no-brainer choice as your first step in earning free travel.
For a limited time - now with an updated offer valued at $950! Offer ends 1/6/25. This has the lowest annual fee of all Southwest personal cards, and comes with two EarlyBird passes per year.
Now with an updated offer valued at $950! The link for this specific card's offer ends 1/6/25. This card has an annual fee at $99 and comes with two Early Bird Check-In credits each year.
For a limited time - now with an updated offer valued at $950! Offer ends 1/6/25. This is Southwest's highest personal card annual fee card with a lot of perks for people who fly often on Southwest.
Our #1 personal card we recommend most often. Hands down the single best "starter card" for beginners and the MVP card for free travel.
Summary
Here at Travel Freely, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are some of our favorites. And earning the latest personal card bonus might be what you need right now. However, if you’re not interested in the current offer with the statement credit or the Southwest business cards, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred or one of the Ink business cards instead.
