Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
The entire suite of Southwest consumer cards have new offers that come with a bit of a twist on the usual. Instead of a straight points offer, all three cards come with 60,000 Rapid Rewards points as well as a 30% discount code that applies to both paid and award bookings (h/t: VFTW).
The Offers & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
40K points + $400 ⓘ Affiliate 40K points + a $400 statement credit after $3K spend in the first 4 months. (Offer Expires 12/9/2024)$69 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Current public offer is 50K points after $1K spend in 3 months. After clicking through, be sure to manually select the exact Southwest card in which you are interested. This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). FM Mini Review: This card can be great for its new cardmember bonus, but its ongoing perks are worth the annual fee only if fully used each year. Earning rate: 2X local transit and commuting, including rideshare ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming ✦ 2X Southwest Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Big spend bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in one calendar year, you'll get a companion pass good for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next year. Noteworthy perks: 3000 bonus points each year upon card renewal. 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
40K points + $400 ⓘ Friend-Referral 40K points + a $400 statement credit after $3K spend in the first 4 months. (Offer Expires 12/9/2024)$99 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Current public offer is 50K points after $1K spend in 3 months. This card is known to be subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: The combination of 6,000 points plus 2 EarlyBird Checkins each year make this card a keeper for those who fly Southwest often. Earning rate: 3X Southwest ✦ 2X Rapid Rewards(R) hotel and car partners ✦ 2X local transit and rideshare ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming ✦ 1X on all other purchases. Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in one calendar year, you'll get a companion pass good for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next year ✦ Earn 1,500 TQPs for each $5K in purchases Noteworthy perks: 6000 bonus points each year upon card renewal. 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins each year. 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year ✦ 25% back on in-flight drinks, Wi-Fi, messaging, and movies. |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
40K points + $400 ⓘ Affiliate 40K points + a $400 statement credit after $3K spend in the first 4 months. (Offer Expires 12/9/2024)$149 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Current public offer is 50K points after $1K spend in 3 months. This card is known to be subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. FM Mini Review: Great for frequent Southwest flyers - this card could easily be a long-term keeper. Earning rate: 3X Southwest ✦ 2X Rapid Rewards(R) hotel and car partners ✦ 2X local transit and rideshare ✦ 2X internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming ✦ 1X on all other purchases. Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in one calendar year, you'll get a companion pass good for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next year ✦ Earn 1,500 TQPs for each $5K in purchases Noteworthy perks: ✦ 7,500 anniversary points each year ✦ $75 Southwest annual travel credit ✦ Four A1-15 boardings every year ✦ 25% back on in-flight drinks, Wi-Fi, messaging, and movies. ✦ 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year |
Quick Thoughts
First off, I think it’s great that Chase and Southwest are actually trying to tweak their standard credit card offers to provide value in additional ways. While the 60K points portion of the offer isn’t terribly inspiring, the 30% discount code could be fairly valuable depending on how well it can be maximized.
If it’s only used on a one-way trip for one that costs $100 in base fare, then blech. However, if you’re a family of five traveling to Hawai’i, that code could be worth several hundred dollars. View from the Wing reports that the code can be used for up to 8 passengers and is valid for both paid and award travel, making it very flexible. It does have to be used on ONE reservation, though, so it’s most appealing for those who can use it on a large-ish, roundtrip group reservation. It must be used for 10/31/24.
Unfortunately, you are not eligible to receive the bonus on any of these cards if you have received the welcome bonus on a Southwest Airlines consumer credit card in the past 24 months. Also, be sure that getting a Southwest card now doesn’t mess up your timing for getting a companion pass.
Out of the consumer cards, I like the Priority card the most. At $149, it has the highest annual fee of the three consumer cards, but it comes with a $75 annual Southwest airlines credit that is triggered by nearly any Southwest Airlines purchase (buy a flight, a gift card, onboard WiFi, etc). That credit is very easy to use for anyone who flies Southwest much (and I believe buying a gift card from Southwest would also trigger it). Furthermore, the Priority card offers reimbursement for buying A1-A15 boarding up to 4 times per year. Southwest sells leftover Business Select boarding positions (A1-A15) at the gate (and in the app!) for $30 or $40 per segment and this card will reimburse that purchase up to four times per year (and note that you can use them one at a time or you could buy upgraded boarding for 4 passengers and use all 4 reimbursements at once). This can really come in handy if you forget to check in 24 hours before your flight or you miss a connection and get put on a later flight with a “C” boarding position. If you think you’ll use the A1-A15 boarding buy-up at least once per year and you value the $75 Southwest credit somewhere near face value, I feel like the Priority card becomes the best value out of the consumer cards.
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Is there any guidance on how long to wait after cancelling a SW card before signing up again for the bonus? Last bonus received over 2 years ago
Btw referrals still seem to work for these offers. At least P2’s looks like it still works when I click on it.
I got approved for sw performance business while at 5/23… I was applying one month early to trigger the offer and get P2 referral credit, expecting to do reconsideration in January. Huh
You mentioned the boarding passes for the Priority card giving it good value, but between the $75 credit, and the 7500 points, that alone returns the $149 AF. Everything else is a bonus.
I just received the SW biz card. Would it be possible to refer myself for a SW Priority card?
The SW Priority card also earns 7500 points after the card anniversary date, which combined with the $75 annual credit means you can come out ahead of the AF each year with no other spend (with the RRV of 1.4 cpp you get a combined $180 in SW credit and points each year for a $149 AF). As long as you have a use for Southwest points it’s a slam dunk keeper card with a net negative AF plus the 4 priority boardings.
I can confirm the $75 credit is triggered by online Southwest gift card purchases, I used it for that during the pandemic when I did not fly for a year.
Are there any data points on upgrades from the plus to priority card? Trying to time it right after getting the companion pass with the plus card but now looking for the more lucrative upgrades and willing to pay the higher fee for this year. Does anyone know if the upgrade will yield year end 3000 bonus points, 7500 bonus points? Or no points? Everything seems to be based on card anniversary date but unclear how chase will treat an upgrade.
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It looks like referral offers are still 50k.