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?
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Update 3/14/23: These limited-time Southwest welcome offers ended yesterday through affiliate channels, but you can still obtain the welcome offers which include a Companion Pass using someone’s referral link. We’ve therefore updated the Best Offers page with referral links to these offers. The application pages list the end date as March 19, 2023, so you now have until Sunday to take advantage of this opportunity if you’d not gotten around to applying previously.
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The lineup of Chase Southwest consumer cards have had their welcome offers updated and now include a Companion Pass valid through the end of February 2024 when meeting their minimum spend requirements.
The Offers & Key Card Details
Consumer Cards
| 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 |
| 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 |
Quick Thoughts
The appeal of these cards will depend on how much you value Rapid Rewards points and the limited time Companion Pass. At only 30,000 bonus points per card, the points bonus is less than usual which for some – particularly solo travelers – will put a dent in how worthwhile it’ll be to apply for one of these cards.
For others though, the inclusion of a Companion Pass will greatly enhance the value of applying for the card now seeing as that’ll be earned once meeting the minimum spend requirement rather than earning 135,000 qualifying points. There’s a key difference with the Companion Pass that comes with these consumer cards though. When earning a Companion Pass by earning 135,000 qualifying points, you get it through the remainder of that year and then all of the next year. The Companion Pass earned as part of these welcome offers are only valid through February 28, 2024. 2024 is a leap year and so it’s a little surprising that you don’t get it for February 29 too, but perhaps you do and the application page is incorrect.
For someone with a lot of travel planned in the next 12 months to/from locations served by Southwest, having a Companion Pass valid through February 2024 could prove to be very valuable.
These welcome offers are currently listed as being available through March 13, 2023, so you have five weeks to decide if one of these cards is right for you. Remember that these cards are all subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
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Unfortunately, previously generated Chase SouthWest referrals may not work. If you click “Click here to apply” button, you will see “offer unavailable” sign.
FYI. I sent my nephew a referral link with the offer. It shows an expiration date of 3/19/23. This may help if somebody misses the 3/13 cutoff.
Considering that Chase Inks are giving out UR like candy and SW is capped in the value of points, this offer seems rather nice for those looking to stay under 5/24 but want the companion pass for the term. What’s the downgrade options on these cards? Same as any other chase card?
Hey Stephen,
I have the temporary CP good thru 3.4. Neither I nor P2 have ever applied for any of their cards. We are both at 4/24.
If I want to extend my CP, what do you recommend doing so that I keep it for the longest amount of time while also earning the most amount of points thru SUB(s)? I would also qualify for their biz card & spend isn’t a big issue other than I don’t want to unnecessarily put more spend on their cards than I have to since the accelerators aren’t great.
I know about the yr-end trick for keeping CP status almost 2 yrs. But is this instant CP status a better deal all things considered even if only for a yr? And maybe then hope it re-emerges for P2 to apply then?
I would appreciate your insight & recommendation for what makes the most sense for us. Thx
Whether or not this instant Companion Pass that comes with the credit cards is better than a CP earned normally will depend on a person’s individual situation, so there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all answer.
If you anticipate flying with Southwest a lot in the next year – particularly in the next few months – getting a CP now that expires on February 28, 2024 could certainly be preferable to waiting around for increased welcome offers where you apply for two Southwest cards (one business and one personal) in order to earn the CP by earning 125,000 qualifying points.
If you don’t think you’ll be flying with Southwest much in the next few months, you might do better to wait for those increased offers to return. You’d be missing out on the CP in the meantime once your current one expires next month, but you’d then have it for the rest of this year and all of 2024.
That said, you could always have one of you apply for one of these consumer cards now to have the Companion Pass through February 28, 2024. That would put one of you at 5/24. Towards the end of this year, I imagine we’ll once again see increased offers on the Southwest cards as that’s what they seem to have offered every year for the last however many years. Provided that continues, the other player could apply for both a business and personal Southwest card and complete the minimum spend requirements on both cards in early 2024. That would mean you’d have the Companion Pass on one person’s account through Feb 2024, then have it on the other person’s account through the end of 2025.
The other thing to consider though is if your applications and spend would be better used elsewhere. For example, you can earn 90,000-100,000 Ultimate Rewards points on several Chase Ink cards. Seeing as the Southwest cards are currently only giving 30,000 Rapid Rewards points, you could apply for an Ink card giving 90k Ultimate Rewards and, if you wanted to, transfer all those points to Southwest. That would result in you having 60,000 Rapid Rewards points more than you would from applying for the Southwest card which, depending on your planned travel, could be more valuable than the Companion Pass lasting a year.
Thank you for your detailed & thoughtful response, Stephen.
I would probably use the CP this year as much as any other year so there’s no sense of urgency getting it now for that particular reason. I really just want to supplement the AA miles I currently use for domestic travel since they are so easy to use for me & I run through them so fast. I am now also using Bilt as an addtl AA mile generator & having the CP long term would give me time to build back our AA coffers.
I already have all the other good Chase cards (business & personal) or at least the ones I have a reasonable ongoing use for. The SUBs on all those are but a distant memory & I am not a card churner by any stretch.
I like your strategy to get the instant pass card now & then P2 get the personal & business cards towards year end. I should be able to recoup the Priority’s AF with addtl travel on the airline.
Thanks again for your help
Great, glad it was helpful 🙂
Hi again Stephen – I am still learning the SWA cards but please let me know where I’m off if you will?
If I get the Priority card now, I earn 30,400 miles (incl spend) along with a CP to carry me thru 2.24. I also earn another bonus 10k miles towards a CP for a GT of 40,400 miles.
If I get the Performance card later on this year, & complete the spend in 2023, that’s another 85k miles (incl spend).
The 2 cards ttl 125,400 miles so I need another 9,600 in spend to have a new CP thru 12.24. That is the same 2 yrs if I do the traditional method towards year end 2023 (but I instead have a CP for all of this year & next instead of 2024 & 2025).
I’d much rather do this than waiting and/or 2 new card apps at the same time, personal or business. This IS Chase after all & I don’t want to push it with them. Does this look right to you?
The calculations are close. You’d earn 4,000 points from spend on the Priority card, so that would be 34,000 rather than 30,400. You would get an additional 10,000 qualifying points towards the Companion Pass which makes that 44,000, but note that the 10,000 is only qualifying points for the Companion Pass – they’re not redeemable Rapid Rewards points that can be used towards award flights.
Provided the bonus on the Performance card later in the year is still 80k, that would indeed get you another 85,000 including spend points which puts you at 129,000 qualifying points, therefore only needing an additional 6,000 qualifying points for the Companion Pass this year.
This seems like a solid plan if you’re interested in having the CP through the end of 2024 rather than prioritizing getting it for 2024-25.
Oops, yes I prefer your math! Thanks again, Stephen, I really appreciate it
Can I pay my Federal income tax with the new card to meet the spend to get the Southwest companion pass!?
Yep! You can find out more information about doing that here https://frequentmiler.com/pay-taxes-via-credit-card/