For the past several months, the Chase Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus credit card has had a welcome offer of just 40,000 points with $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. There is now an offer that adds a $200 statement credit to that. In my opinion, it’s still not worth considering this offer right now, but if you had a reason to apply now this is obviously better than the previous offer.
The Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
50K points ⓘ Affiliate 50K points after $1K spend in the first 3 months.$69 Annual Fee 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). Recent better offer: 75K after $3K in 3 months [Expired 12/11/23] 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
Even in a non-pandemic world, this is neither the best time of year nor the best offer if you’re considering a Southwest credit card. Most Southwest enthusiasts would rather apply late in the year and meet spending requirements in January in order to get closer to the Southwest Companion Pass early in the year. Furthermore, we’ve seen offers as high as 75K points on these cards before. I’d recommend waiting for a better offer / better timing unless you are 40K points shy of a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass right now and are very confident that you’ll get good value out of it over the next 18 months.
That said, 40K points will buy you around $600 in airfare and when you add $200 on top, it’s a nice return for $1K spend. If you have no interest in a Southwest Companion Pass and have a near-term use for the points where they will save you money that you need, this is better than no statement credit.
H/T: Doctor of Credit
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If this offer is available through Chase’s refer-a-friend link, I might have to jump on it because a family member is 10k points from the Companion Pass, which I believe is what he’d get by referring me to the card. (Hoping that he can get some use out of the Companion Pass next year or that Southwest will extend expiration into 2022.)