Southwest has been making a lot of changes recently, no FREE checked bags, assigned seats and more. And the company just announced a refresh of its five co-branded credit cards. We will take a look at the changes, but the big news is that the refreshed personal credit cards carry a huge 100,000 bonus point offer, FREE checked bags, refundable flights and give you 5 months to spend the minimum $4,000.
That's huge and gets you most of the way there for the best perk in the travel biz, the Southwest Companion Pass which is a BOGO on any flight anywhere Southwest flies for up to two years. Wow!
So what's the difference between the five credit cards and which one is best for you? Let's take a look.
Some of the differences between the cards include:
- 2x points on groceries or restaurants or gas stations
- Points earned on your anniversary date
- Seat selection
- Upgrade option for more legroom
- Qualifying points towards A List
- Flight discount promo code
All the cards include one FREE checked bag for you and up to 8 people on your reservation including your companion pass. Which one is best for you? Depends on the benefits you will use and where you spend the most money, groceries, restaurants or gas stations.
Southwest offers two business credit cards, one has a 60,000 bonus offer with a minimum spend of $3,000 and the other carries an 80,000 bonus offer with a minimum spend of $5,000. These are the regular offers and both cards only give you 3 months to meet the minimum spend. But in our travel coaching program, we show you how to use these cards to collect enough points to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
The business credit cards also underwent a refresh due to the changing rules at Southwest. Some of the differences between these two cards include:
- Preferred seat selection
- Upgrade option for more legroom
- Points earned on your anniversary date
- Flight discount promo code
- Points earning power on gas stations, restaurants, hotels and flights
- Global Entry $120 credit
- Annual fee $149 vs $299
Here's where it gets a bit tricky, you can hold only one personal Southwest credit card and you are only eligible for the bonus IF you have not earned a bonus in the past 24 months. Your eligibility date is the date that you earned the previous bonus NOT the date you were approved for the credit card.
So if you earned the bonus on April 25th 2023, then you are not eligible to apply again until April 26th 2025. You can check your Southwest Airlines account points activity to determine your bonus date.
You can hold both Southwest business credit cards at the same time, but the bonus eligibility rule is the same. Also the personal credit cards fall under the Chase 5/24 rule.
Bottom line, the new 100,000 point bonus offer is fantastic! Lots of points, checked bags, makes every airline ticket refundable plus it gets you very close to the 135,000 points needed for the Southwest companion pass. Woohoo!
Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. Not ready to dive into the coaching program, download the ebook or custom tracker or book a 1:1 consulting call with me. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable.
*For every new client, we will donate 10% of the proceeds to one of our favorite charities.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.