Did You Cancel Your Personal Southwest Credit Card Yet?

 

If you are planning to earn the Southwest Companion Pass for 2023-34, then it's time for step 1. In the last post, we talked about what to do month by month to earn the pass. 

The Southwest Companion Pass is the best travel perk in the industry. The pass is good for BOGO flights for up to two years. You can name any person as your companion and you can change your companion up to three times in a single calendar year. 

Did You Cancel Your Personal Southwest Credit Card Yet?

In order to earn the pass, you will need to accumulate 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year. You could fly, but that's expensive and time consuming. You could use a shopping portal, but that's pricey. 

Or you can follow our plan and apply for two Southwest credit cards. 

One card will be a personal Southwest credit card and one will be a Southwest business card. 

The catch is that you can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time and you will need at least 30 days between closing the card and opening the new one. 

Did You Cancel Your Personal Southwest Credit Card Yet?

So now is the time to close your card. I know it can be difficult, but its the best way to earn the pass. It took me a few days to get up the courage to cancel it. It's tough, I get it. 

And guess what, after I closed the card, my credit score went up. 

You do not need to close your Southwest business card because you are able to hold two Southwest business cards at the same time. 

Post below when you have closed your card. This is why we are doing it together. 

And in a few weeks, we will talk about step 2. 

It's Time To Plan For Your Southwest Companion Pass

 

The Southwest Companion pass is by far the best travel perk around. It's a BOGO plane ticket on any Southwest flight for up to two years. Did you hear me? BOGO on any Southwest flight anywhere Southwest flies. Costa Rica, yep. Belize, yep. No blackout dates. No blackout flights. All you do is pay the $5.60 for taxes. Amazing! 

I have had the Southwest Companion Pass for the past 6 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. I have traveled to Cuba, Washington DC, Boston, New York City, Florida and a number of college visits, trips, family events and more and taken my companion with me for FREE.

You can even change your companion three times in a calendar year and your companion can be your spouse, child, sibling, cousin, friend, neighbor or whoever you want.  

It's Time To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass

The way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass is to rack up 125,000 Southwest points in one calendar year. Once you do that, you earn the pass for the remainder of that year PLUS the following year. 

If you time it right, you could have the pass for almost two years. 

But that's a lot of points! How do you earn so many points? You could fly, but that would be very time consuming and expensive. You could shop through portals and that would help, but again, very expensive. 

The way to max out the two years is by opening Southwest credit cards. If you open a personal credit card and the bonus is 50,000 points and you open a business credit card and the bonus is 80,000 points then your total is 130,000 points and bam, you earn a companion pass. Follow me?

We are going to map out the strategy here and I hope you will come along with me on this journey. 

Let's look at what you need to do month by month:

October 

• Cancel your personal credit card 

*You can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time and you have to wait at least 30 days to apply for a new personal Southwest credit card. So in order to plan it right, you will need to cancel your Southwest personal credit card this month. I know it can be tough, but it has to be done. 

Also you want to confirm that it's been at least 24 months since you earned a bonus on a Southwest personal credit card because you can only earn this bonus once every two years. 

November 

• Apply for your new personal credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• Apply for your new business credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• You can start using the cards immediately, but DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes in December or to be extra safe Jan. 1. 
• This is the biggest mistake people make and it could cost you a whole year of the companion pass because you earn the pass for the current year and the following year. If your bonus posts before your December statement closes or Jan. 1st then it counts for this year instead of next year. Ouch! 

December 

• Find out your statement close date on both cards
• DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes otherwise your points will count towards the current calendar year and not next year
• To be extra safe, hit the minimum spend after Jan. 1st 

January

• The goal is to meet your minimum spend as close to Jan 1st as possible, but AFTER your December statement closes. 
• Once you reach the minimum spend, your bonus points will deposit into your account 
• The deposit will trigger the earning of the Southwest Companion Pass 

And bam, BOGO travel for the next two years! Woohoo! 

If you decide to come along with me on this journey or if this post helps you, please consider using my referral links to apply for your Southwest credit cards. Same bonus for you, but I also get a few points for referring you. 

Here is a breakdown of the three personal credit cards offered by Southwest right now, but remember, we are NOT going to apply for these until November: 

Southwest Priority - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $149 annual fee for the first year
• $75 Southwest credit 
• 7,500 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 4 upgraded boardings 

Southwest Premier - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $99 annual fee
• 6,000 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 2 Early Bird check ins 

Southwest Plus - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $69 annual fee
• 3,000 anniversary points annually 
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 2 Early Bird check ins 

The Priority credit card is my favorite! Even though it has a higher minimum spend at $149, it comes with a $75 Southwest credit. The credit can be used to offset the $5.60 fee charged on every ticket and it is applied automatically by the credit card as a statement credit. 

The Priority also includes 4 upgraded boardings which help if you forget to check in and get in that dreaded C boarding group. 

Please let me know if you are joining me on this journey to earn the companion pass. I would love to chat with you. 

Why I Won't Use The Capital One Travel Portal Ever Again!

 

One of the great benefits of Capital One Venture and Venture X cards are that you can erase your travel purchases with Capital One points. This benefit makes the Venture X and Venture card a popular flexible choice. 

You just make the purchase using your Capital One credit card and then erase. Any travel purchase is eligible like airbnb, vrbo, amusement park tickets, tours booked on viator and much more. No blackout dates, no transferring points, no waiting, easy. 

The second way you can use your Capital One points is to transfer your points to dozens of airlines at 1:1. So if you spot an award ticket on an airline for 25,000 points, you can transfer your points to that airline instantly and use the points to buy your ticket. Again, easy. 

Sometimes you can even get a better value out of your points this way to depending on how many points you need.

The third way you can use your points is in the Capital One Travel Portal. 

The portal uses the third party platform Hopper similar to Expedia to find flights and hotels. Then each flight or hotel is offered at 1:1 for Capital One points. There is no discount like what's offered through the Chase Travel Portal is you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve credit cards. The benefit to booking through the travel portal is that taxes and fees are included. Sometimes when you look at award tickets, the fuel charges are outrageous. 

Not so with the Capital One travel portal, those fees are included in the price. And it looks like you bought the ticket so you earn award miles on the flight or at the hotel. 

However, be warned. The portal will often offer you most basic economy ticket it can find. Cheap, yes. But you may not be able to check or carry on luggage, choose your seat or make any changes. And if there is a change in your flight, Capital One is very good at notifying you, but does not have any authority to change or refund flights without the airline's permission or change code. 

Believe it or not, sometimes getting that permission or change code can be a headache for Capital One and then for you. It can be a very long and frustrating process. Also while you are traveling, Capital One cannot help you rebook your flight or deal with travel changes like if you had booked straight from the airline. 

Something to keep in mind. I love maximizing my points, but sometimes it may not be worth the headache. 

if you are interested in the Capital One Venture X credit card, use my referral link. Right now, you can get a bonus 75,000 points with a $4,000 minimum spend. 75,000 points are 1:1 if you transfer them to airlines or hotels and worth $750 if you cash them in for FREE travel. 

You can check out my trick on how to reach the maximum spend without spending $4,000 right here. 

Wow! New 100,000 Plus Bonus From Marriott

 

American Express and Marriott just announced a new credit card and a new bonus for a popular one. Let's break them down to see which would be the better choice. 

First, the new credit card is the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Bevy. I was curious what the word Bevy means. From dictionary.com, bevy is described as a group of women. It would be used the same way as posse which means a group of men. Interesting choice. 

This new card comes with the following benefits:

• 125,000 point bonus 
• $4,000 minimum spend 
• $250 annual fee 
• 1,000 Marriot bonus points per stay 
• 6x points at Marriott 
• 4x points at restaurants and grocery stores 
• 2x points on everything else 
• 1 FREE night valued at 50,000 points after spending $15,000 in a calendar year 

Most notably is the absence of a FREE night on your anniversary. Now the FREE night is based on your spending. Ouch. 

The annual fee is $250 which is higher than other cards in this category. 

The second bonus is on the popular Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant credit card. Let's look at the offer: 

• 150,000 point bonus 
• $5,000 minimum spend 
• $650 annual fee 
• 6x points at Marriott 
• 3x points on flights and restaurants 
• 2x points on everything else 
• complimentary Platinum status 
• $300 dining credit 
• FREE night certificate (85,000 points) on your anniversary 
• $100 Global Entry or TSA credit 
• $100 Marriott property credit 
• Priority Pass lounge membership 

Yes, the annual fee increased by $200, ouch. But you will get Platinum status which includes late check out and 50% more points on hotel stays. The $300 hotel credit is now a dining credit which may be easier to use if you tend to use points for hotels. 

I do still think there is value in this card with the Global Entry, FREE night certificate, property credit, lounge access and the increased bonus. But you will have to work a bit harder to use the benefits to get your money's worth here. 

Remember you can only apply for an American Express credit card once in a lifetime. 

Chase Pay Yourself Back Program Extended To Dec. 31st

 

Updated September 30th 2022

Chase has extended the Pay Yourself Back categories again, this time through December 31st 2022. You can use your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to erase Airbnb.com and dining purchases. During the pandemic, Chase.com expanded the ways you could redeem points so not just for travel since we weren't traveling, but also for dining, home improvement and groceries. 

They ended the grocery and home improvement categories last year, but extended the Airbnb.com and dining portion of the program. 

However, the deadline has been extended so you have until the end of the year to erase those dining and airbnb purchases.  

If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, you will want to combine your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to this card before you erase purchases. That's because the Reserve gives you a 50% bonus on your points. If you have the Sapphire Preferred, it gives you a 25% bonus so that would be the next choice. If you have the Chase Freedom, Unlimited or Flex card, you don't get a bonus in the Pay Yourself Back program so you should transfer your points to your Preferred or Reserve card. However, there are other reasons to have a Chase FREEDOM Unlimited or Flex credit card. 

Once you combine your points, 

• login to your Chase online account, 
• click on the Preferred or Reserve card, 
• click on the three bars in the top left 
• click on pay yourself back. 

You will see a list like the one above of all your purchases that qualify to be erased and the points needed to do that. 

Click on the purchases you want to erase, enter the amount of points you want to use, click confirm and done. 

This is way better than the cash back option because you get the 25-50% bonus depending on which card you have. The cash back option is 1:1. 

If you are thinking about making some airbnb.com reservations for the holiday or next year, do it now and then erase them by December 31st. That's how we do it at almostfreefamilytravel.com 

If you don't have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card yet, this is one of my favorite flex cards, right now the bonus is 60,000 points when you spend a minimum of $4,000. That's like $750 in FREE travel. Please consider using my referral link if you decide to apply for this card. 

Time To Activate Your Chase 5% Bonus Categories

 

Chase just announced the 5% bonus categories for the FREEDOM FLEX and FREEDOM credit cards. This is one of my favorite go-to cards. There is no annual fee and you earn 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for all purchases which is a bit more than other cards. 

And every quarter, there are bonus categories where you earn 5x points. 

You can see the calendar above for 2022 and the 4th quarter categories are Walmart.com and Paypal. These are great because you can pretty much pay for anything with Paypal. 

So be sure to activate the bonus by clicking here and then from October-December, use your FREEDOM card for all things Paypal and Walmart and watch those points add up quickly. 

There is a max that you can earn so keep an eye on your dashboard in your online Chase.com account. 

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are amazing because they are so flexible.  You can transfer them to dozens of airlines, a few hotel chains, use them in the travel portal, cash back and more.  You can check out all the ways I use those points here. 

Top 3 Reasons You Should Rent Your Next Car Through Turo

 

With the price of rental cars still sitting sky high, I am getting a lot of questions about how to find a more affordable rental car. My go-to is usually Costco.com since you automatically get a second driver, can cancel up to the last minute and I find it has the best rates.  

But on a recent trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, the rates on Costco.com were sky high. So I decided to try using the rental car platform Turo.com. You can picture Airbnb.com for rental cars. And unlike a traditional rental car company, you actually look through a catalog of the cars being offered by the owners on your specific dates and location. So if you have always wanted to try driving a Tesla, you could choose one of those if it's being offered. 

You can filter the cars by all star hosts, delivery options, number of seats, model of car and much more. Keep in mind, you are renting someone's personal car and not a car from a rental car fleet so that's a big difference. Then you communicate with the owner of the car on the platform to make the arrangements. 

For my trip to North Carolina, I looked through the catalog and found a Hyundai Elantra 2017 for rent for $45 per day plus taxes, insurance fees and drop off and pick up at the airport. The total came to $160 for Saturday to Monday. I paid $10 per day for insurance, $40 for airport drop off and pick up and $15 for a mysterious trip fee. I messaged Michlyn who wrote back within minutes. We confirmed the rental and she asked for flight information.

A day before, Michlyn confirmed the reservation and asked me to text her when I walked outside baggage claim. 

My flight was right on time and I walked outside of baggage claim and text Michlyn. She arrived within minutes, greeted me by name, checked my driver's license, advised me to check the car and take photos. 

Once I let her know that everything looked okay, she handed me the keys. So awesome! No rental car shuttle, no rental car line, no waiting. Within 15 minutes, I was checking into the hotel. Michlyn also included a cord for my Iphone. Nice touch. 

Turo.com requires you to purchase a level of insurance through their platform because most credit cards will not cover a non traditional car rental in their coverage. You have a few choices so whatever level of coverage you are comfortable with. I chose the minimum coverage and it said it had a maximum of $3,000 that I would have to pay out for a fee of $10 per day. 

I have heard that if you have an accident, it can be a hassle to deal with the insurance. 

Some of the rentals include a certain amount of mileage in the rental. This car included 600 miles and came with a full tank of gas. The penalty for not returning the car with a full tank was the cost of a full tank of gas plus $10. I'm not sure if that's Michlyn's policy or Turo.com. 

All in all, my top three reasons for using Turo.com:

1. I loved the easy pick up and drop off. 

2. I got to choose the exact car. The car was a bit worn, but it worked well 

3. And I'm supporting a small business owner. The host was communicative and on time. 

I would definitely use Turo.com again.