UPDATE: This offer has expired.
Southwest recently launched a brand new credit card which will allow you to earn even more Southwest points! The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is a premier credit card with a slightly higher fee then, but significantly better benefits. This is actually one of those cards where the benefits of the card can be worth more then the annual fee on a yearly basis! With the new card launch, there is a limited time increased offer, but that ends tomorrow August 22, 2018. With this offer you can earn up to 65,000 bonus points which is worth about $975 in free travel on a Southwest “Wanna Getaway” fare.
The Benefits Pay For Itself!
With this card, you’ll receive $75 in Southwest travel credits every single year. This can be used directly for Southwest flight purchases, you just need to pay for your flight with the card. On top of this, you’ll receive 7,500 bonus points after every cardmember anniversary – worth approximately $113 in travel on a Southwest “Wanna Getaway” fare. With just these two benefits you are receiving $188 in benefits which means you are “profiting” $37 on a yearly basis after you pay for the annual fee. This is assuming you take advantage of the Southwest travel credit, but the travel credit is very easy to use, so there is no reason you wouldn’t. And if you find yourself not traveling Southwest during a certain year for some reason, you can use the travel credit on someone else – just make sure to pay for the flight with your credit card.
Now, aside from the two benefits above, one of my favorable benefit is the upgraded boarding positions you receive. By just having the credit card, you’ll receive four per year. This means that when you arrive to the gate you’ll be able to secure boarding position A1 – A15 as long as it is available – just have to make sure those 15 boarding positions have not already been snagged by other passengers on the flight. These upgraded boarding passes sell for either $30, $40, or $50 depending on the flight, so getting four of these is worth between $120-$200. If you aren’t aware, when you book a Southwest flight, you are not able to book your desired seat. Upon checking in for your flight you’ll receive a boarding number which tells you when you can board the plane and then you pick the seat you want based on what is available. Having an A1 boarding pass means you are the first person to board the plane. And since Southwest just increased the cost for Early Bird Check-In, this benefit is now even more valuable.
The other benefits of the card include 20% back on in-flight drinks, Wifi, messaging, and movies when paid with your Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority credit card. Nothing major, but it is still something.
Sign Up Bonus Counts Towards the Companion Pass!
The best perk of this card, along with ALL of the Southwest credit cards, is that the points earned from the sign up offer count towards the Southwest Companion Pass. You need to earn 110,000 points to earn the pass, so the 65,000 points from this card will get you more then half way there! Just keep in mind that you need to earn all points in the same calendar year. On January 1st the point counter towards the companion pass resets. So if you need more points in 2018 to earn the companion pass, I suggest applying and meeting the minimum spend soon. If you prefer to earn the companion pass in 2019, then hold off on applying now and wait until October – this will allow you to have the points post to your account in 2019. Remember, when you earn the companion pass, you’ll keep the pass for the rest of that calendar year, plus the entire next calendar year. If you earn the pass now, you’ll have the pass until December 31, 2019. If you earn the pass in 2019, you’ll have the pass until December 31, 2020. The Companion Pass allows another passenger to fly with you for FREE (plus taxes) for the length of the pass. You can use the pass an UNLIMITED number of times as well. And the best part is that you can book your ticket with points and still add a companion onto your ticket. I’ve had the pass for 10+ years and have truly saved thousands and thousands of dollars! Read more about timing of the credit cards to earn the Companion Pass here.
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Has anyone pointed out August 22 is TOMORROW, not today?
Have to wonder if there is a 50k offer coming- it actually might be a better deal for many. Consider that one has to spend an extra $14k to get the extra 25k points – which would be 15k more than with a 50k offer, so for those $14k in spend it’s a bonus of just over 1 point per dollar spent. For a low to medium rate churner like myself (I won’t resort to manufacturing spend unless absolutely necessary to complete a miscalculation in my normal spend), that extra 1 point $14k in spend has an opportunity cost of 1-2 new CC’s with signup bonus of nominally $500-1000.
Now on the other hand, depending on one’s income and spending habits, getting the 40k points for $1k spend (and walking away from the 15k bonus) is a pretty high return, as the 50k offers usually have a greater spend requirement.