The Southwest Rapid Rewards® credit card welcome bonus mentioned below is no longer available.
Chase just released a never-before-seen welcome bonus on consumer Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards that allows you to more easily earn a Companion Pass®, plus 30,000 points.
Normally, new Southwest Rapid Rewards card users would need to earn 125,000 points or fly 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year to get a coveted Companion Pass, but not with this offer.
Spend just $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from opening your account, then benefit from a Companion Pass® that snags your friend or loved free flights into February of next year, plus 30,000 points. This limited-time offer ends March 10, 2021.
This $5,000 minimum spend is admittedly higher than other welcome bonuses, but it pales in comparison to what you'd need to spend outside of this promotion. To earn the standard 125,000 points you'd normally need for the Companion Pass®, you'd have to pay for up to $125,000 in purchases with your Southwest card. (We estimated broadly, since cardholders earn varying points per purchase — 2x points on Southwest purchases and 1x points on all other purchases).
Eligible cards include:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
The Companion Pass® offer makes this bonus highly valuable since it allows you to choose one person to fly with you free of airline charges every time you purchase or redeem points for a flight (though taxes and fees aren't included).
Once you qualify for a Companion Pass®, it’s normally valid for the remainder of the current calendar year and also the next entire calendar year. However, this promotional Companion Pass is only valid through February 28, 2022.
While the new Southwest welcome bonus doesn’t let you earn the previous 80,000-point offer, the Companion Pass® is worth more considering you’d typically need to earn 125,000 points to qualify.
Additionally, you can earn 30,000 points at the same time as the Companion Pass®, bringing the bonus’s value up to an effective 155,000 points.
Who’s eligible for the new Southwest Rapid Rewards card bonus?
If you’re eager to earn this bonus before time runs out, check the eligibility requirements first.
Chase states:
The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and employee credit card products.
That means Southwest Rapid Rewards newbies can earn the welcome bonus, and so can former Southwest Rapid Rewards cardholders who meet these two requirements:
- You aren't a current Southwest Rapid Rewards card member, and
- You haven’t received a new cardmember bonus for any Southwest Rapid Rewards card in the past 24 months.
