[No 5/24 Rules?] Refreshed Southwest Cards With New Benefits: Earn Up To 100,000 Signup Bonus Points!

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Update: There are multiple recent reports of people over 5/24 getting approved for Chase Consumer Southwest, United, and Amazon cards, such as Southwest Consumer Priority Card, Southwest Consumer Plus Card, Southwest Consumer Plus Card, United Gateway, United Explorer, United Quest, United Club, and Amazon.

It’s unclear how long this will last (Black Friday sale? :D) or if this is a permanent change. As always, YMMV! Post your experience in the comments!

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Up to 100K bonus points
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: Up to 100K bonus points
• Chase Southwest Consumer Plus Card: Up to 100K bonus points
• Chase Southwest Performance Business Card 80K bonus points
• Chase Southwest Business Premier Card 60K bonus points

Limited time card signup bonuses:

Through 12/7 only, you can earn a limited time signup bonus on Southwest cards. Plus cards have been refreshed with new benefits without any additional annual fees, making the cards more compelling than ever for Southwest flyers!

• The Chase Southwest Consumer Priority card has a signup bonus of up to 100K Southwest points. Earn 50K bonus points for for spending $2,000 in 3 months plus another 50K bonus points for spending another $10,000 in 12 months.
  • The card offers some amazing benefits for Southwest loyalists including 4 annual A1-A15 boarding upgrade certificates, $75 in annual Southwest travel credit, 7.5K Southwest points upon every card anniversary, 25% off in-flight purchases, triple points on Southwest purchases, double points on local transit and commuting, rideshare, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming, and the ability to earn unlimited tier points towards A-List status. $149 annual fee.

• The Chase Southwest Consumer Premier card has a signup bonus of up to 100K Southwest points. Earn 50K bonus points for for spending $2,000 in 3 months plus another 50K bonus points for spending another $10,000 in 12 months.
  • The card offers 6,000 points every card anniversary, 2 early-bird checkins per year, 25% off in-flight purchases, triple points on Southwest purchases, double points on local transit and commuting, rideshare, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming, has no foreign transaction fees, and the ability to earn unlimited tier points towards A-List status. $99 annual fee.

• The Chase Southwest Consumer Plus card has a signup bonus of up to 100K Southwest points. Earn 50K bonus points for for spending $2,000 in 3 months plus another 50K bonus points for spending another $10,000 in 12 months.
  • The card offers 3,000 points every card anniversary, 2 early-bird checkins per year, 25% off in-flight purchases, double points on Southwest purchases, on local transit and commuting, rideshare, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming. $69 annual fee.

• The Chase Southwest Performance Business Credit Card has a signup bonus of 80K Southwest points for spending $5,000 in 3 months.
  • The card offers some amazing benefits for Southwest loyalists including 4 annual A1-A15 boarding upgrade certificates, 9K Southwest points upon every card anniversary, 365 free Wi-Fi passes annually, 4 points per dollar spent on Southwest, double points on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, and phone services, local transit and commuting, and rideshare, Global Entry/Pre-Check credit, and the ability to earn unlimited tier points towards A-List status. Having this card also allows for $500 in credits to transfer Southwest points between accounts. $199 annual fee.

• The Chase Southwest Business Premier card has a signup bonus of 60K Southwest points for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
  • The card offers 6,000 points every card anniversary, 25% off in-flight purchases, 2 earlybird checkins per year, 3 points per dollar spent on Southwest, double points on local transit and commuting, and rideshare, has no foreign transaction fees, and the ability to earn unlimited tier points towards A-List status. Having this card also allows for $500 in credits to transfer Southwest points between accounts. $99 annual fee.

• The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card business card has a signup bonus of 75K Ultimate Rewards points for spending $7,500 in 3 months.
  • You can earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent by buying Southwest gift cards on Staples.com or at an office supply store.

Comparison chart:

Welcome bonus terms:

Officially you can only have one active Southwest consumer card, but you can have each of the Southwest business cards. However there are DDF reports of getting approved for multiple Southwest consumer cards at the same time. Post your results in the comments!

Consumer cards: You can get the bonus as long as you don’t have an active Southwest consumer card and haven’t received a Southwest consumer card bonus in the past 24 months.

Business cards: You can get the bonus as long as you don’t have the exact same business card active and you haven’t received a bonus on the exact same business card in the past 24 months.

5/24:

All Chase cards appear are subject to 5/24 restrictions, meaning that you are not likely to be approved if you have been approved for 5 or more consumer credit cards in the past 24 months. Note that the Chase system automatically counts cards like authorized user cards and store cards as cards that count towards 5/24, but if you explain to Chase that those cards are merely authorized user cards or store cards they can manually approve you for a new card.

The business cards won’t add to your count of 5/24 counts.

You can check your credit report for free at the federally authorized annualcreditreport.com to check how many accounts are shows as being open in the past 24 months.

Value of Southwest points:

The value of Southwest points is variable based on the paid fare.

For example a nonstop flight from Cleveland to Baltimore on 11/16 costs $48.98 or 2,671 points+$5.60. That’s a value of 1.62 cents per point.

A nonstop flight from LaGuardia to Dallas on 11/16 costs $48.98 or 2,671 points+$5.60. That’s a value of 1.62 cents per point.

A nonstop flight from LaGuardia to Chicago on 11/16 costs $58.98 or 3,443 points+$5.60. That’s a value of 1.55 cents per point.

A nonstop flight from LaGuardia to Denver on 11/16 costs $58.98 or 3,443 points+$5.60. That’s a value of 1.55 cents per point.

A nonstop flight from LaGuardia to Orlando on 11/16 costs $63.98 or 3,828 points+$5.60. That’s a value of 1.53 cents per point.

If you’ll redeem points for an average of 1.55 cents each, that makes an 65K signup bonus worth $1,007.50. If you qualify for a companion pass that number can double to a whopping $2,015 signup bonus.

Plus each Southwest cards comes with anniversary bonus points!

Annual travel credit:

If you have the Southwest Consumer Priority card you’ll get reimbursed for $75 in annual spending on Southwest flights!

Fee credit for transferred points:

Southwest charges a fee of 1 cent per point for points transferred to other members. Business card holders can now get a credit of up to $500 per cardmembership year for transferred points, which would cover the fees for up to 50K points. You can effectively pool together your family’s points for free!

Upgraded boarding certificates:

If you have the Southwest Consumer Priority Card or the Southwest Performance Business Card you’ll get reimbursed for 4 annual purchases of upgraded A1-A15 boarding positions so that you can get some of the best seats on the plane.  Upgraded boardings may be purchased at the departure gate or ticket counter on the day of travel. These cost $30-$50, so this is a benefit worth up to $200 per year.

On other cards you’ll get 2 EarlyBird checkins per year.

25% cash back on in-flight purchases:

Most Southwest cards now offer 25% cash back on top of points for purchases of drinks and Wi-Fi on Southwest flights!

Inflight WiFi Credit: 

If you have the Southwest Performance Business Card you’ll receive a statement credit equal to $8 Southwest WiFi charge on up to 365 charges per year! That will let you connect all of your family’s devices when you fly Southwest so that you can save a bundle!

Global Entry/Pre-Check credit:

If you have the Southwest Performance Business Card you’ll get reimbursed for Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership. You can get reimbursed for those fees ($85 for Pre-Check or $100 for Global Entry and Pre-Check) every 4 years. Membership lasts for 5 years, so you will be able to renew before your membership lapses. Global Entry/Pre-Check make flying so much easier and its great to see more cards add this benefit as I can get Global Entry and Pre-Check for free for my entire family that way!

A-List Status:

With most Southwest cards you can now earn 1,500 tier points towards A-List status for every $10,000 spent with no cap on earnings. You can learn more about A-List status here.

Free changes and cancellations. Lock in low fares with no penalty:

Southwest allows you to cancel an award flight and redeposit the points in your account for future use without any penalties.

Thinking of taking a trip but not 100% sure about it? With Southwest points you can lock in a good rate and just cancel the trip free of charge at any point before the flight if you can’t make it!

You can use the points for yourself or book award tickets for anyone else you want to give a ticket to.

Southwest allows you to redeem points for any seat on any flight. There are no blackout dates or capacity controls.

When Southwest has a fare sale the amount of points go on sale as well as it tracks to the price of the ticket. Best of all Southwest will refund your points if the price of your award ticket falls!  Just rebook your trip online for the same dates or give them a call for the credit.

Southwest points will never expire as long as you earn points every 24 months.

Companion pass and spend timing:

Normally, you can get a free companion pass if you earn 125,000 points in a calendar year from select sources, including earnings from credit card signups and credit card spending!

In 2021, you only need to earn 100,000 points to get a Companion Pass if you had a Southwest account as of 12/31/20. Your companion pass will be valid through 12/31/22.

Alternatively, you can wait to complete your spending until 2022. If you earn 125,000 points in 2022 your companion pass will be valid through 12/31/23.

You will earn the signup bonus on the statement after you complete the spending requirement. That means you’ll have to move quickly to take advantage of the lower 2021 threshold. Alternatively, you’ll want to hold off on meeting the spend threshold to have it post on a statement in 2022 in order to get a companion pass valid for an extra year.

The pass allows you to bring a companion with you for free whenever you fly Southwest, including Hawaii, even if you are flying on a free ticket! That effectively doubles the value of your Southwest points. There is no limit to the number of free companion flights that you can take.

You can designate a companion and change that companion up to 3 times in a calendar year, so you can name up to 4 companions over the course of a year.

Transfer Chase Points To Southwest to maximize the value of your Companion Pass:

You can transfer points from the following Chase cards to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. You can redeem those Southwest points and bring a companion with you for free, doubling the value of your points!

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card has a 60K signup bonus, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.3 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 50K signup bonus, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card  earns 3 points per dollar on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card  earns 5 points per dollar on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, office supply stores, and gift cards from office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card  earns 1.5 points per dollar everywhere ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus earn 5 points per dollar on up to $12K in groceries for 1 year, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a 20K signup bonus, plus earn 5 points per dollar on up to $12K in groceries for 1 year, at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

Cash back on top of points

Chase business cards in the chart above are eligible for additional cash back via Visa Savings Edge. That means you can get points plus 2% cash back at Chevron, Sheetz, AutoZone, or Texaco. You’ll earn points plus 3% cash back at Boost Mobile. You’ll earn points plus 4% cash back at Alamo, National, and MGM hotels. You’ll earn points plus 5% cash back at Lenovo and Wyndham hotels.

Business card information, benefits, and 5/24

3 of the cards in the chart above are business cards, but you may already have a business that needs a card to keep track of expenses. For example if your name is Joe Smith and you sell items online, or if you have any other side business and want a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures you can open a business credit card for “Joe Smith” as the business. You don’t need to file any messy government paperwork to be allowed to do that. Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field.

It’s important to just write your own name as the business name if you are just applying for your own small business as a Sole Proprietorship that doesn’t have any business paperwork.

All of the cards in this post are subject to 5/24 restrictions. However, it’s important to note that business cards from most banks, including Chase business cards, do not get added to your 5/24 count of recently opened cards. That’s because business cards from most banks don’t show up on your personal credit report and the 5/24 count is based off of your personal credit report.

Another benefit of business cards not reporting on your personal credit report is that your credit score won’t be hurt when you spend money on your cards. When you spend money on personal cards your score will be hurt even if you pay your bill on time. That’s because a whopping 30% of your credit score is based on credit utilization, so you lose lots of points even if you pay your bills before the statement due date. You can pay off your credit card bill before your statement close date to avoid that, but that takes effort and laying out money well before you have to. Additionally it’s good to have the statement close with a couple dollars to show the card is active and being paid every month. On business cards from banks like AMEX and Chase the spending is not reported on your personal credit report, so you can wait until the money is due without it having a negative effect on your score. That also means if you close the card, it won’t have an effect on your credit score.

As always, Southwest benefits include:

• 2 free checked bags per passenger.
• Free in-flight messaging.
• Free in-flight streaming entertainment, including movies, live TV, on-demand TV, music, destination guides, and games.
• No change fees to switch your flight. Whether you are on a paid or an award flight you can change without penalty!
• No cancellation fee to cancel your flight (you will get Southwest credit for the full amount paid, even on non-refundable wanna get away fares) or to cancel and redeposit your award flight.
• A refund of the fare or point difference if the price of your flight goes downafter you buy it, just call to get the credit at any time before your flight!

Will you signup for any Southwest cards?