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Earlier this year, Southwest offered an unprecedented sign-up bonus for its consumer credit cards: 30,000 points and a Companion Pass if you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. A Companion Pass is essentially an unlimited buy-one-get-one pass for airfare.
While that deal ended in February - and we don't know if it will ever be offered again - Southwest is back with a newly increased credit card sign-up offer that can actually help you get the full companion pass.
Starting Thursday, May 2, when you open any of the three personal cards, you can earn 60,000 Rapid Reward points when you spend $2,000 in the first three months. The usual bonus is only 40,000 points after meeting minimum spend requirements.
Those points can be used for flights anywhere in Southwest's network, including on its recently launched flights to Hawaii.
In addition to using the points for flights, they can also help contribute towards earning a Companion Pass for this year and all of 2020.
To earn the Companion Pass, one has to earn 110,000 qualifying points with Southwest within a calendar year. The pass will then be valid for the remainder of that calendar year, as well as the entirety of the following one.
Points earned from a Southwest credit card count - including sign-up bonuses. If you open a card during the current deal, you'll already have 62,000 points (including points earned from spending), so you'll only need to earn 48,000 more through flights or other qualifying activities.
Plus, if you have a small business or side gig, you can open a personal card and a small business card - the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card - and earn an additional 60,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Between the two bonuses, you'll earn more than enough points to automatically get the Companion Pass.
Qualifying for the sign-up bonuses
In order to receive the bonus, you can't currently hold a personal Southwest credit card, and you can't have earned a sign-up bonus from a Southwest card in the past 24 months. If you currently hold a card, but earned the bonus from it longer than 24 months ago (or never earned the bonus), you may be able to close that, wait a week or so, and apply for a new card.
Which card should you get?
Southwest and Chase offer three personal credit cards. The Southwest Priority Card is the best option for most people because, even though it has the highest annual fee of the three cards at $149, it offers annual credits and anniversary bonus points that are together worth at least $150, meaning the card pays for itself.
However, if you're dead set against an annual fee in the three-digit range, the other cards are compelling options - especially with the increased sign-up bonuses.
Read on to learn more about the three personal Southwest cards.
Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.
When you're working to earn credit card rewards, it's important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back. Basically, treat your credit card like a debit card.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card
The Rapid Rewards Plus is the base level of the three Southwest cards. However, just because it's a bit less featured than its bigger siblings doesn't mean it's a bad option.
The card earns 2 times points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases, and one point per dollar on everything else. You'll also get 3,000 bonus points each year on your card-membership anniversary.
That's essentially the gist of this card - there's not too much to it. There are, however, a couple of things worth noting.
It has a $69 annual fee that isn't waived the first year. Of course, the sign-up bonus - 60,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first three months - goes a long way toward making up for that, while the anniversary points help each year after.
All in all, while the Plus card has the lowest annual fee, it doesn't offer a ton of value after the first year. If you want to earn Southwest points on your credit card, but absolutely want to pay the lowest possible annual fee, then this card is probably the best option. However, if you're ok with paying a higher annual fee, knowing that you'll get more value from the card than you'll pay for that fee, you're better off considering one of the other two.
Click here to learn more about the Southwest Plus card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card
The Premier card is similar to the Plus, with a few enhancements.
The sign-up bonus is the same, but it offers 6,000 anniversary points each year instead of 3,000.
It also offers the ability to earn tier-qualifying points, which count toward the elite "A-list" status. You'll earn 1,500 tier points each time you spend $10,000 within a calendar year, up to $100,000 (or 15,000 tier points) per year.
Otherwise, the biggest appeal of the Premier over the Plus is that it doesn't have foreign-transaction fees - if you use your Plus abroad, you'll be charged an extra 3% on every purchase.
The Premier's annual fee is $99, compared with the $69 fee on the Plus, but the extra anniversary points should generally cover that increase.
Click here to learn more about the Southwest Premier card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority credit card
Generally, though, the Priority is the best option if you're a Southwest flyer.
That's because, even though it has the highest fee at $149, it offers at least $150 in value each year, effectively cancelling out the fee.
The Priority offers 7,500 bonus anniversary points each year, as well as an annual $75 Southwest travel credit, which can be applied to purchases like flights. Assuming that Southwest points are worth $0.01 each - although you can usually get more value than that - that means that you're getting $150 of value each year just from these two benefits, which cancels out the annual fee.
The card also has a few other benefits, including up to four Upgraded Boarding certificates each year, meaning you can board earlier and choose your seat. You'll also get 20% back on in-flight purchases, and the same ability to earn tier-qualifying points as the Premier card.
Ultimately, as long as you're willing to front the money for the annual fee, the Priority card pays for itself.
However, if you're absolutely set against the higher fee, the Plus and the Priority can be good options as well.
Click here to learn more about the Southwest Priority card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.
Business Insider may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
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