Despite all of Southwest's recent changes, the airline's suite of co-branded credit cards are still worth your attention … maybe now, more than ever.
That's because Chase and Southwest just rolled out new limited-time offers to earn a free year of the Southwest Companion Pass and up to 40,000 Rapid Rewards points (depending on which card you choose) after meeting the minimum spending requirement.
For the uninitiated, the Southwest Companion Pass is still one of the best deals in the world of travel, unlocking unlimited buy-one-get-one flights – whether you pay in cash or redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points – with no blackout dates and no questions asked. While the Companion Pass you’ll get from these credit card offers won’t last as long as earning it the old-fashioned way, this is a far easier path to earning a year of BOGO travel.
With this new offer, it's clear that the Companion Pass is the star of the show, but up to 40,000 Rapid Rewards points make for a pretty strong supporting character. Even after a slew of devaluations, those points are still worth as much as $400 (or more!) and can easily be enough for two round-trips to many of Southwest's destinations. If you get in on one of Southwest's frequent sales, you can stretch them even further.
Just remember: Credit cards are serious business. Whether it's a year of BOGO free travel or a big pool of points, none of it is worth digging yourself into debt for. If you can't afford to pay off every dime you charge to your new card, these exciting new offers should be a hard pass.
Read on for everything you need to know about these new limited-time Southwest credit card offers and the benefits available on each of them.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: On your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 3,000 Rapid Rewards points each year.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points on the first $5,000 in combined spend at gas stations and grocery stores each anniversary year
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Free checked bag: Cardmembers and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
- Complimentary seat selection: Select a Standard seat within 48 hours of departure, when available.
- Boarding benefit: Cardmembers and up to eight passengers on the same reservation will board with Group 5, giving you earlier access to overhead bins.
- 10% Flight discount: Receive a 10% promo code each year on your cardmember anniversary (excludes basic fares).
- No foreign transaction fees
- Annual Fee: $99
Learn more about the *sw plus*.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Earn Companion Pass through 2/28/27 and 30,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Anniversary Bonus: Each year, on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 6,000 Rapid Rewards points.
- Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points on the first $8,000 in combined spend at restaurants and grocery stores each anniversary year
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Free checked bag: Cardmembers and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
- Complimentary seat selection: Select a Standard or Preferred seat within 48 hours of departure, when available.
- Boarding benefit: Cardmembers and up to eight passengers on the same reservation will board with Group 5, giving you earlier access to overhead bins.
- Spend your way to A-List status: Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually, accelerating your way to A-List status.
- 15% Flight discount: Receive a 10% promo code each year on your cardmember anniversary (excludes basic fares).
- No foreign transaction fees
- Annual Fee: $149
Learn more about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
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- Anniversary Bonus: On your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 7,500 Rapid Rewards points each year.
- Earn 4x Rapid Rewards Points (was 3x) per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar spent at gas stations and restaurants each anniversary year.
- Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points per dollar on all other spending on the card.
- Free checked bag: Cardmembers and up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation can check their first bag for free.
- Boarding benefit: Cardmembers and up to eight passengers on the same reservation will board with Group 5, giving you earlier access to overhead bins.
- Complimentary Preferred seat selection: Enjoy unlimited upgrades to an Extra Legroom seat within 48 hours of departure, when available.
- Spend your way to A-List status: Earn 2,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually, accelerating your way to A-List status.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Annual Fee: $229
Learn more about the *sw priority*.
Get a Companion Pass For Nearly a Full Year
Southwest points may not be as valuable as they once were, but it's the Companion Pass that travelers should really care about. And the math for that incredible perk hasn't changed at all.
You won't find a better deal in the world of travel than the Southwest Companion Pass: an unlimited buy-one, get-one flight pass. Once you meet your card's minimum spending requirement, you'll get your Companion Pass for the rest of 2026 and all the way through Feb. 28, 2027.
Typically, the Southwest Companion Pass requires you to earn 135,000 qualifying Southwest Rapid Rewards points … or fly 100 one-way revenue flights in a calendar year.
Points earned from new card welcome offers do count towards that total, but we've never seen a personal Southwest Card welcome offer go that high. This means you'd traditionally have to open both a personal Southwest Card and a business card, like the *SW Performance Biz*, in order to earn the companion pass through welcome offers alone. Otherwise, you'd need to earn the remaining points the harder way: Spending on your card or simply flying with Southwest.
No matter how you look at it, earning the Southwest Companion pass and up to 40,000 Rapid Rewards points with these new card offers is a fantastic deal – one that most travelers should take a good, hard look at.
Read more: The Master Guide to the Southwest Companion Pass
What to Know Before You Apply
There are some considerations to work through before you apply. And the first comes down to whether you're even eligible to open one of these Chase Southwest cards.
Chase only lets you hold one Southwest personal credit card at a time. That means if you already have one Southwest credit card open, you will not be approved for a second card. But there's nothing to stop your favorite travel buddy from picking one up … unless they already have one.
On top of that, these welcome bonuses are not available if you have earned a welcome bonus on any of the three Southwest Airlines personal credit cards in the past 24 months (two years).
And of course, these cards are also subjected to the dreaded Chase 5/24 rule, so getting approved for one of these cards may be difficult depending on how many credit cards (from any bank, not just Chase) you’ve opened in the last 24 months.
If you've opened five or more credit cards with any bank in that time span, you will not be approved for Chase credit cards, regardless of your credit score or history with Chase.
But if you are eligible, these Southwest credit cards are among the best credit cards you can get if you are under the Chase 5/24 rule. That’s especially true with this new offer to earn a Companion Pass through Feb. 28, 2027.
Pair with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve
All three of these Southwest credit cards make great companions to either the *csr* or the *csp*. That’s because Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be instantly transferred to your Southwest Rapid Rewards account on a 1:1 basis, meaning 1,000 Chase points get you 1,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Learn more about the *csp*.
Learn more about the *csr*.
Bottom Line
Chase and Southwest are out with new limited-time offers to earn a free year of the Southwest Companion Pass and up to 40,000 Rapid Rewards points after meeting the cards' minimum spending requirement.
We don't know for sure how long these limited-time offers will last, but you shouldn't wait – the sooner you get it, the sooner you can start putting that Companion Pass to use!
If I close my current card, how long do I have to wait to apply for this one to get the offer?
If you have earned a welcome bonus on any of the three Southwest Airlines personal credit cards in the past 24 months (or two years) you won’t be eligible. That said, if you close your current card, I would suggest waiting at least a month before applying for one again. Also, you would need to be under the Chase 5/24 rule.
If I were to transfer 50,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points over to Southwest miles added to the 75,000 sign in bonus plus 10,000 companion pass bonus allow me to reach 135,000 to qualify for the companion pass?
Unfortunately Chase points transfers DO NOT count toward Companion Pass-qualifying points.
My husband is an authorized user on my Southwest card. Would he be able to apply for his own card since a person can only hold one Southwest personal card?
Hi Diane. Yes, he should be able to.
So, I applied for both the personal and business cards. I was called about the business card but received notification that the personal card was declined “due to already having that card”. I called and was told that I can only have one version of the Southwest card. I explained that I wanted to keep my personal and business charges separate but earn the points on all my charges. I asked to be reconsidered but they said that department was closed due to the holiday. I called the next day and went through the same procedure and waited on hold for an hour before hanging up and calling back. I explained everything again and was told that it would be under consideration, and I would hear in 1 to 2 weeks.
Do you know how long this most recent bonus offer will last? I’ve gotten 2 chase cards in the last 30 days so I think I need to wait, but scared to miss it!
Unfortunately, we don’t. Chase hasn’t yet listed an end date for the offer.
Closing up this discussion for reference to others. I contacted Chase and was unable to change closing date to be earlier. Seems you can only do this for future closing dates which doesn’t help me.
Anyone know how to get the Companion Pass added the quickest way? I got the card Feb 16th, it arrived in ~ 5 days. I charged over $5000 within 3 weeks, I went online to pay the bill early and now hoping I can at least get the Companion Pass to use ASAP. I can wait on the 30,000 bonus points, but really want the CP!
Thanks
It should be available as soon as your card statement closes.
My first statement closed Feb 25th, but I was only 1/2 way there, so I have to wait until Mar 25th now? Hoping to esclate it somehow 🙂
Correct. After the statement closes in which you meet the spending requirement.
Just had another idea or thought….my first due date is April 2nd, but what if I change my due date going foward to the 6th, so I could pay the remaining balance by April 6th instead of waiting for May 2nd? I’m guessing these questions center around the Chase Card provider rather than the SW Rewards provider?
Yes. You will need to work with Chase on this.
FYI, Your article shows 2 different annual fees for the Chase Card where you earn the companion bonus.
Also, if you spend $5k in the first month you have the card how soon would I be able to use the companion benefit? Since it is only good until next February I want to maximize it this spring too.
Lastly, can I use it to fly others with companions or do I always have to be one of the ticket holders?
Hi Rayne. There are three cards all offering this right now and each of them has a different annual fee.
Regarding how quickly you would receive the Companion pass, generally, you would receive it within a few days after your card statement closes in which you met the spending requirement.
My husband and I both have personal Chase SW cards and have had them more than 2 yrs, Could one of us cxl a personal card and reapply in a couple weeks to attain this bonus? Or would it trigger something negative with Chase?
Hi Kim. That absolutely should work. I would give it 30 days from when you close the card to reapply. And I would also suggest applying for a different version than you currently have.
Do I actually have to spend the $5,000 by March 10 to qualify?
No, you’d simply have to apply while the offer is still available and then spend $5,000 within three months of being approved for the card.
Great deal, I just wish Southwest had more (direct) flights out of MSP to destinations I am interested in.
Does the point transfer go the other way? Can the points in Southwest credit card be transferred to Chase Sapphire? Thanks
They can not. Transfers are only one way