50,000 Point Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card is Back [Expired]

January 26, 2012 By Million Mile Secrets

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This offer is currently no longer available. Please check the Hot Deals tab for the latest offers. I don’t currently get a referral for any of these Southwest Airline credit card deals. I write about them because I’ve got these cards and think it is cool that Emily can fly with me for free for a year just because I opened a credit card or two. FreeFrequentFlyerMiles posted that the Southwest Airline home page is displaying an ad for the Chase 50,000 point Southwest Airlines Premier credit card. (Thanks to commenter Nathan for showing me how to make a picture link to another website!)

I had a link to an unpublicized version of the 50,000 offer in the Hot Deals tab since November, but it is nice to see the offer resurface on the Southwest Airlines home page.

As many readers know, the 50,000 credit card sign-on bonus from the Southwest Airlines credit card is currently counting towards the 110,000 points required for a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass. However, this could change at any time and without prior notice.

If you earn the Companion Pass in 2012, you’ll get to designate a companion who flies free with you up to the end of 2013. That’s close to 2 years of free flying!

I earned the Companion Pass in 2011 and have already have some trips planned. Getting 1 personal and 1 business version of this card will get you most of the way to a Companion Pass and here are 10 different ways you could get the remaining points.

The ability to have a companion fly free with you for close to 2 years is seriously one of the best deals in miles and points land. And Southwest awards are one of the easiest award to book – if there is a flight available, it is yours for miles and points.

There are 2 types of Southwest Rapid Rewards cards, both of which award you the sign-on bonus after the 1st purchase.

1. Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier.

Both the personal and the business versions of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier offer 50,000 bonus points (worth up to $833 in free travel), but they have a $99 fee which is not waived during the 1st year.

However, you get a 6,000 annual point bonus which covers the cost of the $99 fee.

2. Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus.

Just like the Rapid Reward Premier card, you get a 50,000 point sign-up bonus (worth $833 in free travel) with the personal and business Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card.

But the annual fee is $69 which gets you a 3,000 point yearly bonus.

If you plan on keeping the card for more than 1 year, the Rapid Rewards Premier card is the better choice since the $99 fee is worth exactly 6,000 points.

But if you plan on cancelling the card before 1 year, you’re better off with the $69 Rapid Reward Plus card.

Bottom Line: If you fly domestically in the US, the Southwest 50,000 point credit cards are worth a closer look. Even if the 50,000 points doesn’t count toward the Companion Pass, you still get $833 worth of flights on Southwest for just the cost of the annual fee.