Chase Increases The Sign Up Bonus To 50,000 Miles On All Three Southwest Cards

The Offer

• Chase has increased the sign up bonus to 50,000 miles on all three of it’s Southwest cards, you’ll need to spend $2,000 within three months to receive this bonus. The annual fees are NOT waived on these cards.
  • Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Personal Plus Card. $69 annual fee, 3,000 mile anniversary bonus [can’t seem to find a non affiliate link for this card]
  • Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Personal Premier Card. $99 annual fee, 6,000 miles anniversary bonus.
  • Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Business Premier Card. $99, 6,000 mile anniversary bonus.

The Fine Print

• Cards earn at the following rates:
  • 2x miles on all Southwest purchases
  • 1x miles on all other purchases

Our Verdict

These cards are almost always at 50,000 miles, sometimes the affiliate links disappear but it’s usually possible to get at least 50,000 miles on the personal premier card. The main reason people like the Southwest cards so much is that if you earn 110,000 miles in a calendar year then you earn a companion pass which lets on person join you on all of your flights (including award flights) for free for the rest of that calendar year and then the following calendar year.

Obviously because of the way the companion pass works, the best time to get the 110,000 points is the very start of the year. That way you basically get it for close on two full years. Sign up bonuses do count towards the 110,000 points required, so after meeting the minimum spend you’ll be 6,000 points short. We’ll do a more detailed post on the companion pass shortly.

I like Southwest miles because they have a fixed value of 1.43¢ per point (70 points = $1) on wanna get away fares. You can redeem your miles for any available seat which is incredibly useful for large groups or families and last minute flights.

Chase combines credit pulls (although they won’t combine one personal/one business) so theoretically you could score 100,000 miles for one hard pull. You’ll most likely need to call reconsideration though and you’ll need a good reason as to why you need both of the personal cards, I think you’ll probably have more success applying for one personal and one business if you’re going after the companion pass.

I’m going to pass on these cards, I don’t really need a companion pass at the moment but this is probably the best time of the year to apply for these cards if you are interested in the companion pass. I’d also sign up for the personal plus card, as that has the lower annual fee and I’d be surprised if it’s not discontinued soon.

Useful posts:

• Chase cards are churnable every 24 months
• Chase will match sign up bonuses if you’ve applied for an inferior offer in the last 90 days
• Chase offers expedited shipping for free
• Chase will combine multiple inquiries
• Check to see if you have a higher pre-approved bonus from Chase first (incredibly doubtful for this offer)
• Asking for a credit limit increase with Chase will result in a hard pull
• It is possible to reallocate your credit limits without a hard pull with Chase
• If you don’t want to pay the annual fee in the second year, click here for your best downgrade options

Hat tip to Mile Cards