Earlier we did a post on the details and initial impressions of the new Chase Southwest Priority card. This is a more detailed full review and we will also answer some of the more frequently asked questions.
Card Overview
- $149 annual fee, not waived first year
- Sign up bonus (obviously subject to change). Up to 65,000 points:
- 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 within the first three months
- An additional 25,000 points after you spend a total of $15,000 within your first year of account opening
- $75 Southwest annual travel credit
- Four upgrade boardings per year when available
- 20% back on in-flight drinks, WiFi, messaging and movies
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earn tier qualifying points towards A-list status
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 2x Southwest points per $1 spent on Southwest and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases
- 1x Southwest points per $1 spent on all other purchases
Card Benefits
A lot of the benefits talk about an anniversary year. Anniversary year is defined as ‘the year beginning with your account open date through the first statement date after your account open date anniversary, and the 12 monthly billing cycles after that each year.’
$75 Southwest annual travel credit
This card gives you an annual $75 travel credit on Southwest purchases. This credit is based on your anniversary year rather than your calendar year.
Upgraded boardings and inflight purchases are excluded. I assume this is because you receive four upgraded boardings annually for free and inflight purchases get a 20% discount and it’s too difficult for the system to apply the two sets of rules.
Upgraded Boardings
Every anniversary year you will be reimbursed for the purchase of 4 upgraded boardings. Upgraded boardings are positions A1-A15. These can be purchased on the day of travel only at either the depature gate or ticket counter and aren’t always available. Price of these upgraded boardings varies based on the itinerary, I think it’s usually $30-$40.
The benefits of being in this boarding position is you may be able to get an exit row seat (and at worst you’ll get another seat you want) and you can find overhead bin space.
20% Back On In Flight Purchases
You receive 20% back (in the form of statement credits) on the in flight purchase of drinks, messaging, movies, and Wi-Fi. This will appear on your statement within 1-2 billing cycles. Authorized users also receive this benefit
Tier Credits
For every $10,000 in purchases you make you’ll earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs), you’re limited to $100,000 in spend or 15,000 TQPs. These can be used towards qualifying for A-List status (35,000 TQPs or 25 qualifying one way flights) or A-List preferred (70,000 TQPS or 50 qualifying one way flights).
F.A.Q’s
Can you product change to this product?
Yes it’s possible to product change to this product. Chase is currently offering some selected cardholders 5,000 points for doing so. More information on that here.
Does the Chase 5/24 rule apply to this card?
The Chase 5/24 rule has applied to all other Southwest cards for some time. Readers are also reporting that it applies to this new card as well (1, , .
When does the sign up bonus end?
Currently it’s marked as ending on August 22nd, 2018. I suspect after this date the sign up bonus will be lowered, thus making it harder to get the Southwest companion pass just from the sign up bonus on this card and a business card. People like to time it so their points post in January, that way you get the companion pass for the rest of that year and then the following year as well. That being said given you need to spend $15,000 to get this full bonus it’s also entirely possible they will keep this bonus long term.
Is the Chase Southwest Premier card still available?
This application page is still live. Chase is only advertising the Plus & Priority card (at least on the Priority card landing page), so they might plan to discontinue the Premier in the future.
Is the card metal?
No idea. I’m guessing no since it’s not advertised as such but metal credit cards are so common these days it’s hard to know for sure.
