Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards Card Is Offering One of Its Best Welcome Bonuses Yet
If you don't already have a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card in your wallet, there's no better time to change that than right now.
The credit card, issued by Chase, is offering one of its best welcome bonuses yet: 100,000 Rapid Rewards points you can use to jet off to any of the 100-plus destinations Southwest Airlines serves — a list that includes idyllic spots like Honolulu, Maui, Cozumel, Cancun, and Los Cabos.
To earn half of that bounty, new cardholders will need to spend $2,000 in the first three months of opening an account. The other half comes after spending a total of $12,000 in the first year of opening an account.
In case you're wondering, 100,000 Rapid Rewards points will buy you about $1,400 on Southwest flights. That's enough to cover multiple round-trip tickets, depending on where you're flying.
Earning 100,000 points through this welcome offer will also put you well on the way to earning Southwest's coveted companion pass, which allows someone to travel with you anywhere on the airline. They'll just need to pay taxes, which typically amount to a bargain $5.60 each way.
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You will, however, have to apply and be approved by Dec. 7 to take advantage of the offer, which is available to anyone opening a new Rapid Rewards Plus, Premier, or Priority card.
And if you're an existing cardholder feeling a little left out, don't. You may not qualify for a welcome bonus, but your Southwest Airlines credit card just got better, too — and without an increase in your annual fee. Southwest's Rapid Rewards Plus and Premier cards have added two EarlyBird check-ins per year — a perk Southwest loyalists will tell you can be priceless.
Cardholders can now also earn more miles on things like in-flight Wi-Fi, local transit, and payments for certain streaming services.
Meena Thiruvengadam is a Travel + Leisure contributor who has visited 50 countries on six continents and 47 U.S. states. She loves historic plaques, wandering new streets and walking on beaches. Find her on Facebook and Instagram.
