New 100k offer on single card. Southwest Airlines offers a unique feature called the Companion Pass, which lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book either paid or award flights (including to Hawaii!). If you either fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 125,000 (100,000 for 2020 due to COVID) qualifying points or 100 one-way flights (75 for 2020 due to COVID) within calendar year 2020, you’ll earn the Companion Pass for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021! You can change your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.

Points earned from credit cards count toward that 125,000/100,000 point requirement, including sign-up bonuses. You can often get very close to that magic number when you add up the potential miles from these Southwest consumer and business cards. This is on top of the value of redeeming those points for miles (75,000 points can get you $1,100+ in Wanna Get Away airfare). Right now, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card has a 100,000 limited-time offer. Given the 6 month spending window, you can time it to either get the 2020/2021 Companion Pass for 100k or 2021/2022 Companion Pass for 125k.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card

• Up to 100,000 Rapid Rewards points. 70,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $25,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
• 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 2 points per $1 spent on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• Inflight WiFi Credits (up to 365 x $8 credits per year).
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit in the form of a statement credit of up to $100 every four years.
• $199 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority card

• 40,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 7,500 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit.
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• 20% back on inflight drinks, WiFi, messaging, and movies.
• Earn tier qualifying points towards A-list status.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $149 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card

• 40,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 3,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $69 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier card

• 40,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $99 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card

• 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $99 annual fee.

Value of Rapid Rewards points. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.5 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to $600+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 40,000 points or $900+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for 60,000 points or $1,100+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 75,000 points (you are still liable for taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way). Importantly, Southwest does NOT have blackout dates or seat restrictions when you redeem with points. This means that Southwest points are much easier to use than a “saver award” on traditional airlines.

Now, if you manage to qualify for the the Companion Pass on every trip that you book with those points, that doubles the potential value of each award redemption. In other words, 125,000 Rapid Rewards, would usually get you $1,850 in Wanna Get Away airfare, but with the Companion Pass you’d get an extra companion ticket for every flight booked.

A backup option is gift card redemptions. You can currently redeem 6,750 points for a $50 a Amazon.com or Walmart gift certificate. That makes 60,000 points worth $444 in Amazon or Walmart gift cards. It’s something, but less than half the value you could get from redeeming for flights.

Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person. The fees on the other airlines have crept up to $30 per bag, each-way. That adds up.

Our family policy is to not try out a new credit card unless it offers us $500 in total value. Just the free award flights from the points are enough to satisfy that rule, and then you can add on the potential value of the companion tickets.

Card restrictions. All of these Southwest credit cards are subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:

The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.

Basically, you can get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card once every 24 months. You can also get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest business card once every 24 months.

Extending your Companion Pass with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest points on a 1:1 basis. If you book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, you can double the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.

Bottom line. Right now, you can earn up to 60,000 Southwest points from qualifying for a single credit card sign-up, which in itself can be redeemed for a lot of free Southwest flights (including Hawaii). Earning 125,000 points overall (including from credit card rewards and bonuses) in a year (100,000 in 2020 due to COVID-19) will earn you the Southwest Companion pass, which provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash or points for the rest of the current year and all of the next year. Finally, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person on every flight.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and the Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

The new Chase Freedom Flex Card application is now live, including the notable addition of 3% cash back on dining out and drugstore purchases. All of the popular features from the old Freedom remain as well: Up to 5% cash back on select categories throughout the year, no annual fee, and the ability to earn Ultimate Rewards points (useful in combination with Chase Sapphire cards). There is also a limited-time intro offer available:

• $200 cash bonus (20,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after $500 in purchases in your first 3 months.
• 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target(R) or Walmart(R) purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. That’s up to $600 cash back the first year (and you can buy many gift cards at grocery stores).
• 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases.

Here are the ongoing features of the Freedom Flex:

• 5X points (5% cash back) on rotating quarterly categories.
• 5X points on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
• 3X points on dining out, take-out, and eligible delivery services.
• 3X points on drugstore purchases.
• 1X points on all other purchases.
• Cell phone insurance is one of the noteworthy World Elite Mastercard benefits. “Up to $800 per claim and $1,000 per year in cell phone protection against theft or damage for phones listed on cardmembers’ monthly bill.”
• 5% total cash back on all Lyft rides through March 2022.
• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass for the first three months*, followed by a 50% discount price at the current rate for the next nine months.
• No annual fee.

From October 1st through December 31st, 2020 you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:

• Walmart (both in-store and at Walmart.com)
• PayPal

Activate each quarter in your online account or at ChaseBonus.com. As long as you activate by the end of each quarterly window, the rewards apply retroactively.

Remember that these cards earn Ultimate Rewards (UR) points, which can then be redeemed for cash at 1 UR point = $0.01. Therefore, you can either view a category as 3X points per dollar points, or 3% cash back. When UR points are transferred to a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve card, they can become much more valuable when converted to frequent flier miles or hotel points. For example, if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, 5x points = 5 United miles per dollar spent, 5 Hyatt points per dollar spent, or 7.5% value back towards travel redeemed at the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

This is a new card (different than the regular Chase Freedom Visa), so everyone should be eligible for the bonus, but Chase does have an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

If you have an existing Chase card like the original Freedom card, you may be able to convert to this card by calling them directly. You won’t get the sign-up offer, but you will get the new ongoing features.

Bottom line. The Chase Freedom Flex Card application is a unique rewards card that lets you earn 5% cash back on select categories each quarter, in addition to a constant 3% cash back on dining out and drugstore purchases. If you have a Chase Sapphire card, the “flexibility” is even greater.

Highest bonus ever. Looks like Chase is getting serious again. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a premium travel rewards credit card that has gotten very popular, now with an improved offer that is the best highest bonus ever. The card earns points that can be redeemed for cash, travel credits, or transferred to airline miles. Here are the highlights:

• 80,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. That means 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel. No blackout dates. As long as there’s a seat on the flight, you can book it through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide, eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out. 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
• Free year of DoorDash DashPass. Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash’s subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
• Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022. That’s 3X points in addition to the 2X points you already earn on travel.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs.
• $95 annual fee.

COVID-19 Note: Chase has added a number of new flexible benefits to this card on a temporary basis to compensate for the effects of COVID-19. This includes the ability to redeem your Ultimate Rewards points towards grocery store, dining out, and home improvement purchases until 9/30/20.

Note the following text:

The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months.

Chase has an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

Ultimate Rewards points. This card offers a special 25% bonus on travel redemptions made through the Ultimate Rewards travel website. For example, 60,000 Ultimate Rewards = $750 in travel. Similar to Expedia or Travelocity, you can book flights on most major airlines and hotel chains. This makes it much more flexible to spend your points. You can even buy something more expensive and pay the difference.

If you have other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points like the Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Cash or Ink Business Unlimited, you can transfer points into this card account and take advantage of the this higher premium. In other words, your existing Ultimate Rewards points balance could be increased in value by getting this card.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card is the “ultra-premium” rewards card that offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.

Prefer airline and/or hotel points? This card also allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points into hotel and/or airline miles. Transfer to United Airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Southwest, Hyatt Hotels, IHG Hotels, and Marriott Hotels at a ratio of 1 Ultimate Rewards point = 1 mile/hotel point. Miles redemption continue to offer great value for savvy travelers, especially for last-minute travel and business class seats. I personally use the transfers to “top off” my account to reach a free coach ticket or free hotel night when I don’t have enough points otherwise. My favorite options are United miles, Southwest miles, and Hyatt hotel points. In this manner, I can often get close to 2 cents per point value.

Cash redemptions are a simple and easy option, but the conversion is a straight 100 points = $1.

Sharing points. Ultimate Rewards points are instantly transferable to other accounts like family members, as long as they have their own Chase card with Ultimate Rewards as an authorized user. This way, you can pool points together for transfers and redemptions if you like.

Additional card benefits:

• Premium, dedicated customer service line with a live person, 24/7. A real person picks up after a couple rings, no phone trees or typing those darn 16 digits over and over. You can use this feature to redeem cash rewards over the phone for free, although booking rewards tickets over the phone costs $20 (doing so online is free).
• Primary car rental collision damage waiver insurance. Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. Most other cards only offer secondary coverage that kicks in only after the deductible of your individual insurance policy is used.
• Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance. If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
• Trip Delay Reimbursement. If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket

Bottom line. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a popular premium travel rewards card. The sign-up bonus is very generous, with 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points worth 80,000 United miles, 80,000 Hyatt points, or $1,000 towards travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. The 2X points on travel and dining out is attractive (although the new Freedom Flex now offers 3X on dining out).

You can only get one Sapphire bonus every 48 months, so compare with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, which offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.

I will be adding this improved offer on my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

• Learn more about this card HERE