Southwest Airlines visa and Rapid Rewards program

[Anonymous]

I had this credit card years ago when I was single and living in Florida. I used it for absolutely everything minus rent and scored free flights at least once per year. This was when one flight leg of any length or duration = one credit! and 16 credits = one free trip. No blackouts, no other details. Customer service on the credit card was good, too. I moved to a city without Southwest and got a different credit card. Ten years later, I'm married with kids in MOCO and find myself using SW and BWI more often than DCA. I know the SW rewards program has changed but I can't really figure out the details. Does anyone have it, use it, and can tell me about the customer service on the Visa card and/or the ease or difficulty in earning and using free tickets? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

re is how you get companion status on SW. One person (either you or your dw/dh) has to apply to Chase for the two cards below. Please note that one of them is a business card. All you have to do for that one is to put in the Social of the person that applies and use a business name. I would apply to that one first since the requirements to get it are a bit tougher.

Once you have them, they will both give you a 50K point bonus if you spend $2K in three months (so $4K total in 3 months). Important that you spend $2K on each, you can’t do $3K on one and $1K on the other. There are ways to churn if you need them that I can point you to. I would suggest getting a second card for each in whoever does not signs up name, i.e. if she signs up she adds you as an authorized user with your own card. That way it is easier to get to the spend requirement.



Once you did this, you will have 104K miles with Southwest, 100K in sign up bonuses and 4K in points based on your spending (IMPORTANT: Cash advances do NOT count so don’t do them). You then need to spend another $6K (on whichever card you choose) or get another 6000 points through flights or offers. One great offer they usually have is 1000 points if you spend $30 at 1-800-Flowers. Offers are on their website. Once you have the 6K points, you will have a total of 110K points which gives you companion status.



What is companion status? You have to earn it this year and it is good for the rest of the year and all of 2015. Whoever gets it has to declare a specific person as their companion, i.e. if you do it you have to pick whoever you would travel with () as your companion. Every time you then book travel, you can after the booking go online, click on the itinerary and add your companion to the flight. You only have to pay the taxes and fees. IMPORTANT note, you have to book on the SW website, but it can be Airtran metal. You can’t book on the Airtran website and then add the companion. Some international destinations are currently only available on the Airtran website. Most of them are bookable now for travel from BWI for July/August and they are starting a Sat trip from Reagan to Nassau as well (exact dates on their website). Domestic you can of course book any SW routing from/to any airport.


Benefits…first, you get 110K miles which if you book out far enough you should be able to use for 3.5 – 4 r/t which when added with companion status means 3.5 – 4 r/t for the both of you! Second, you can of course also buy tickets and then get 2 tickets for the price of one. SW fares are cheap far out…but when combined with 2 -1 they will usually be a great deal. Third, huge network in US, that is expanding to Mexico and Caribbean.

[Anonymous]

+1 We got companion status late last year. It's probably saved us $10,000, cause we always travel together and always fly SW domestically.

We put everything on the card, and rack up points faster than we can use them. I think we have over 120K right now.

We also volunteer to be bumped anytime the flight is oversold, which is happening more often lately. That's earned us about $2,500 toward future flights. They pay you for the leg you bumped PLUS $200-$300 and a small amount for food at the airport -- for both you and the companion (even though the companion paid nothing for the flight).

I <3 SW.

[Anonymous]

Wow I need to look into the companion thing! I got a SW card last year and with the bonus miles plus putting most spending on it, I got 4 free tickets within a year, value approx $1400. I think it's a great deal.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all. Great explanations. We currently use our American Airlines card for everything but since moving to this area, we rarely fly AA. However, their customer service is excellent. Is that the case with the SW card?

[Anonymous]

I fly SW all the time, but their credit cards are terrible. 15% What a joke. I get 7.9% on my card. Plus the SW cards have an annual fee.

No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I fly SW all the time, but their credit cards are terrible. 15% What a joke. I get 7.9% on my card. Plus the SW cards have an annual fee.

No thanks.

15% what? Apr? Who cares.... Just don't spend more than you earn....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I fly SW all the time, but their credit cards are terrible. 15% What a joke. I get 7.9% on my card. Plus the SW cards have an annual fee.

No thanks.

15% what? Apr? Who cares.... Just don't spend more than you earn....

Do you ever carry a balance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I fly SW all the time, but their credit cards are terrible. 15% What a joke. I get 7.9% on my card. Plus the SW cards have an annual fee.

No thanks.

15% what? Apr? Who cares.... Just don't spend more than you earn....

Do you ever carry a balance?

No

[Anonymous]

OP here again. The AA card also has an annual fee and a high APR, but we pay the balance in full every month. So, obnoxious as the APR is, it doesn't apply to us. The fee does, however. Can anyone tell me about the SW card customer service? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Annual fees and high APRs are just complete nonstarters for me. Why do you sign up for these when there are so many other more competitive products available?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Annual fees and high APRs are just complete nonstarters for me. Why do you sign up for these when there are so many other more competitive products available?

Because it can be worth it. Take the venture or fidelity 2% products that carry a $59 fee. I spend $7k a month on my card. That's an extra $425 a year compared to what I'd get with a 1,5% card. Happy to pay $59 to get $400. Or take the British airways card - I paid $90 annual fee for that but got two round trip business class tickets to France with it, stopover in Italy and London included. I'll take that $6,000+ worth of airfare for $90. Or take the SW card or even the hilton or spg cards. Same deal. Sure I have to spend $140 to pull off the SW deal but I end up with literally EIGHT round trip tickets? Seems like a helluva deal to me. Plus, seeing as I travel SW a decent amount for pleasure, the companion status pays off in spades. High aprs are meaningless to me since I pay in full anyway. What products would you say are better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:re is how you get companion status on SW. One person (either you or your dw/dh) has to apply to Chase for the two cards below. Please note that one of them is a business card. All you have to do for that one is to put in the Social of the person that applies and use a business name. I would apply to that one first since the requirements to get it are a bit tougher.

Once you have them, they will both give you a 50K point bonus if you spend $2K in three months (so $4K total in 3 months). Important that you spend $2K on each, you can’t do $3K on one and $1K on the other. There are ways to churn if you need them that I can point you to. I would suggest getting a second card for each in whoever does not signs up name, i.e. if she signs up she adds you as an authorized user with your own card. That way it is easier to get to the spend requirement.



Once you did this, you will have 104K miles with Southwest, 100K in sign up bonuses and 4K in points based on your spending (IMPORTANT: Cash advances do NOT count so don’t do them). You then need to spend another $6K (on whichever card you choose) or get another 6000 points through flights or offers. One great offer they usually have is 1000 points if you spend $30 at 1-800-Flowers. Offers are on their website. Once you have the 6K points, you will have a total of 110K points which gives you companion status.



What is companion status? You have to earn it this year and it is good for the rest of the year and all of 2015. Whoever gets it has to declare a specific person as their companion, i.e. if you do it you have to pick whoever you would travel with () as your companion. Every time you then book travel, you can after the booking go online, click on the itinerary and add your companion to the flight. You only have to pay the taxes and fees. IMPORTANT note, you have to book on the SW website, but it can be Airtran metal. You can’t book on the Airtran website and then add the companion. Some international destinations are currently only available on the Airtran website. Most of them are bookable now for travel from BWI for July/August and they are starting a Sat trip from Reagan to Nassau as well (exact dates on their website). Domestic you can of course book any SW routing from/to any airport.


Benefits…first, you get 110K miles which if you book out far enough you should be able to use for 3.5 – 4 r/t which when added with companion status means 3.5 – 4 r/t for the both of you! Second, you can of course also buy tickets and then get 2 tickets for the price of one. SW fares are cheap far out…but when combined with 2 -1 they will usually be a great deal. Third, huge network in US, that is expanding to Mexico and Caribbean.

For the Southwest Business Card, it appears that you need to provide a business name, tax ID number, and information regarding number of employees and revenues. Did you somehow get around this without actually owning a business?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:re is how you get companion status on SW. One person (either you or your dw/dh) has to apply to Chase for the two cards below. Please note that one of them is a business card. All you have to do for that one is to put in the Social of the person that applies and use a business name. I would apply to that one first since the requirements to get it are a bit tougher.

Once you have them, they will both give you a 50K point bonus if you spend $2K in three months (so $4K total in 3 months). Important that you spend $2K on each, you can’t do $3K on one and $1K on the other. There are ways to churn if you need them that I can point you to. I would suggest getting a second card for each in whoever does not signs up name, i.e. if she signs up she adds you as an authorized user with your own card. That way it is easier to get to the spend requirement.



Once you did this, you will have 104K miles with Southwest, 100K in sign up bonuses and 4K in points based on your spending (IMPORTANT: Cash advances do NOT count so don’t do them). You then need to spend another $6K (on whichever card you choose) or get another 6000 points through flights or offers. One great offer they usually have is 1000 points if you spend $30 at 1-800-Flowers. Offers are on their website. Once you have the 6K points, you will have a total of 110K points which gives you companion status.



What is companion status? You have to earn it this year and it is good for the rest of the year and all of 2015. Whoever gets it has to declare a specific person as their companion, i.e. if you do it you have to pick whoever you would travel with () as your companion. Every time you then book travel, you can after the booking go online, click on the itinerary and add your companion to the flight. You only have to pay the taxes and fees. IMPORTANT note, you have to book on the SW website, but it can be Airtran metal. You can’t book on the Airtran website and then add the companion. Some international destinations are currently only available on the Airtran website. Most of them are bookable now for travel from BWI for July/August and they are starting a Sat trip from Reagan to Nassau as well (exact dates on their website). Domestic you can of course book any SW routing from/to any airport.


Benefits…first, you get 110K miles which if you book out far enough you should be able to use for 3.5 – 4 r/t which when added with companion status means 3.5 – 4 r/t for the both of you! Second, you can of course also buy tickets and then get 2 tickets for the price of one. SW fares are cheap far out…but when combined with 2 -1 they will usually be a great deal. Third, huge network in US, that is expanding to Mexico and Caribbean.

For the Southwest Business Card, it appears that you need to provide a business name, tax ID number, and information regarding number of employees and revenues. Did you somehow get around this without actually owning a business?

Use your sSN for the tax id. Make up the rest.