Question about SW Visa points

[DizMe]

I recently got a Southwest Visa with the 50,000 point promo.

Now I have a dumb question about that. I know I have to spend $2000 in the first 3 months in order to get the points. Does that mean that you start earning more points only after you've spent $2000? In other words, the 50,000 points is not a sign-up bonus but something you get only after spending the money?

 

[cepmom]

you have to spend $2000 the first three months to get the bonus 50,000 points, but you will also earn points on the $2000 that you spend (1 point per $, or 2 points per $ spent on SW and partner purchases)

 

[AckermanPartyof6]

Does anyone know how soon the points are available for use after spending the 2k?

 

[cepmom]

the 50,000 bonus points should post at end of the credit card billing cycle, in the month that the $2000 spending is reached, but I know that sometimes it can take 6-8 weeks for the bonus to post.

In my experience, the points post on the SW website within a couple days of the credit card cycle closing (regular points, not the bonus)

 

[zoemurr]

so we need 4 tickets from NY to MCO the end of August. Of course we didn't buy them when they came out and now they just keep going up and up.

If I got this CC right now, and paid $2,000 right away (having new carpet installed) would this timeline work to get the tickets for August?

About how much money would this save us?

 

[bjscheel]

Zoemurr- Do you know your statement closing date? My bonus was posted a day after the closing date (in the cycle in which we reached $2000).

We got our cc's in January. I got DH's points first and booked as many tickets as I could in early March for an early June flight. I got my points mid-March and bought the last two tickets I needed. Shortly after that the flights went up and have stayed there. I think there was a sale going on. Anyway, so I bought my flights approx. 2.5 months beforehand. You can still get your points in time, but there's no telling what prices will do when you are ready to buy. The good news is if you book with points, and the prices go down, you can change to the lower price and get the points put right back in your account.

I would look now and see what flights are running and see how many points they take. DH and I both got cards so we had enough to fly to and from California with quite a bit left over since I got decent fares. If you can't buy round-trip with points, at least maybe you can get one way bought with points.

 

[zoemurr]

Zoemurr- Do you know your statement closing date? My bonus was posted a day after the closing date (in the cycle in which we reached $2000).

We got our cc's in January. I got DH's points first and booked as many tickets as I could in early March for an early June flight. I got my points mid-March and bought the last two tickets I needed. Shortly after that the flights went up and have stayed there. I think there was a sale going on. Anyway, so I bought my flights approx. 2.5 months beforehand. You can still get your points in time, but there's no telling what prices will do when you are ready to buy. The good news is if you book with points, and the prices go down, you can change to the lower price and get the points put right back in your account.

I would look now and see what flights are running and see how many points they take. DH and I both got cards so we had enough to fly to and from California with quite a bit left over since I got decent fares. If you can't buy round-trip with points, at least maybe you can get one way bought with points.

I haven't applied yet but I'm seriously considering it since DH didn't think it was smart to book the day the tickets were $90.

Just wondering if I still had enough time.

There is a fee for the card, right? Do the points expire? Thanks.

 

[bjscheel]

I haven't applied yet but I'm seriously considering it since DH didn't think it was smart to book the day the tickets were $90.

Just wondering if I still had enough time.

There is a fee for the card, right? Do the points expire? Thanks.

You do have time if you can charge the $2K right away- for us it was 2 months or so from application to points in our accounts. Maybe less than 2 months on DH's card- we charged on it first. Also depends on how your closing date falls.

There is a fee- $69.99 but if you still have the card in a year you get 3000 points on your card anniversary to help make up for the fee. The points don't expire as long as you have "partner activity" every 24 months. Now I haven't figured out if that just means use your cc every 24 months or if you have to actually use it at SW or one of their RR partners. I have heard people give both answers- so I need to do more research on that. If you fly fairly frequently, and this year is cutting it close, you could apply now and gather points for next year's vacation instead. Who knows how long or how often they will offer the 50,000 points.

I have used up almost all of DH's points, so I am going to cancel his card before the next annual fee and concentrate on earning points on my card. I have 34,000 left so that could potentially get us to WDW next year. Plus I can have him charge some more fuel on it in the meantime. He can earn 2% cashback on his CapOne card, but the points are almost more valuable in having the booking flexibility since we are pretty sure we will fly every 1 or 2 years.

Good luck on your fares no matter which way you end up!

 

[mm1971]

I recently got a Southwest Visa with the 50,000 point promo.

Now I have a dumb question about that. I know I have to spend $2000 in the first 3 months in order to get the points. Does that mean that you start earning more points only after you've spent $2000? In other words, the 50,000 points is not a sign-up bonus but something you get only after spending the money?

No. You earn points on every purchase. The 50K points is a bonus that is added once you hit the $2K. I got my card in January and charged the $2K right away (I had an expected expense so it worked out perfectly). I was credited with the 50K points, plus the points for the transaction.

 

[mm1971]

so we need 4 tickets from NY to MCO the end of August. Of course we didn't buy them when they came out and now they just keep going up and up.

If I got this CC right now, and paid $2,000 right away (having new carpet installed) would this timeline work to get the tickets for August?

About how much money would this save us?

Yes, you'll get the points at the next statement closing. To see what you save, go to the SW website and check for flights. Click the points button and it will tell you how many points it costs. Click the $ button to see the price and how much you save by using points. We booked out late August tickets about a month ago from Manchester, NH and the prices actually dropped so we re-booked.

 

[DizMe]

Oh great!!! Thanks so much for the information. I was thinking that I wouldn't be earning anything on the money I'm spending other than the 50,000 points. I'm nearly to $2000--woohoo! Lots of points for our Dec. trip.