Southwest Airlines Credit Card Promo - Help!

[TarrahA]

I'm thinking about going for the SWA credit card to get the bonus sign up points. I'm wondering if anyone that has done it could provide me w/ some insight. Here are my questions:

1) I've read that some ppl were able to get the previously ran promo for 50k points even though its expired just by calling & asking, which of course I would try, has anyone been successful at this? If not, the 25k current promo would still be substantial savings on my airfare since our flights are pretty cheap from Dallas.

2) the wording on the promo says "25k points / 1 roundtrip flight" - is this just marketing or do they limit you to one flight, even if you could get more? For ex: My RT flight would be 12,780 points. I could get almost 2 RTs w/ the 25k if I was able to get the remaining balance gifted or bought, but would they leave my points on acct for me to do that or wipe the remaining balance out after the first RT was bought?

3) I know there's an annual fee but does it hit as soon as you get the card, or at your anniversary? Just wanting to make sure I'm factoring all costs in before calculating savings.

Thanks for any/all input!!!

 

[NokOnHarts]

We got this card a year ago when it was the 50,000 points. Not sure about calling and asking.

How it worked for us is that it was 50,000 points that we could use in any way. The marketing said "good for 2 RT flights" but you can use it in any form, you are not limited to 1 flight - just the 25,000 points in this case. If you can stretch that out to more than 1 flight go for it!

The annual fee hits on your anniversary, 1 year after opening the card. Not sure if it's changed, but for our card, we get 6,000 points each anniversary which is the same as the $99 fee we have to pay, so essentially we're just moving $100 into our points bank.

We've loved the card. It's been very easy to acquire and redeem points. No hoops to jump through. As long as you're able to pay off the balance each month it's a great savings. Not sure how much it really pays off if you're paying interest though....

Hope that helps!

 

[TarrahA]

Yes it did, thanks much!!!

 

[NokOnHarts]

You're welcome.

 

[Dacky619]

We got this card a year ago when it was the 50,000 points. Not sure about calling and asking.

How it worked for us is that it was 50,000 points that we could use in any way. The marketing said "good for 2 RT flights" but you can use it in any form, you are not limited to 1 flight - just the 25,000 points in this case. If you can stretch that out to more than 1 flight go for it!

The annual fee hits on your anniversary, 1 year after opening the card. Not sure if it's changed, but for our card, we get 6,000 points each anniversary which is the same as the $99 fee we have to pay, so essentially we're just moving $100 into our points bank.

We've loved the card. It's been very easy to acquire and redeem points. No hoops to jump through. As long as you're able to pay off the balance each month it's a great savings. Not sure how much it really pays off if you're paying interest though....

Hope that helps!

Just FYI we just got this card 3 months ago and the very first charge was the $99 annual fee. I know they have different levels so maybe it depends on what card you get. Now they do offset that fee on my card by giving a bonus 6000 points every year (equals about $100 in wanna get away fares).

 

[DizMe]

Just FYI we just got this card 3 months ago and the very first charge was the $99 annual fee. I know they have different levels so maybe it depends on what card you get. Now they do offset that fee on my card by giving a bonus 6000 points every year (equals about $100 in wanna get away fares).

Yes, they do charge the annual fee immediately, and something to note is that it does NOT count toward the amount you must spend before getting the sign-up points.

 

[lolobug]

I called to try for 50k and they did not give it to me
I went with chase preferred sapphire. I get 40K, no fees (first year). My points transfer directly to SW.

 

[NokOnHarts]

That's a bummer that they changed it. We were not charged the $99 till after the 1st year. We also only had to make a small purchase to receive the points - I think I charged $2 or something minor.

 

[3angelsmom]

Just want to jump in and say I love SW Rapid Rewards and have the RR credit card. Straightforward and easy to use. I don't know how successful you will be trying to get the 50,000 pts since the promo ended a while ago, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask.

One of the reasons I love RR is that they are easy to redeem. The points you get don't have to be used for one flight...they can be used in any combination. No blackout dates either. It's also fairly easy to earn points, with or without the credit card. I believe the credit card gives you 3x/points on restaurants participating in the dining program, or you can earn points with many hotel chains, rental cars, and e-rewards, to name a few.

If you don't try for the SW cc, I agree with the PP that the Chase Sapphire is a great alternative b/c you can tx your points to SW. If SW will only given you 25000 points right now, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is actually a better deal. They are giving 40,000 points after spending $3000 in 3 months.

Another card that I don't have but have heard is good is the Capital One Venture Card - points can be redeemed on any airline.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I'd definitely wait on Southwest until the bonus goes back up to 50k. Do you have anything that qualifies you to open a business SW card too? I opened both a personal and a business card in one day, 100k total miles.

 

[hsmamato2]

to pp,I don't know what happened with your acct- but you always get charged the annual fee right away.... it's a great card, but the sapphire card is better right now for bonus points.....

 

[SandrA9810]

I've booked 4 round trips since getting the card last year, and still have 20,000+ points to use. Now the card is used regularly each month, and there were bonus points for creating a new account.

It's easy to book flights for anyone, but you will need to enter each person's RR number on booking. It has to be done the RR account of the card holder.

 

[TarrahA]

Thanks all for the great info so far!! I did see the sapphire card but my Disney balance is only at $2k, just enough to qualify twice for the RR card (me & BF will consider each getting one to double points), and not sure how long it would take me to rack up another 1k to get the points w/ sapphire, don't want to have to wait too long to get & use the points & risk the rates going up - right now they are super low for late sept/early oct from Dallas.

And to answer previous ? - no, I don't have a business or tax ID to qualify for that route but thanks for the suggestion

 

[TarrahA]

I'd definitely wait on Southwest until the bonus goes back up to 50k. Do you have anything that qualifies you to open a business SW card too? I opened both a personal and a business card in one day, 100k total miles.

Is there any speculation on when they'll offer it again?? I'd live to wait but again, would hate to miss out on the super low fares right now.

 

[carissa1970]

Is there any speculation on when they'll offer it again?? I'd live to wait but again, would hate to miss out on the super low fares right now.

I haven't seen any "super low fares"...am I missing something?

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[TarrahA]

I haven't seen any "super low fares"...am I missing something?

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Are you flying out of Dallas love field? My dates are 9/28-10/05 & I'm seeing flights for $127/pp both ways, which seems pretty low to me. Point rates are 6,390/each which can get about 1.75 RT's w/ the 25k promo (when they're advertising just 1 RT). May not be low in comparison to other areas but I've been shopping since March & this is the lowest I've seen. Does anyone more experienced think they'll stay at this rate or get cheaper?? This will be my first time flying in over 10 yrs so I'm obviously no expert on airfare costs LOL

 

[Duffy Lover]

I LOVE Southwest... 50,000 points can go a long way... If you use it properly you can buy all on the card and pay off, earning lots of points. We got the 50,000 point deal last summer for both I and my hubby and we used it for 8+ flights home at Christmas. We have then since accrued enough points to do 12 separate flight segments this summer for just under $44 per flight (an average between flights and points -considering I am a math teacher after all). Regardless I think this offer and having this card is wonderful. Let me put it this way...

We are charter members on the Disney Card back when it was one point per dollar, and now it is one point per $100. The Southwest card is 1 point per dollar and bonus points for other sales... SOOO worth it! I love the free luggage, the seating policy, everything! I would do this even with 25,000 points, but 50,000 is sweet... Good luck!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I have been waiting for the 50k deal as well to get DH the card. I have had it over a year and live it. He will use it for business expenses so will really rack up. I am on the fence about doing it for 25k points. We were closing on our house during the last promo and couldn't app for other credit so as to not mess up any score/ratios/etc. Hate that we missed it!

 

[TarrahA]

We are charter members on the Disney Card back when it was one point per dollar, and now it is one point per $100. The Southwest card is 1 point per dollar and bonus points for other sales... SOOO worth it! I love the free luggage, the seating policy, everything! I would do this even with 25,000 points, but 50,000 is sweet... Good luck!

Man, you should be their poster child, you make it sound so good I might have applied without any promos! Lol. But yea, like PP I'm on the fence. I think we're definitely going to go for it, just would hate to apply & then the 50k promo comes back next month, my typical luck!!! I think if me & BF go for one each I'd be fine then, at least DW flights would be covered but would suck to be out another 50k. Not sure how my credit would stack up tho, guess I should just be thankful I can even get the 25k w/ BF - excellent credit. I'm in mid 600's, it's always a roll of dice on whether I get approved or not. Ex: my bank approved a 3.5k limit, but target only gave me $200. Other stores denied altogether, lol.

Speaking of Target - anyone know if you can pay on SWA credit card balance w/ gift cards? I've heard ppl pay Kohl's card w/ them b/c they're in house financed, is SWA card like this also? Just a long shot, but every bit helps!

 

[3angelsmom]

Is there any speculation on when they'll offer it again?? I'd live to wait but again, would hate to miss out on the super low fares right now.

they used to offer it every 3-4 months. right now there's only a targeted email offer for 50000 points. fwiw, some other travel blogs i read speculate that it won't be offered again to the general public this summer.

I don't know if the rates you posted were good or not, but the great thing about SW RR is that if you book with points you could rebook w/o penalty if a lower rate comes out and the points get refunded back to your account. If you book with cash then rebook, you are given a credit that needs to be used within a certain time period (I think a year?). Points OTOH don't expire as long as you earn at least once in a 24 month period. HTH