Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

[JayhawkFans]

Looking for information about the current offer from Southwest Airlines. I am not interested in the card for purposes of booking airfare but I am interested in other ways to redeem the 50,000 points.

I have read where people use the 50,000 points earned with enrollment / first purchase to pay for rental car, Universal tickets, etc. Just curious how to accomplish that b/c when I go to Southwest's website all I can find are vacation packages to include airfare which we don't need ..

 

[cyndik1111]

go to sw website
click on the Rapid rewards button
then click on "how to redeem"
then click on "redeem more"
then click "explore rewards"

all kinds of stuff- gift cards, rental cards, cruises, etc

A really good deal. i haven't been able to find a downside to it.
6 people in our family all got the card and points.

I did the chase sapphire card also. And that one is even better if you don't want flights- because they will let you convert points to cash or transfer them to SW rapid rewards.

 

[PebblesMK]

Looking for information about the current offer from Southwest Airlines. I am not interested in the card for purposes of booking airfare but I am interested in other ways to redeem the 50,000 points.

I have read where people use the 50,000 points earned with enrollment / first purchase to pay for rental car, Universal tickets, etc. Just curious how to accomplish that b/c when I go to Southwest's website all I can find are vacation packages to include airfare which we don't need ..

Is this for their credit card? I saw they had two free tickets with first purchase. I couldn't tell if the first purchase had to be with Southwest or if it's any purchase? I'd be interested in the points though, care to explain a bit further?

 

[a1tinkfans]

you get 50k for ANY purchase you make, you can then use the points for flights or anything you choose, if you follow the links provided in the other post, youll see it all....see what points gets you what....the flights are awesome, you can literally get more than 2 round trips FREE if you plan it out...off peak using least miles etc...good luck...sw really is great.......

 

[XYSRUS]

There is a $69 yearly fee associated with this. Correct?

 

[sissy_ib]

There is a $69 yearly fee associated with this. Correct?

There are two cards. One has a $69 a year fee, the premier card has a $99 a year fee. I applied for the premier card and it is on it's way.

A little off topic. Does anyone know if the points amount needed goes up like the airfare? We are going to San Diego in January which is why I got the card, but we wont know for sure until maybe two months out. Will the points amount be way more then?

 

[Ginny Favers]

Does anyone have the link to a current offer for 50,000 points? The only one on the site now appears to be for 25,000 points.

 

[sissy_ib]

Does anyone have the link to a current offer for 50,000 points? The only one on the site now appears to be for 25,000 points.

From Southwest.com

http://www.mychasecreditcards.com/southwest/2ffpromobox

 

[Marionnette]

There are two cards. One has a $69 a year fee, the premier card has a $99 a year fee. I applied for the premier card and it is on it's way.

A little off topic. Does anyone know if the points amount needed goes up like the airfare? We are going to San Diego in January which is why I got the card, but we wont know for sure until maybe two months out. Will the points amount be way more then?

The number of points is based on the dollar value of the ticket at the time that you book. It takes 60 RR pts/dollar for Wanna Get Away fares. So, a $100 airfare would cost 6,000 RR points.

The good thing is that if you book and your price goes down, you can re-book the same flight and have the extra points returned to your RR account immediately. I just did it this morning and had 2600 points returned to my account!

 

[Dictator]

Good luck getting a seat on a flight using their "free" voucher. They have a very limited number of seats per flight.

 

[disneymomjcs]

Same on US Airways Mastercard I get a coupon buy one ticket get two for $99. the first ticket has to be $250 or more and you get like three months to pick to use it. It goes to waste every single year. Stinks

 

[Marionnette]

Good luck getting a seat on a flight using their "free" voucher. They have a very limited number of seats per flight.

It's not a "free voucher". They are Rapid Reward points and they are good for ANY fare. There are no "sold out" seats nor are there any blackout dates.

 

[sissy_ib]

The number of points is based on the dollar value of the ticket at the time that you book. It takes 60 RR pts/dollar for Wanna Get Away fares. So, a $100 airfare would cost 6,000 RR points.

The good thing is that if you book and your price goes down, you can re-book the same flight and have the extra points returned to your RR account immediately. I just did it this morning and had 2600 points returned to my account!

Thanks for the breakdown. So that would mean the 50,000 bonus points would be at least two free flights right?

 

[Lucille1963]

Good luck getting a seat on a flight using their "free" voucher. They have a very limited number of seats per flight.

I do not believe they limit the amount of points that can be used on a flight like a voucher. I've used these points to book flights at months out and at weeks out and I wasn't blacked out. I was skeptical when I signed up for the card last year but it worked out great. DH just got his in the mail a couple weeks go.

 

[cjnix29]

so how long does it take for the points to hit your account? I have flights I want to book. I've gotten the card, and made my first purchase....now how long do I wait?!

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks for the breakdown. So that would mean the 50,000 bonus points would be at least two free flights right?

Well, I can see some cases where they might not add up to two RT flights but for the most part, the answer would be yes. 50,000 points translates to around $830 in Wanna Get Away fares. If each of your legs costs more than $209, then the answer would be no.

so how long does it take for the points to hit your account? I have flights I want to book. I've gotten the card, and made my first purchase....now how long do I wait?!

The points won't go into your RR account until after your first statement is generated. That could be as long as 30 days after you made your first purchase, depending on when your payment due date is. I know that some people went online and changed their date to a sooner day just so that it would get those rewards points into their account sooner.

 

[sissy_ib]

Well, I can see some cases where they might not add up to two RT flights but for the most part, the answer would be yes. 50,000 points translates to around $830 in Wanna Get Away fares. If each of your legs costs more than $209, then the answer would be no.

Our flights are about $250 RT. So it will only be about 30,000 points for two RT tickets. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something and I would indeed still have about 20,000 points.

 

[MickeyManiac]

Thanks for the breakdown. So that would mean the 50,000 bonus points would be at least two free flights right?

Sadly I cannot get 2 r/t tickets for 50,000 from SLC to anywhere in Florida. Right now those flights are running $600 r/t each but it sure helps.

 

[JayhawkFans]

Seriously??? Was it that easy??? I am a Chase cardholder with a Disney Visa so my application was basically "on file" with Chase .. I just had to update a couple of boxes .. hit submit .. and automatically had a confirmation screen pop up that the card was approved and will be mailed within 2 weeks. Does that seriously mean I'll be approved for the 50,000 points after my first purchase??

If that is true ... our trip is in Sept .. we would use the points for Universal Studios / dining gift cards / Walmart etc .. is it safe to assume that by getting the card mid-May .. making a purchase right away .. possibly changing the "billing date" to an earlier date and paying off the first purchase right away that we could have the necessary cards in our hands to redeem in Sept??

 

[cjnix29]

Seriously??? Was it that easy??? I am a Chase cardholder with a Disney Visa so my application was basically "on file" with Chase .. I just had to update a couple of boxes .. hit submit .. and automatically had a confirmation screen pop up that the card was approved and will be mailed within 2 weeks. Does that seriously mean I'll be approved for the 50,000 points after my first purchase??

If that is true ... our trip is in Sept .. we would use the points for Universal Studios / dining gift cards / Walmart etc .. is it safe to assume that by getting the card mid-May .. making a purchase right away .. possibly changing the "billing date" to an earlier date and paying off the first purchase right away that we could have the necessary cards in our hands to redeem in Sept??

If you are successful in changing your billing date, let me know. It wouldn't let me do it.