Southwest is giving 50,000 points again

[fiestamomma]

Anyone know how much it dings your credit score to open the credit cards and then close them again before the annual fee ?

Not sure how it affects your score, but I do know The annual fee is charge to your first months statement.

 

[Marionnette]

The points never expire as per the SW Visa FAQ page.

Read the fine print.

Points Don't Expire, Unlimited Reward Seats and No Blackout Dates

Points don't expire as long as you have flight or Partner earning activity every 24 months. No Blackout Dates and Unlimited Reward Seats apply to flights booked with points.

 

[Marionnette]

Anyone know how much it dings your credit score to open the credit cards and then close them again before the annual fee ?

A hard pull dings your FICO about 5 points. If you have good credit, it won't really be a problem. Closing a card changes your debt-to-credit ratio and can have a bigger impact on your score. Applying for multiple credit over a short period can also be a red flag and while it won't change your FICO more than the 5 points per inquiry, it can give a lender reason to deny you.

 

[Lucille1963]

I noticed that they also have a "business" version of this card. I applied for one for my small business, lets see if I get approved.

 

[sarmat1]

Do you look at the "buying with points option" on southwest online or do you have to call and do something special like with blackout dates? I guess I am trying to figure out how hard the process will be to get a flight I want. Also- can you use the points to buy other people flights or just your self?

Very easy to book flights with points. You do it the same way you would with cash, just use the points option instead of dollars. There are no black out dates. If a flight is available you can book it. You can use your points for you and anybody else as well. Best part is that you can change your flights at anytime if the price goes down and get the point difference put back in your account with no change fees. And you can cancel your flight entirely and get all of your points back without penalty.

 

[jcemom]

Very easy to book flights with points. You do it the same way you would with cash, just use the points option instead of dollars. THere are no black out dates. If a flight is available you can book it. You can use your points for you and anybody else as well. Best part is that you can change your flights at anytime if the price goes down and get the points put back in your account with no change fees. And you can cancel your flight entirely and get all of your points back without penalty.

Yes, this!

I have rebooked flights for our September Disney trip several times. The points are credited back to your account immediately. It's really VERY easy.

 

[Ladyw/theTramp]

For those of you that already have your card... how long from when you were approved did it take to get your card?
I have some things I need to buy, but I am holding off to put them toward my $1000

 

[RachelTori]

For those of you that already have your card... how long from when you were approved did it take to get your card?
I have some things I need to buy, but I am holding off to put them toward my $1000

My DD applied online and was approved on Sunday, 7/15 and her card was in our mailbox on Friday, 7/20!!

 

[jilliemom]

I received our Southwest credit that I applied for online with the 50,000 offer. There was nothing in the paperwork that came with the card that mentions the offer of 50,000 points after spending 1000. Should I just assume that these points will be added to my account after spending or should I call and make sure my account is set up for this? thanx!!

 

[RachelTori]

I received our Southwest credit that I applied for online with the 50,000 offer. There was nothing in the paperwork that came with the card that mentions the offer of 50,000 points after spending 1000. Should I just assume that these points will be added to my account after spending or should I call and make sure my account is set up for this? thanx!!

Wouldn't hurt to call. I just checked DD's paperwork -- no mention of it either. When I got mine (months ago) there also was no mention, but the 50,000 pts showed up in my Rapid Rewards account right on schedule! In fact, I remember looking for the points in my account on the Chase website and there were "no rewards" They had already transferred to my RR account!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I'm so excited! I just got approved for this card today (had to call the back door number as I just bought a house 3 months ago and it wasn't instantly approved). This is going to save us a nice chunk of change for our trip this December! I'm also going to switch from using my Chase Disney card exclusively to using this one. Our trips to Disney are going to start getting far and few between (time to visit some other places!) and free flights will make it all the more better.

Oh, and I also LOVE the fact that if it goes down in points, I can be credited the difference. Thanks for posting that PP! That's awesome!

 

[granmanh603]

I received our Southwest credit that I applied for online with the 50,000 offer. There was nothing in the paperwork that came with the card that mentions the offer of 50,000 points after spending 1000. Should I just assume that these points will be added to my account after spending or should I call and make sure my account is set up for this? thanx!!

I would call to ease my mind but you have to remember that they print these letters for everyone and the offers change and are different every month and they are not going to print new info sheets for everyone..

 

[coachb]

I'm curious to learn if people keep these cards long term or cancel shortly after receiving points? I'm assuming this doesn't jeopordize your points if you do cancel say 6 months after opening the card.

 

[fiestamomma]

I'm curious to learn if people keep these cards long term or cancel shortly after receiving points? I'm assuming this doesn't jeopordize your points if you do cancel say 6 months after opening the card.

We received this offer in Feb and since I knew we wanted to fly to WDW I signed us up to earn enough points to fly free.

Since then I've purchased all four round trip with points and decided to continue using the card because we are only 28,000 away from earning the SW companion pass for 2013!!!

This to me is the most awesome benefit! So we decided to continue having all of our monthly bills charged on this card and we pay it out in full monthly.

I also use the SW shopping portal if I'm going to do any online shopping. All of my Disney store purchase have given double points (excluding gift cards). With special promotions, I've earned 16 per $ for ordering from stores like Brookstone and Childrens place thru the shopping portal.

Compared to other credit cards we have found this one to be the most reward worthy since airfare is usually the caveat when we want to travel

 

[granmanh603]

I'm curious to learn if people keep these cards long term or cancel shortly after receiving points? I'm assuming this doesn't jeopordize your points if you do cancel say 6 months after opening the card.

I got mine 3-4 years ago and have kept it.. we go to Disney 2 X a year and fly SW... so for me its great. For me personally I would not cancel after using the points.

 

[granmanh603]

We received this offer in Feb and since I knew we wanted to fly to WDW I signed us up to earn enough points to fly free.

Since then I've purchased all four round trip with points and decided to continue using the card because we are only 28,000 away from earning the SW companion pass for 2013!!!

This to me is the most awesome benefit! So we decided to continue having all of our monthly bills charged on this card and we pay it out in full monthly.

I also use the SW shopping portal if I'm going to do any online shopping. All of my Disney store purchase have given double points (excluding gift cards). With special promotions, I've earned 16 per $ for ordering from stores like Brookstone and Childrens place thru the shopping portal.

Compared to other credit cards we have found this one to be the most reward worthy since airfare is usually the caveat when we want to travel

Ok I have not used the shopping part? how do you find that and when are there deals for Disney and extra points...I have never heard about that. I signed up for some Dining thing but there are few places around here that it works.. Thanks for any info...

 

[JDUCKY]

Ok I have not used the shopping part? how do you find that and when are there deals for Disney and extra points...I have never heard about that. I signed up for some Dining thing but there are few places around here that it works.. Thanks for any info...

https://rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com/

 

[fiestamomma]

Ok I have not used the shopping part? how do you find that and when are there deals for Disney and extra points...I have never heard about that. I signed up for some Dining thing but there are few places around here that it works.. Thanks for any info...

Jducky added the website. I just can't seem to quote him/her and you at the same time

I also signed up for the dining. We have a few restaurants around here but not many we like.

 

[granmanh603]

https://rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com/

Ok thanks added that website and signed up for alerts. I usually use Discover shopping but will check the southwest one now too.. I just this week ordered from Disney and wish I had known...

 

[JDUCKY]

Ok thanks added that website and signed up for alerts. I usually use Discover shopping but will check the southwest one now too.. I just this week ordered from Disney and wish I had known...

yeah...with so many credit cards it's hard sometimes to figure out which one I want to use to get rewards on. Do I get 10% or 20% or whatever cashback from Discover? Do I get miles for SW? Do I .....

Too bad Discover doesn't have a SW association!!