Southwest Points- flying for free

[Gillyrose779]

Anyone else use Southwest points to fly for free?

I just got a notice for Southwest that I can invite friends to apply for a card and get 50,000 southwest points and spending 2K on the card.

I already did this a couple years ago and was able to get 110,000 points in one year. By doing that I got the companion pass which allows 1 companion to fly for free for the rest of the year AND the entire next year. We have been able to take 4 round trip flights for 4 people and rent a car for free for the past 2 years.

My companion pass is ending at the end of the year so I may have my husband sign up for one. If he does it he gets the 50,000 points and I get 5,000 for referring him. I hear some people sign up for the business and personal card and get 100,000 points that way. I don't know if we will try that though.

Just wanted to give people a heads up there is a 50,000 deal out there. It's good timing b/c you can get the points in 2016 and have the rest of the year to get to 110,000 so get the companion pass that would be good until the end of 2017.

 

[adudeinblue]

EDIT: Misread your post. I thought you meant both parties (referrred and referrer) gets 50k points each.

 

[Gillyrose779]

EDIT: Misread your post. I thought you meant both parties (referrred and referrer) gets 50k points each.

Sorry if my post is a bit confusing. Yeah- just 5,000 for the referrer and 50,000 for the referred

 

[davper]

It's good timing b/c you can get the points in 2016 and have the rest of the year to get to 110,000 so get the companion pass that would be good until the end of 2017.

If I got the card now before 2015 was up, and didn't have 110,000 points, don't I have to start over in January?

 

[spears2008]

If I got the card now before 2015 was up, and didn't have 110,000 points, don't I have to start over in January?

get the card now with the great 50,000 point offer, but do NOT spend 2,000 before the end of 2015. you have 3 months to spend 2,000 and earn 50,000 points, so if you get the card now, you have until mid February to hit your 2,000 spend for the bonus points. I usually get a SW card in late October/Early November, spend up to $1,900 then put the card into a drawer until January 1st. Then I pay my cable bill in January with the bill, putting my spending over $2,000 and earning the 50,000 bonus in the new year. You can then get a second card in the first part of the new year and then spend a total of 10,000 and earn the companion pass. Super easy!

Key is not to spend 2,000th dollar before the new year though!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

However what ever you spend now till the first closing date will not be counted toward the 110K in points if you apply now because your card will have a closing date in Dec. Whatever you have charged now till the Dec closing date will count toward 2015 not 2016. So in 2016 you will have to spend even more to get to the 110K mark. Once you apply you will get the card in less than a week. The first card I applied for came will a closing date 2 1/2 weeks later and the second card was 4 weeks later even though I applied for both cards at the same time.

I earned my companion pass in Feb of this year and have made 12 trips using the companion pass. Some things you can buy to hit that mark are insurance premiums usually can be charged. If you are a DVC member charge your yearly dues. Buy gift cards for WDW trips. Stock pile your pantry and health and beauty supplies. If your closing date on your SWA card is before the 20th of the month, put Christmas items in layaway then wait till after the 20th to take those items out of layaway. That way the layaway charge will fall on your Jan closing date.
Look on the Rapid Reward shopping site. If you shop online you can score bonus points by shopping through that site. I scored 1000 points when I purchase a 3 month subscription to the Wall Street Journal for $12. Bought flowers for a relatives birthday and got 1000 bonus points from 1-800 flowers and only had to spend $29

 

[davper]

got it, thanks.

 

[Gillyrose779]

Also, take advantage of the Southwest Rapid Rewards site! You can earn 15 points per dollar!

 

[KristinU]

I earned my companion pass in Feb of this year and have made 12 trips using the companion pass.

How soon did you get your companion pass after you hit your 110k points? Can you book travel right away? I just got my set of cards and have my plan in place for timing for 2016. It would be super nice if I can use it for travel in March and April...or at least April.

 

[bjscheel]

I earned companion pass last month and got the email within a couple of days of hitting 110,000. Since My Account showed me as qualifying, I'm sure I could have booked travel right away. A card came in the mail a week or two later and it says to have it with you when traveling as they may ask for it.

 

[georgina]

So I am going to refer my sister for the 50,000 bonus premier card, how do you get 50,000 on the regular SW card? Is that offered periodically?

 

[Gillyrose779]

So I am going to refer my sister for the 50,000 bonus premier card, how do you get 50,000 on the regular SW card? Is that offered periodically?

I'm not sure if I have seen it on the regular. You can get a premier personal and a premier business in most cases to get the 50.

 

[KristinU]

I recently got the 50k on the Plus card - is was a personal referral from someone, but I think that offer expired on October 31st. You may want to do some Googling and check out the frequent flyer points forums to see if there is a current offer out there. PM me if you want the contact info I used.

 

[KKB]

I recently got the 50k on the Plus card - is was a personal referral from someone, but I think that offer expired on October 31st. You may want to do some Googling and check out the frequent flyer points forums to see if there is a current offer out there. PM me if you want the contact info I used.

PREMIER CARD LINK:
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/southwest/2rtfosam1
BUSINESS CARD LINK:
https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/southwest-premier-business-credit-card.aspx

 

[marthachick]

I'm not sure if I have seen it on the regular. You can get a premier personal and a premier business in most cases to get the 50.

Can you do this if you don't have a business? And if so, how?

 

[Marionnette]

Can you do this if you don't have a business? And if so, how?

I never applied for a Southwest card for our business but we recently applied for an Ink card from Chase. They asked a lot of questions about the business (location, number of years at the location, gross revenue, etc.). I suppose that if you have a small home business, you could qualify for the business version of the Southwest card. The worst that they can say is no.