I read last week about elevated in-flight offers for the Chase Southwest Plus personal card of 65k points compared to the public offer that is currently 50k points. However, that required you to apply while you were connected to the in-flight WiFi so it is not very useful unless you have an upcoming Southwest flight. Fortunately, there is good news! Traveling home this past Sunday, I saw the same offer with a QR code and link posted near my gate in Omaha and it appears to work regardless of location. While some offers let you select any of the 3 Southwest personal cards offered by Chase, this offer is only for the lowest annual fee Plus card ($69 per year) and requires only $1000 minimum spend.
Great timing for those seeking nearly 2-year Companion Pass
To earn a Southwest Companion Pass, you need to either fly 100 one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Once you cross either threshold you earn the Pass for the rest of that year and all of the following year. Flying 100 flights early in the year is difficult but leveraging the credit card sign-up bonuses makes the points option much easier. In fact, you only need 125,000 qualifying points because simply having the credit card gives you a 10k point boost. Earning Companion Pass early this year would give you 20-21 months to maximize its value!
How would I play this?
To get the points required for Companion Pass as quickly as possible, I would consider applying for the Premier business card (60k points) and this personal card offer (65k points) the same day which should combine the hard inquiries on my credit report. I have had success with this approach in the past and know several other people who have been approved for both cards the same day. The nice thing here is that the total minimum spend required would only be $4000: $1000 through this specific offer for the personal card, and $3000 for the Business Premier card. Another alternative would be to apply for the Business Performance card and earn 80k points, but it has a higher annual fee and requires an additional $2000 of minimum spend to achieve the sign-up bonus ($5000 total).
To apply for the personal card and get the elevated offer I saw in the airport, visit www.southwest.com/airportcreditcard or https://swa.mychasecreditcards.com/a1/southwest/65kInAirport?CELL=6ZWD
To apply for either of the business cards, you can use a referral link from a friend or family member or support this site by using my referral link which matches the current public offers. My referral link: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/226f/1QWJZ024YD
Note that referral links offer all 5 Chase Southwest cards (3 personal and 2 business), so be sure to click on the right business card offer! Personal card referral links match the 50k points public offer.
Some things to keep in mind
- You can change your designated companion up to 3 times each year which gives you more flexibility to optimize usage.
- Both cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule where you are not likely to be approved if you have 5 or more new credit card accounts that have been opened in the last 24 months.
- While the business cards are subject to the 5/24 rule, opening a business card will not add to your 5/24 count.
- To be approved for the personal card, you must not currently have, or have received a sign-up bonus from any of the 3 Chase Southwest personal cards in the past 24 months.
- If you don’t have plans to leverage the Companion Pass this year, it may be advantageous to wait for potentially better offers late in 2025 and aim for earning the Companion Pass for 2026-2027.
Do you have questions about the Soutwest Companion Pass? Let me know in the comments below!
TL;DR: There is a travel exclusive offer which can be accessed by anyone to earn 15k additional Southwest points (65k vs 50k with the public offer) and when combined with one of the business cards would generate enough points to earn Companion Pass for 20+ months. While not the highest point offers I have seen for these cards historically, for someone who can take advantage of the Companion Pass in 2025-2026, it could be very valuable.