If you’re looking to earn free travel with a credit card, the Southwest Visa can be a great option! For more about points and miles in general, check out my Basic Guide to Points and Miles.
Even better is that right now, there’s a big sign-up offer that can earn you up to 75,000 bonus points! The offer is available for a limited time, so if you’re interested, don’t wait too long to apply. (As with most high-value bonuses, you’ll need to have very good credit to be eligible for the offer.)
Aside from the bonus points, why is the Southwest Visa one of my favorite cards?
Reason #1: I love the flexibility and transparency of Southwest Airlines! With Southwest, there are no hidden fees and no baggage fees. There are no cancellation or change fees. If you cancel a flight booked with cash, you have one year from the original booking date to re-use the travel funds by booking another Southwest flight. If you cancel a flight booked with points, your points are simply refunded. You can re-book and save money (or points) anytime you notice prices have dropped. You simply cannot beat Southwest for flexible travel planning!
Reason #2: Southwest has an extensive network across the United States, so it is great for domestic travel. They also offer flights to a limited number of international locations. Nashville is a major hub, and Louisville also has direct flights to a number of locations!
Reason #3: As long as you travel at least occasionally with Southwest, you aren’t losing money by paying the card’s annual fee. Before signing up for any credit card, you want to be sure the value you’ll earn from the card will at least offset the annual fee. Southwest cards are unique in that they offer a yearly anniversary bonus that comes pretty close to offsetting the annual fee. Even better, there’s no minimum spend to earn the anniversary bonus!
Reason #4: There are three options in the line of Southwest Visa cards that are offered through Chase bank, so you can pick the option that’s best for you. All three options are offering the 75,000 point bonus I mentioned above. The bonus can be earned by meeting two spending thresholds: $1,000 spent in the first three months earns 40,000 points, and $5,000 spent in the first six months earns another 35,000 points.
What are 75,000 points worth? The Points Guy values Southwest Rapid Rewards points at 1.5 cents each. That would mean the current bonus offer is worth $1,125.
How much travel can you really do for 75,000 points? Potentially, quite a lot! If you look for good values and watch for sales, you can find some great deals.
I’ll use my own travel last year with Southwest points as an example. The combined total for all the flights below was 54,986 points for one person (plus a total of $50.40 in fees):
- Nashville to New Orleans (one-way): 10,208 points
- Nashville to Denver (round trip): 9,388 points
- Nashville to New York (round trip): 11,201 points
- Nashville to San Francisco (one-way): 7,546 points
- San Francisco to Las Vegas (one-way): 2,517 points
- Las Vegas to Nashville (one-way) 14,126
As I said, you can do a lot with 75,000 points!
If you don’t fly often with Southwest, I’d suggest the Plus card (3,000 anniversary points, $69 annual fee) or Premier card (6,000 anniversary points, $99 annual fee).
If you will likely take at least two round-trip flights per year with Southwest, I would highly recommend the Priority card. It comes with a larger annual fee of $149, but it also includes 7,500 anniversary points, a $75 Southwest annual travel credit, 20% back on in-flight drinks and WiFi, and up to four upgraded boardings. The added benefits can easily be worth over $300 if you use them all, so the card easily compensates for the annual fee.
If you’re interesting in applying for a Southwest Visa or just want more information, please click here to use my referral link. You’ll be eligible for the 75,000 point sign-up bonus, and I’ll be eligible for 10,000 referral points if you sign up. It’s a win-win just like earning free travel from money you already spend!
