Reward Benefits that Make the Southwest Credit Card the Best Card on the Market

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is an exceptionally popular airline, and they’re known for their inexpensive prices and number of destinations across the country. They’re also known for having one of the best airline credit cards on the market. The Southwest rapid rewards credit card is one of the best on the market. Not only is this a card that’s going to benefit you in a number ways, it’s also a card that isn’t going to hurt your credit with high fees and other less-than-desirable facets. This is a reward card that offers serious rewards. While the other aspects of the card are great, what’s really great about this card is all that you can earn and all that’s available to you. If you’re in the market for a new credit card, we can give you a half dozen reasons this is the card you should apply for to improve your credit and benefit your lifestyle.

The Roundtrip Flight

Most airlines offer free roundtrip flights with reward points earned through the use of their airline credit card. However, the Southwest rapid rewards card offers an even better roundtrip flight for cardholders. No, you’re not getting a free upgrade to first class with all kinds of perks and benefits (well, you might, but that’s not a guarantee). What you do get, however, is a free roundtrip flight with every 25,000 points you accumulate. If you’re thinking that doesn’t sound like a big deal, consider the fact that almost every single airline in the world offers free roundtrip flights for 50,000 points only. What does this mean? This means you’re getting where you want to go and coming home for half the points. That’s two roundtrip flights for the price of one on any other airline. Need we go on?

No Blackout Dates

My friends, you can get a flight anytime with your reward points and never have to worry about blackout dates. That’s something virtually no other card on the market offers to users. If you sign up for this card, which is issued by Chase Bank, you can redeem rewards on any date of the year, no matter the day, the night or the holiday. Chase and Southwest are not in the market to deny their cardholders the ability to book a free flight with reward points just because it’s Christmas or thanksgiving or the busiest travel day of the year. You have the card, you earn the points, you get to fly.

You Can Buy Points

If you’re looking to earn a free flight and you don’t have quite enough points, you can buy them using your Southwest rapid rewards card and earn a free flight. Each point is the equivalent of $.50 though you do have to buy them at 2 points for $1. It’s a great, and quick, way to earn some extra points so you can redeem them for that free roundtrip flight. Sometimes it’s far easier to just spend a few dollars for a few points than it is to wait around for a free ticket. For example, if you want to redeem points for airfare that would cost you $790 but you need 100 more points to make that happen, you can spend $50 on points and save $740 on your flight. It’s good stuff. When you use your card to buy retail items or travel, you only get 1 point for every dollar you spend, so this makes a lot more sense financially speaking.

Earn Extra Points

You aren’t stuck earning only 1 point on every dollar you spend, however. When you reach the anniversary date of your card, for example, you will receive an additional 6,000 reward points as a bonus. When you book any flight with Southwest using your card, you will earn double the points. When you book any hotel or rental car that’s part of the Southwest program, you will earn double the points. Additionally, Southwest will occasionally offer specials throughout the year in which you can earn more than 1 point for every dollar you spend. This is the time to shop so that you can earn those rewards and save them for something really big and really amazing. You’ll be surprised how quickly they can add up, and it might even make you more likely to do your spending certain times of the year.

Redeem on Other Rewards

You’re not required to use your points to buy only airfare. You can redeem them on rental cars and hotels as well. That’s great news considering those are worth far less than 25,000 points. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy your own plane ticket and pay for a week-long stay in a hotel with your points than it is to redeem free airfare that only costs $300 and then pay $1000 for your hotel. Think about it; the math is simple to do, you just have to know where to look when it’s time to book your next vacation or trip.

Companion Passes

And here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the single most important reason you want to get a Southwest rapid rewards card. Of course, you need to be either a very big spender or a very frequent traveler to earn this reward. If you do travel often for work, you’re going to want to book all your flights on this card and ask that work reimburses you. For every 110,000 points you earn using this card – and you earn points on every single purchase – you get a free companion pass that’s valid for one year.

What’s a companion pass? A companion pass is a free airline ticket that accompanies any of your tickets. The catch is that you have to earn these points in one year. Then you get one year of a free ticket for a friend or family member – one whole year. And you can use that companion pass for three different people throughout the course of the year, so you needn’t worry about picking just the right companion.  It’s the single most amazing reward in the history of all airlines, and it’s great for frequent fliers.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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