Southwest 100,000 Point Bonus: Quick Way to Get 2 Years of Free Flights (Expired)

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Two years of free flights? Yes, please! All three Southwest cards are offering a 100,000 point bonus. This is a quick way to get two years of free flights!

You can earn a 100,000 point bonus on all three personal Southwest credit cards: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.

Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account. Check our credit card page for the latest offers.

The timing of this increased welcome offer on the Southwest cards is perfect. Because you can easily earn your Southwest Companion Pass.

Southwest 50,000 Point Bonus

Credit card bonuses are the quickest way to lots of points and miles which you can use to travel the world for free.

All Southwest personal credit cards are offering a 100,000 point bonus. Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

This is the highest bonus offered on these cards and is more than twice the standard offer. The normal bonus is 40,000 points.

You can leverage the 100,000 point offer into two years of free flights.

Tiered Bonus Offer

The tiered bonus offer is the same for all cards. You can earn 50,000 points when you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. You’ll earn another 50,000 points after spending a total of $12,000 on purchases in the first 12 months.

Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account.

While the bonus is the same, the benefits and annual fee of each card vary. Let’s look at each to find the right airline rewards card for you.

You can quickly earn the first 50,000 points Christmas shopping and/or paying bills. You can pay rent or mortgage with a credit card.

This is my favorite way to earn unlimited miles and points. Or use one of these unusual ways to meet minimum spending. 

Pro-tip: All your purchases have to post in January to take full advantage of two years of free flights with the Southwest Companion Pass.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card 50K Points Bonus

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card Bonus: 50,000 Southwest points. You can earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

With the Southwest Priority Card, you get:

• $75 Southwest® travel credit each year
• Free checked bags (2 per person)
• 4 upgraded boarding each year
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year
• 3X points on Southwest® purchases
• 2X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases, rideshare, transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone, and certain streaming
• 1X point on all other purchases
• 7,500 points each year on your card anniversary
• 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List and A-List Preferred status for every $10,000 spent (up to $100,000)
• All points earned from this card count toward the Southwest Companion Pass
• 25% back on in-flight purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• Member FDIC

Who should get this card: this is a great card if you fly Southwest often because of the $75 credit and upgraded boarding.

You can use your $75 yearly travel credit to pay for flights or pay for the taxes and fees on free flights. Your free four upgraded boarding passes get you an A1 to A 15 spot.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card 50K Points Bonus

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card Bonus: 50,000 Southwest points. You can earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

With the Southwest Premier Credit Card you get:

• 2 free EarlyBird Check-in® each year
• Free checked bags (2 per person)
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year
• 3X points on Southwest® purchases
• 2X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases, rideshare, transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone, and certain streaming
• 1X point on all other purchases
• 6,000 points each year on your card anniversary
• Earn up to 15,000 tier qualifying points each year
• All points earned from this card count toward the Southwest Companion Pass
• No foreign transaction fees
• Member FDIC

Why you should get this card: you want to avoid the middle seat and earn lots of Southwest points.

You get 2 free EarlyBird Check-ins each year. No more having to be on your phone or computer right at the 24-hour mark before checkin. You can enjoy a better boarding position, “B”, even “A” and not have to worry about getting a “C.”

With this card, you also earn tier qualifying points towards A-List and A-List preferred status which means hello “A” boarding pass.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Southwest 50K Points Bonus

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Bonus: 50,000 points. Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

The Southwest Plus Credit Card gives you:

• 2 free EarlyBird Check-in® each year
• Free checked bags (2 per person)
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year
• 2X points on Southwest® purchases, Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases, rideshare, transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone, and certain streaming
• 1X point on all other purchases
• 3,000 points each year on your card anniversary
• All points earned from this card count toward the Southwest Companion Pass
• Member FDIC

Why you should get this card: this is a good card if you want a low annual fee and don’t care about status or where you sit on the plane. It is the cheapest way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.

Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass lets your companion fly for free every time you fly on Southwest.

You can get two years of free flights to Hawaii, Belize, the Caribbean, and many places in the United States.

Now is the perfect time to get a Southwest credit card. Because the credit card bonus counts towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass.

The previous 100,000 point bonus can get you a Southwest Companion Pass fast!

Your Southwest Companion Pass is unlimited. Yep, it’s not a one time use pass but a fly as much as you want pass. Think of it as an all you can eat (AYCE) flying pass.

There are no blackout dates! So you and your companion can fly during the holidays, summer, etc.

To get a Companion Pass, you need to earn 135,000 Southwest points in a calendar year.

Pro-tip: Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred from cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card do not count towards the Pass.

Earn a Southwest Companion Pass Fast

Because of the 100,000 point bonus, you can earn a Southwest Companion Pass fast. Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. Check our credit card page for the latest offers.

This means that once you meet your minimum spending you’ll earn your Southwest Companion Pass. This Companion Pass is valid through February 28, 2023.

Normally, a Southwest Companion Pass is valid the year it’s earned and all of the following year. So the trick is to earn your Pass early in the year.

Here’s how…

You can get a personal card and spend $12,000 for the 100,000 points. Then use the tips in the ultimate guide on earning Southwest points without flying to earn the other 25,000 points.

Or you can fast track a Companion Pass with this travel hack: get a personal card and a business card like the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card or the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card.

You can earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months using the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card.

With the Southwest Premier Business Credit Card” data-content=”{*credit_card_id*:*4048107*,*field*:*LinkTagPDPUrl*,*api*:*cc*,*linkText*:*card_name*,*linkTarget*:*_blank*,*linkRel*:*sponsored*}”>card_name, you can earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.

So you could get a Southwest personal and business card and earn your Southwest Companion Pass by spending less than if you only got one of the personal Southwest credit cards.

But with this special offer of 30,000 points and the Companion Pass, you’ll earn your Pass once you’ve completed your minimum spending. You do not have to earn the 135,000 points! So you can start flying with your companion immediately!

When to Meet the Spending

You want to time your spending so you can maximize the value of your Companion Pass. Points from the bonus and credit card purchases count towards the Companion Pass in the year they’re earned.

By waiting until January to use your card, your points will post in 2022. This guarantees that all points are earned in the same calendar year.

Your Southwest Companion Pass is valid for the year you earned it and all of the following year. If your 135,000 points post in January or the first part of 2022, it’s valid for all 2022 and 2023. That’s two years of free flights!

Keep in Mind

You are eligible to apply for these cards if you don’t have a Southwest credit card and haven’t received a bonus from a Southwest card in the last 24 months.

All of the Southwest cards are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule. If you’ve opened 5 new credit cards in the past 24 months (5/24), you might not get approved.

Conclusion

Southwest is offering a 100,000 point bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card,  Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card. Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

This is the highest bonus offered on these cards. Now is the best time to apply for one of those cards because you can get two years of free flights with the Southwest Companion Pass.