Last fall, Southwest ran a promotion that offered California residents that signed up for one of their Chase branded credit cards a Companion Pass through 2018 after just one purchase!
Since I was already over Chase’s 5/24 rule, I couldn’t sign up for the credit card myself, so I had my girlfriend sign up for the card. Luckily she was approved for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and in addition to getting the Companion Pass, she also received 40K Rapid Reward Points after spending $1K within the first 3 months.
These points equate to approximately $600 in SWA travel, which along with the Companion Pass is a great deal for a card that only has a $99 annual fee.
Through the first 6 months of 2018 we have taken full advantage of the Companion Pass. In total we took 4 round-trip flights using the Companion Pass to destinations such as Chicago, LA, NYC and Orange County. I didn’t keep an exact count of the savings, but even if we saved on average $150 per flight, that is $600 that we kept in our pocket through the first 6 months of the year.
As of right now, we have 4 additional round-trip flights booked for the 2nd half of the year, with a high likelihood that we will do 5 in total. That means with this one credit card promo we will have realized ≈$2000 in benefits ($600 in RR Points + $1350 in companion flights)! Not a bad way to travel.
Have you utilize your Companion Pass more than us? I would love to hear how much you were able to benefit from this offer.
