Payments and Cards
Chase and Southwest Airlines® Expand Benefits for Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Cardmembers
Introducing new rewards categories, even more travel benefits, and best consumer points offer ever for new Cardmembers
WILMINGTON, DE — Oct. 19, 2021 — Today, Chase and Southwest Airlines Co. in their 25th year of partnership, announced enhanced benefits to their lineup of award-winning* Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards. Consumer and business Cardmembers now have even more rewards categories to earn Rapid Rewards points, new and enhanced benefits that provide an elevated travel experience, and inflight savings – with no increase to annual fees.
The same great cards now come with more to love: more points, more benefits, and more possibilities.
With these exclusive benefits, customers can now earn on everyday spend categories such as select streaming services, local transit and commuting including rideshare. Southwest Plus and Premier Cardmembers now have the ability to enjoy two EarlyBird Check-In® credits per year, and Premier and Priority Cardmembers have the ability to spend their way to A-List status. Cardmembers can enjoy these new perks in addition to their existing benefits, such as Anniversary Points, accelerated earn on Southwest purchases, and points on every purchase made with their card.
To celebrate the addition of the new benefits, new consumer Cardmembers can earn up to 100,000 Rapid Rewards points now through Dec. 7, 2021, for most channels – the best points offer ever for Southwest Rapid Rewards consumer Credit Cards:
- New consumer Cardmembers can earn 50,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $2,000 in the first three months of account opening, and an additional 50,000 points after spending $12,000 in the first twelve months from account opening
In addition, new business Cardmembers have the ability to earn up to 80,000 Rapid Rewards points:
- New Performance Business Cardmembers can earn 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first three months
- New Premier Business Cardmembers can earn 60,000 Rapid Rewards® points after spending $3,000 in the first three months
“We’re thrilled to enhance our partnership with Chase by bringing more benefits than ever before to our award-winning Rapid Rewards Credit Card program, and continuing to offer the best travel products to our Cardmembers,” said Jonathan Clarkson, Southwest Airlines Managing Director of Loyalty, Partnerships, and Products. “With perks like EarlyBird Check-in, Tier Qualifying Points toward A-List status, 25% back on inflight purchases, as well as expanded benefits to categories like local transit and commuting purchases, we’re giving Cardmembers more out of their everyday travel and spending for future adventures.”
“With the customer at the heart of everything we do, we’re always looking for more ways to enhance our Cardmember benefits. This means elevating the total travel experience from booking to boarding, getting them on the plane even faster and providing ways for them to earn even more points,” said Julia Ashworth, General Manager Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards. “This year, we’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of offering our coveted Southwest Credit Cards by providing even more exclusive benefits to our customers.”
Additionally, Cardmembers are always able to take advantage of the carrier’s existing great benefits of flying Southwest, including:
- Points that don’t expire
- No blackout dates or seat restrictions when you redeem with points
- Bags fly free® (first and second checked bags, weight and size limits apply)
- No change fees (fare differences may apply)
- No cancellation fees (failure to cancel a reservation at least 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure may result in forfeited travel funds)
All points earned with a Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card count toward the coveted Companion Pass®, which allows a traveler to select one person to fly with them for free (not including taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way) every time they purchase or redeem points for a flight**
To learn more about the new benefits or apply for a card, visit Chase.com/SouthwestNewBenefits.
*Freddie Awards – Best Loyalty Credit Card for four consecutive years (2017-2020), 2020 USA Today 10Best List, among others.
**Companion Pass qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through Southwest®, points earned on Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards, and base points earned from Rapid Rewards partners. Points earned during a billing cycle on a Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card from Chase are not available for redemption or qualification for Companion Pass status until they are posted on the billing statement and posted to the Member’s Rapid Rewards account. Only points posted on the billing statements and posted to the Member’s Rapid Rewards account during the same calendar year are available for qualification for Companion Pass status. The following does not count as Companion Pass qualifying points: purchased points; points transferred between Members; points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, e-Rewards®, Valued Opinions, and Diners Club®; points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment; Tier bonus points; flight bonus points; and partner bonus points (with the exception of the Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase). No points nor Tier or Companion Pass qualifying points will be awarded for flights taken by the Companion when flying on a Companion Pass reservation.
About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading financial services firm based in the United States with assets of $3.8 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves more than 60 million American households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: More than 4,700 branches in 48 states and the District of Columbia, 16,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by phone. For more information, go to chase.com.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its 51st year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 54,000 Employees to a Customer base that topped 130 million Passengers in 2019. Southwest has a robust network of point-to-point service with a strong presence across top leisure and business markets. In peak travel seasons during 2019, Southwest operated more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. In 2020, the carrier added service to Hilo, Hawaii; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Palm Springs, Calif.; Steamboat Springs; and Montrose (Telluride), Colo. Thus far in 2021, Southwest has initiated service to Chicago (O'Hare) and Sarasota/Bradenton both on Feb. 14; Savannah/Hilton Head and Colorado Springs both on March 11; Houston (Bush) and Santa Barbara, Calif. both on April 12; Fresno, Calif. on April 25; Destin/Fort Walton Beach on May 6; Myrtle Beach, S.C. on May 23; Bozeman, Mont. on May 27; Jackson, Miss. on June 6; and Eugene, Ore. on Aug. 29; and will begin service to Bellingham, Wash. on Nov. 7; and Syracuse on Nov. 14.
Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA®.
Media Contacts
Visit the Southwest Newsroom at swamedia.com for multimedia assets and other Company news.
Media Relations Team: (214) 792-4847, option 1; swamedia@wnco.com
Chase Card Services
Clarissa Carlucci
clarissa.carlucci@jpmorgan.com