Fly for Free with Southwest

Do you want to travel more this year ? Do you want to do so without spending too much money ?

If your answer is yes , then you NEED to apply for the Southwest Airlines credit card !!

It is the BEST credit card that I own and 4 of my 7 flights last year were FREE because of it!

Here are 3 Major Benefits of the Southwest Credit Cards :

1. Rapid Rewards Points

First, sign up for Southwest’s frequent flier program, Rapid Rewards. This is FREE ! Then, you can begin to collect points in a couple of different ways.

The best way to earn points is through the Southwest credit card .

When you spend $1000 on ANY purchases within the first 3 months that your account is open, you earn 40,000 Rapid Rewards points .

Now, how does 40,000 Rapid Rewards Points translate to free flights?

----> For me, I used my Southwest credit card for EVERYTHING- gas, cable, groceries, fast food, clothing, parking, you name it- and easily reached $1000 within 3 months. I made sure to pay my total bill at the end of each month to avoid interest rates and BOOM -- I earned 40,000 points! Those 40,000 points paid for 3 FREE one way flights from San Jose to Chicago. This was perfect for me when I lived in San Jose because I traveled to Chicago to see my family frequently.

The beauty of the credit card was the free flights in exchange for money I was already going to spend.

----> For YOU, 40,000 points could mean TWO FREE roundtrip flights to Miami.

Look at a real example of 2 x roundtrip flights from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale below:

**Screenshot taken on 1/6/2020. Total points for flights can change. The mandatory Government fees have to be paid with dollars. For Domestic flights, this is $5.60 one way. International fees can vary**

Sign Up for the credit card HERE

After the sign up bonus ends, you can earn Rapid Rewards points in other ways, including 2 points for every $1 spent on Southwest airline purchases and 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases. You also earn anniversary points. The amount varies depending on the type of Southwest credit card that you have. Here is a link to a side by side comparison of the different cards, with a breakdown of the perks and the credit card fees. I have also copied this chart directly from the website below. Trust me, the rewards of the card, especially the Priority card, far outweigh the annual cost.

2. Companion Pass

This status is achieved once you earn 125,000 Rapid Reward points or fly 100 qualifying one-way flights. Companion status allows you to bring someone on your flight for FREE. This is an amazing perk and best achieved when you first get the Southwest credit card. Gaining 125,000 points or flying 100 one-way flights is not very easy but when you do, you reap the benefits for the remainder of the year and the following year after that. Want to switch your companion for some reason??? Well, you can ! Southwest allows you to switch companions up to 3 times within the calendar year. Points reset in January.

3. Flexibility

Flexibility is not exclusive to the Southwest Credit card but I have to include it as any loyal Southwest customer would.

Unlike almost every other airline, Southwest does NOT charge cancellation or change fees. This is HUGE ! For example, you can literally change your flight the night before you are scheduled to leave , find another flight that is priced at the same value of your original ticket and pay NOTHING. In most cases, Southwest will offer a refund of some sort, whether in travel funds or original payment, depending on the ticket fare. You can call them directly for questions about your specific scenario. Most other airlines will charge you at least $200 or more to change your flight in addition to the difference of the flights. I felt the pain when I traveled to Egypt and flew with a different airline and had to change my flight at the last minute. Yes, I know that everyone gripes about having no assigned seat on Southwest and no in flight entertainment system on the back of the seats . For better seating, I highly recommend that you set a reminder on your phone exactly 24 hours before your flight as a reminder to check in. This will help you secure an A boarding number. This means you board earlier and choose a good seat. With the Southwest Priority credit card, you have 4 free boarding upgrades where available. This allows you to upgrade to an A boarding number. As for entertainment, you can easily use your personal smartphone and connect to the WiFi and enjoy great live tv, music and more.

With these 3 benefits, you should be on your way to traveling twice as much as you did last year ! Southwest and the amazing offers that come with the different credit card options, will help you get there.

Please let me know if you plan to apply or already own the Southwest credit card !

Comment below !

-Lauren Vanteal