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Round of applause everyone. Southwest has decided to do something you seldom see…add value to their program rather than devalue it, and make status a bit easier to attain. This is accomplished via 5 steps and it’s in stark contrast to the hideous Delta announcement we saw earlier in the month.
Personally, I don’t chase Southwest status, so the reduced A-List requirements don’t have a lot of meaning to me, but I know some people who are absolutely obsessed with Southwest and this makes status a lot more attainable.
I find the Cash + Points update the most enticing. Currently you need to have the full amount of SWA Rapid Rewards in your account for a redemption, this will make using the points much easier – keep in mind the cash used in conjunction with Cash + Points won’t count toward status.
- Cash and Points
- Begins Spring 2024
- Credit Card Spending is enriched
- Get 1,500 tier towards A-List and A-List Preferred with every $5000 spent (previously $10,000) on your Rapid Rewards Premier, Premier Business, Priority, or Performance Business Credit Card.
- Starts 1/1/24
- Fewer Flights to A-List
- Fly only 20 one-way qualifying flights or earn 35,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year to earn A-List status-and all the perks that come with it
- Starts 1/1/24
- Fewer Flights to A-List Preferred
- 40 one-way qualifying flights (down from 50 flights) or 70,000 tier qualifying points to earn A-List Preferred status.
- Starts 1/1/24
Overall
If Southwest is any indication of reduced travel demand, I wonder if we won’t see more targeted offers for status, etc from other airlines; however, it’s worth noting that Southwest had a lot of bad press last Christmas when they had a severe meltdown. I’d say SWA has won back a lot of customer goodwill over the past year, and creating more value, more ways to use points, and an easier path to status only highlights their willingness to lure customers back over.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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