(Ended Nov 30, 2017) Now for all CA residents! Instant companion pass for Visa card
 

This just dropped in my email box. Apply for a Southwest Visa. Make one purchase. Get companion pass for 2018. Also eligible for 40,000 points for spending $1000 in first three months.

This is a ridiculously strong offer. Too bad nobody in my immediate family was targeted.

wowsers!

Got this email, but I'm 5/24 (exactly 5) for a few more months :-(.

Not targeted. CA, and already have the PLUS SW visa.

I thought it'd be worth double-checking if there were a PREMIER offer, but no go.

This says a lot about what the WN honchos think about Alaska's expansion and how they can use CP to combat it.

The offer is not available to anyone who has any Southwest credit card, right?

Yes, this is correct.

2 Companion Pass Terms
This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new cardmember bonus for a Rapid Rewards Credit Card within the last 24 months. Only the Rapid Rewards® Member who received this email/offer from Southwest Airlines® is eligible for this promotion. Offer is nontransferable. To qualify for this offer, (a) Member must have a valid California address as evidenced by their application for the Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, (b) Member must open a Rapid Rewards® Credit Card by November 30, 2017 and (c) please allow up to eight weeks for Companion Pass to be fulfilled after making first purchase. ("First Purchase" does not include balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that access your account, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.) To be eligible for this offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. Promotional Companion Pass is valid from the time promotion qualifications are met, through December 31, 2018. Promotional Companion Pass entitles Member to designate a Companion to fly for free (does not include taxes and fees from $5.60 one way) anywhere with the Member on the same Southwest Airlines flight that is purchased (with cash or points) by the Member. Please allow up to 15 business days after qualifying for promotional Companion Pass to receive your notification to designate your Companion. Promotional Companion Pass travel is subject to the government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of $5.60 per one-way trip and any foreign government taxes/fees if traveling internationally, all of which must be paid by credit card when the reservation is made. Any additional tax liability, if imposed, is the responsibility of the Companion Pass traveler. If Companion Pass is earned by flying 100 qualifying one-way flights or earning 110,000 qualifying points in the calendar year while qualified for promotional Companion Pass through December 31, 2018, the regular Companion Pass qualifications will supersede the promotional Companion Pass, entitling the Member to Companion Pass through December 31, 2019. Visit Southwest.com® to review the full Companion Pass program rules and regulations. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms.

This is amazing. Perhaps the strongest CC signup bonus ever offered by anyone.

I think I must not understand the CC/airline business if this is anywhere close to making sense economically.

+1.

I was targeted for this offer. Have had the WN VISA previously but well over 24 months ago. I think I will just squeeze under 5/24 before the promo period ends, will have to check some dates :-/

Had also received the targeted status match and shrugged it off, but stacking the two together, probably worth it if I only use the CP once :)

This promotion indicates that Southwest intends to use the Companion Pass for competitive advantage rather than eliminating it any time soon.

My main read is that if there are any empty seats on a plane, SWA can keep giving away CPs until that is not the case.

I think the casual CP holder (like myself) doesn't use it very much in SWA's eyes either.

Rasheed

I was targeted for this offer too as I live in CA and have never had a SW RR card.

Still trying to decide whether I should apply or wait till next year, which was my original timetable to apply for the SW card. I already have the SW companion pass through end of 2017 which I got last year with SW's 'fly 5 rt for Calif residents promo'.

Two reasons I want to wait is that I'm more interested in the Premier Card (6000 aniv points and no foreign fees) than the Plus card (3000 aniv with foreign fees). Also, getting the card next year extends the CP until Dec 2019. When you click on the promo email it only shows the Plus card application. Side note, why does promo call this signature and platinum when it's called plus and premier on their website?

I guess I can wait until end of Nov 2017, apply for the card and make my purchase that triggers the CP until Dec 2018. If I wait until Jan 2018 to achieve the $1000 spend will the 40,000 points count towards the 110,000 needed for the CP pass that extends thru the end of 2019 since SW says the regular CP earns supersede the promo CP earn?

Correct but there's no real need to wait to apply. If you are approved today your spend deadline is already in January 2018.

You do. All this says that there is plenty of margin and markup to give back and profits to enjoy on both sides. More so today and banks and airlines have merged the competition down to a precious fee.

Chase enjoys the endless merchant processing fees, annual fee and usurious interest earnings from non FT and non financially savvy customers. That's a huge segment of the population to which credit cards are like crack and revolve balances monthly.

Condiencently I just moved my CC processing business to Chase for a promised 3% flat rate cost vs. the 6-7% all in bs I was paying. My phone rings all day with pedders pushing their CC services. That and Goggle marketing must be ridiculously profitable to spend so much time & effort to drum up new business.

WN enjoys the income from the points purchased by Chase to hand out and incurs very little incremental cost to bring a companion onboard. Again, outside of FT and the travel blog universe, the overall CP utilization rate must be fairly low, 1 or 2 trips a year. Most people have jobs and a family that get in the way of heavy use like retirees and travel bloggers can boast. It's a nice shiny gold star to aim for but my yearly usage has varied from 4 RT to 0 since 2003...

YMMV.

So the 40K will count towards the 110K regular requirement in 2018? If it does then it's a go for me. If it doesn't then I'll pass and wait to apply in 2018 without this promo (and hopefully 60K promo points to start if that returns).