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If flights on Southwest Airlines are on your horizon in 2021 this is worth considering

Southwest Airlines seems to be offering a credit card again where the holder gets a free companion fare until February 28, 2022. We took advantage of a similar offer 3 years ago and managed to take 9 trips together using the free companion fare that year. After the year was up we cancelled the card (I still have my SW cc). This time around I’m not sure it will be as possible to enjoy it as we haven’t begun to think of flying domestically yet. It’s a bit of a gamble but not much to lose as we’d just cancel it again and wait for the next opportunity in a couple of years.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/southwest/chase-southwest-rapid-rewards-credit-card-points-companion-pass

Posted by
4516 posts

I am always up for a credit card deal, and I didn't know about this one. Maybe we will sign on for the next go around. Is it good for Puerto Rico and Hawaii?

Posted by
3950 posts

Tom, The fine print says “anywhere with the Member on the same Southwest Airlines® flight that is purchased (with cash or points) by the Member.” So yes, Puerto Rico and Hawaii are ok destinations. One thing that will take some juggling on our end is that it looks like $5000 needs to be spent in 3 months time so we will need to use the new card where we are typically spending this amount+ until this requirement is met. Another thing in the fine print says it may take 8 weeks(!) for the companion card to show up in our SW account. It’s a good thing we aren’t doing this in order to book a flight immediately.

Posted by
4516 posts

I live in hail country so my homeowner's insurance is quite expensive (far more than California costs even considering fires and earthquakes, believe it or not). So I have an annual $2000 premium that I can built credit card deals off of, and I usually do! The other time was a surgery which pushed us to the $6000 annual catastrophic insurance limit, so I churned 2 cards paying those bills and recovered about $1500 worth of airline tickets. The circuitous route from Chase sapphire points transferred to BA Avios then spent on domestic American Airlines nonstop tickets is quite a deal if that works for anyone. (It takes fewer Avios to buy domestic AA tickets than it does using AA miles).

Posted by
5697 posts

Thanks for the heads-up, Mona. Might be worth getting to give me an "excuse" to visit DD in Seattle this year. Earthquake insurance premium is coming due and that could cover the whole thing. (Tom in MN, I can't remember when $2,000 a year would approach my California homeowner insurance bills,)

Posted by
4516 posts

Laura, I’m comparing with relatives in San Diego County so maybe their earthquake insurance is much less than yours? I’m paying about 40% more than them.

Here's a table indirectly showing the hailstone influence on rates per state (there's a tornado factor in there also, but it's the hail damage that really drives up the rates). The increase of hail damage due to climate change is fairly hidden from national view but probably more damaging than wildfires.
https://www.valuepenguin.com/average-cost-of-homeowners-insurance#state

Posted by
3950 posts

Tom the earthquake insurance varies wildly based on how close your property is to fault lines. We own a small home in San Jose whose earthquake insurance is $1200 per year. Our main residence is double in size and closer to Sacramento and we pay $100 per year. When we bought this house 3 years I was quoted $100 and I thought they were telling me it was $100 per month. I almost fell off my chair when she clarified, no that’s per year!

Posted by
5697 posts

Tom -- yes, I live about a mile from the Hayward fault in the San Francisco bay area. But at least there's no hailstone rider.