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

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.

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,)

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!

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.