Chase Sapphire Preferred is hands-down my favorite travel credit card. There are lots of reasons, but a big one is that the points it earns transfer instantly to Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards.
I believe Southwest has the best frequent flyer program for people like you and me, who want to travel free as much as possible and bring friends and loved ones along with us!
The Southwest Companion Pass, which lets one person fly free with you, is unbeatable in value (how else can you eliminate the cost of ONE person’s flight ENTIRELY and for up to TWO YEARS?), the airline charges much lower points prices for flights (which go even lower during sales) AND it’s easy to collect points through Southwest credit cards, Rapid Rewards Shopping, SouthwestHotels.com and more!
SO… I am always looking for how I can collect MORE Southwest points. Enter Chase Sapphire Preferred.
[Read 7 Ways Chase Sapphire Preferred Can Help You Travel Free]
About Chase Sapphire Preferred
I recommend this card to EVERYONE, because there’s flat out no reason NOT to have it … if you enjoy traveling :). Here are some key things to know about this card:
- $95 annual fee
- Earn 3x points on all dining, online grocery and streaming purchases
- Earn 2x points on all travel expenses
- Points transfer INSTANTLY at a 1:1 ratio to Southwest Rapid Rewards points
- Points also transfer at a 1:1 ratio to other airlines and hotel brands like British Airways, IHG and Hyatt
- 5x points when purchasing Lyft rides with your card through September 2027
- Complimentary DashPass from DoorDash, which grants you one year of free delivery and lower service fees on eligible orders for a minimum of one year when you activate by Dec 31, 2027
- No foreign transaction fees
[Read my full review of Chase Sapphire Preferred]
4 Ways the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Earns Southwest Points
Now, let’s delve into how this card can earn you even MORE Southwest points!
1. Bonus Offer
Meet the minimum spend within the deadline upon approval and BAM! you’ve got 60,000+ points that you can use for free travel on Southwest.
Meet that minimum spend by paying ordinary expenses you’d be paying anyway (don’t go into debt for any reason, because then this is no longer a good deal!).
Check out my post below with ideas for how to responsibly meet a minimum spend…
[11 Creative Ways to Meet a Minimum Spend]
The first year we delved into miles and points, we earned 110,000 Southwest points to get our first Southwest Companion Pass (you now need to earn 135,000 points to get Companion Pass) by signing up for one personal and one business Southwest card and then got an additional 54,000 from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
That 160,000+ points funded all 4 of us to travel to SIX destinations within one year for less than $100 per flight (for all of us)!
The cost comes from annual fees we paid on the Southwest cards, airline security fees and some points we purchased from Southwest early on to get us going.
We flew to:
- San Diego
- Walt Disney World
- Beaver Creek (Colorado)
- Marco Island (Florida)
- New York City
- Anaheim (California)
Just to give you an idea of the cost of points on Southwest to fly to a destination, we flew all four of us to New York City for ~21,000 points and to Grand Cayman from Ft. Lauderdale for ~13,000 points. We’ve also flown 4 of us from Chicago to Maui for 30,000 points and Chicago to Las Vegas for just 15,000 points total. One of us always flies on the Companion Pass, so we don’t have to use any points for that person.
But you can see, if you choose destinations with cheaper fares, fly on cheaper days and buy during sales, you can stretch Southwest points quite far!
2. TRIPLE Points on Dining & DOUBLE Points on Travel
My family either uses this card for most dining and travel expenses. This adds up rather fast and tends to fund our future travels quite well! Our Chase account always has points in it, which are ready to transfer as soon as we need them to book a flight on Southwest :).
The travel expenses category includes everything from flights and hotels to cabs and parking fees. For example, we used our Sapphire card to pay for all the taxis we hailed in New York City, as well as to pay for subway tickets!
There are also no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a great card to use on travel and dining expenses when out of the country.
3. Everyday Expenses
You can also pay your everyday expenses using this card, which will earn you 1 point per $1. If you purchase dining, online groceries or streaming services, they’ll reward you with 3 points per $1.
Please note that the points earned on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card DO NOT qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass, but CAN be used to book FREE travel on Southwest.
4. Referral Points
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card ALSO allows you to earn 10,000 points per person you refer who signs up for the card up to a maximum of 100,000 points each year. You can get a LOT of free travel out of that many points!
Be sure to tell friends, family and colleagues about the amazing travel benefits you’ve been able to enjoy thanks to this card, because they may be interested in getting their own card using your referral link.
To find your referral link, you’ll need to use the Chase Refer a Friend feature.
It can sometimes take a month or two for the referral points to roll in but you should see them as “pending” under your points when clicking on your credit card within Chase.com or in the Chase app.
To Sum It Up
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a definite no-brainer way to easily add to your Southwest points balance for MORE FREE FLIGHTS!
To apply for credit cards in this post, please click on Cards in the Main Menu at the top of the page (shown below) to help support my small business. For Southwest and Capital One, you can also use the links within the post. I greatly appreciate it!
Read More:
- 10 Hidden Benefits of Chase Sapphire Preferred You Need to Know
- How I Use Chase Sapphire Preferred for Free Hyatt Stays
- Reader Question: Which Card Should I Use for Purchases: Southwest or Chase Sapphire Preferred?
- How I Use Chase Sapphire Preferred to Book Travel in the Chase Portal
