The Southwest Performance Business bonus is a very HIGH bonus for a Southwest credit card, and it’s a great option if you want TONS of easy points.
Current Bonus: 120,000 points after spending $10,000 in the first 3 months
You can use these points to book FREE flights on Southwest AND they also qualify for the 135,000 points you need to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
The Southwest Companion Pass lets ONE person fly FREE with you for the life of the pass, which is good from the time you earn it until the end of the FOLLOWING year.
Because this is such a GREAT bonus, I’ve compiled 7 ways you can use the Southwest Performance Business’s bonus Southwest points for FREE trips around the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.
Read my FULL REVIEW on this card, which also explains how anyone can be approved for a business card.
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7 Ways to Use the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card Bonus
From exotic vacations to trips to see family, here are some super fun ways to use the bonus points on the Southwest Performance Business card.
1. Earn the Southwest Companion Pass
Hands down, the BEST use of these points is to earn them so they count toward the 135,000 points you need to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
Not only do they QUALIFY for the points you need to earn the pass, you can ALSO use them to book FREE flights!
Pair this card with a personal Southwest credit card and may be able to earn ALL the points you need for a Southwest Companion Pass!
Plus, you can ALSO use the points you earn to book FREE flights on Southwest. The 135,000 points you collect to earn your Companion Pass go A LONG WAY when booking free flights on Southwest.
2. Discover Hawaii
Southwest flies to Hawaii nonstop from 5 California airports, Las Vegas and Phoenix. You could easily use these points PLUS a Companion Pass to get at least 2-3 people to Hawaii!
I flew my family from Chicago to Maui for 30,000 points for 4 people!!
Be sure to read our 13 Incredible Not-to-Miss Things to do in Hawaii.
Plus, here’s everything you need to know about Southwest Hawaii flights.
Check out all of our Hawaii destination content.
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3. Warm up in the Caribbean
Southwest flies to MANY great Caribbean destinations if you want to soak up some sun and gaze at the turquoise blue Caribbean seas.
Here are our top destination posts on Southwest Caribbean destinations from Mexico to the Bahamas to the Cayman Islands.
- Top 10 Unforgettable Things to Do in Nassau, Bahamas
- 10 Carefree Things to Do in Cabo San Lucas
- How We Flew 4 to Grand Cayman for $260/Person
- 10 Amazingly Sunny Things to Do in Cozumel
4. Visit a National Park
Want to see some of America’s most beautiful landscapes? Start visiting our incredible National Parks.
Southwest flies to many cities that are near top National Parks like Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Zion and Glacier, so you can check them off of your bucket list.
Check our team’s National Park Ultimate Guide posts:
- Ultimate Guide to Yellowstone National Park
- Ultimate Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park
- Ultimate Guide to Zion National Park
- Ultimate Guide to Grand Teton National Park
- Ultimate Guide to Bryce Canyon National Park
- Dry Tortugas National Park: The Ultimate Guide
- Badlands National Park: What to Do in 24 Hours
- One Day at the Grand Canyon South Rim Itinerary
- YMCA of the Rockies: 30 Brilliant Reasons to Book a Stay
- 7 Top Tips for Visiting US National Parks
5. See Your Favorite Football or Baseball Team
Use your points to see your favorite college or professional football or baseball team play live and in person.
There’s nothing quite like the experience of a football game day at America’s colleges or watching a baseball game in historic stadiums like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.
We’re Notre Dame fans, so we always make the trek up to South Bend (I’d advise flying into Chicago on Southwest) every year to watch the Irish play and there IS NOTHING LIKE IT! So fun!
My family even used Starwood Preferred Guest points (now merged into Marriott Bonvoy) to watch the Chicago Cubs play from a luxury suite at Wrigley Field the year they won the World Series. You can still use Marriott Bonvoy points to book a similar experience.
We’ve also flown for free to the NFL Pro Bowl game when it was in Orlando and I know families who like to travel to see baseball teams during spring training.
6. See the Grandkids
Miss your grandkids’ chubby cheeks? Want to catch your grandson or daughter playing their favorite sport? Use your points to book a flight to visit for a few days and be sure to offer to babysit. We have many Secrets of a Travel Journalist Club members who do this very thing ALL the time. What a blessing!
7. Fly to a Departure City to Get to Europe
Want to fly to Europe in the near future? In my exclusive Secrets of a Travel Journalist Club, I teach the simplest way to fly to Europe on miles WITHOUT dealing with rare rewards seats, but it might require you to get to a larger city like Washington, D.C., Chicago or New York. We always fly to Europe either from New York City (because that’s usually the cheapest and most direct fare or Chicago, because that’s driveable for us).
This can be a great use of your points to get you to a departure city where you can take advantage of lower rewards flights or even a cheaper cash fare to your favorite European city.
Reader Denis B. and his wife like to use their points EXACTLY for this purpose for their international travels.
Read More:
- Reader Question: Can I Refer Myself to Apply for a Southwest Card?
- Other Southwest Credit Card Options
- Do I Lose My Southwest Points If I Close My Card?
