Southwest 50,000 Bonus Points Offer Still Alive

Southwest ran a great 50,000 bonus points offer twice in 2011, but each time, the promotion only lasted about a month. Well it appears they are now making the 50,000 bonus points more of a standard offer, at least for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card. Previously, both the Premier Card and the Plus Card carried the 50,000 bonus points offer - now the Plus Card has been reduced to only 25,000 bonus points.

The offer remains the same as the previous versions: earn 50,000 bonus points after your first purchase, which translates into more than $833 worth of Wanna Get Away fares. In addition, you will receive 6,000 bonus points every year on your cardmember anniversary. The $99 annual fee is not waived, as usual. However, the 6,000 anniversary bonus points essentially translate into $100 worth of Wanna Get Away fares, which covers the annual fee in every subsequent year. The earn rate is two points per dollar spent at Southwest, and one point per dollar spent everywhere else.

For details regarding the Rapid Rewards program, take a look at my previous blog post. There is a personal and a business version of the Premier Card, and evidence on Flyertalk suggests that people have successfully applied for both and received both bonuses, but YMMV as always, so proceed with caution when doing multiple applications. No word yet on when this deal will expire.

EDIT: This deal has expired. The current offers for all versions of the card are now 25,000 bonus points.