Chase Debuts New Offers on Southwest, IHG Credit Cards
Chase has announced new welcome offers for its Southwest Airlines and IHG co-branded credit cards. As people begin to make post-pandemic travel plans, new cardholders can earn hundreds of dollars worth of award flights and hotel stays.
Key Takeaways
- Chase has announced new sign-up bonuses for its Southwest and IHG credit cards.
- New cardholders can earn hundreds of dollars worth of travel after they meet the minimum spending requirements.
- Chase has not indicated when the promotion will end.
What the Southwest and IHG Offers Are Worth
If you’re considering applying for a new credit card, the welcome bonus is an important factor to take into account. Starting May 27, Chase is offering the following bonuses on several of its co-branded travel cards:
Periodically, credit card issuers run limited-time offers on their credit cards to incentivize consumers to open an account. This new offer also comes as major credit card companies look to encourage more spending on their cards, while the world opens up from the pandemic.
To give you an idea of how much the offers are worth, Investopedia values Southwest Rapid Rewards points at 1.49 cents apiece and IHG Rewards Club points at 0.91 cents apiece. In other words, the Southwest and IHG offers are worth $969 and $1,365, respectively.
Southwest Airlines uses a dynamic pricing strategy, which means the cost of an award flight is directly tied to the cash price of the ticket. So when the airline runs a deal on fares, both cash tickets and award flights go on sale.
The hotel chain IHG also uses dynamic pricing, but it’s not always proportional to the cost of booking a stay with cash.
Should You Get One of These Cards?
Chase hasn’t set an end date for these promotions, but they won’t last forever. If you’re thinking about applying for a Southwest or IHG credit card, avoid procrastinating.
That said, it’s important to consider more than just a card’s sign-up bonus when you apply. For example, airline and hotel credit cards can be nice because they often offer perks specific to the brand.
In particular, many hotel cards give you a free anniversary night’s stay, which is often more than enough to make up for the card’s annual fee. But you’re generally stuck with redeeming your points and miles with the co-brand partner if you want to maximize their value.
With cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which is also currently offering an increased sign-up bonus, you can get more flexibility in how you redeem your points—and that includes transferring them to your loyalty account with Southwest or IHG.
