Chase Gives 30% More Southwest Points — Mostly Replaces What Rapid Rewards Took Away

Chase is running a 30% transfer bonus to Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards through June 5, 2026. And this shift to encouraging transfers, very rare in the past, is now the most on-brand thing they could do. The offer is not exciting as something I’d recommend in most cases, except: With most Chase points from Sapphire Reserve no longer worth 1.5 cents apiece through it’s travel portal, you’ll generally get more value on Southwest tickets with points transfers than paid travel through the portal. And a 30% bonus brings you roughly back to that 1.5 cent level (Southwest redemption values, much devalued, now do vary). There was a 20% bonus in October 2020. That was during the pandemic, when very few people were traveling. But it’s something we’re now starting to see – there was a 25% bonus for two weeks in the fall. With Southwest devaluing points, the economics of giving more points works out for Chase and Southwest. They had already devalued points 43% in 12 years prior to going dynamic. And printing more points makes sense. Southwest customers have been redeeming fewer awards, and award travel takes up a smaller share of the airline’s miles flown. Meanwhile, Southwest wants the transfers because their new model emphasizes taking all revenue from anywhere. So encouraging transfers Chase pays them for fits into the management philosophy. I’ve always targeted more value than this from my points so I’m not tempted, but it will be useful for some.