If you carry a Chase Southwest card, check your Rapid Rewards account today. Some cardholders have a Southwest card bonus points promo waiting for them: 25% bonus points when you spend $3,000 or more before the end of the year. It's free to grab and it only takes a click. But the bonus is smaller than it sounds, and one detail in the fine print matters a lot if you're chasing the Companion Pass. Here's the whole thing.

What the promo actually is

This is a spending offer, and it isn't for everyone. Southwest sends these out to targeted cardholders, and the terms can differ from person to person. If you have one, this is what the version going around says:

  • 25% bonus points on your card spending, on top of the points you already earn.
  • $3,000 minimum in purchases during the offer period.
  • 20,000 bonus points max.
  • Register by December 31, 2026 (the window opened October 1).
  • Retroactive. Once you register, everything you've spent since October 1 counts, even purchases from before you clicked.
  • Bonus points can take up to 8 weeks after the offer ends to show up in your account.

To find out if you're in, log in to your Rapid Rewards account on Southwest's site and look for a yellow Register button. No button means you weren't picked this time. There's nothing to apply for and nothing you can do to get one.

What 25% bonus points is really worth

Here's where I'd slow down. That "25%" is not 25% of the points you earn. In the example I found, $3,000 of spending earns 750 bonus points. That's 0.25 extra points for every dollar, or a quarter of a point. Read that again, because the headline does a lot of work.

The 20,000-point cap sounds big, but you'd have to spend $80,000 to hit it. For most families, the realistic win is a few hundred to a couple thousand bonus points. Nice? Sure. A reason to change how you spend? No.

The catch: it won't help your Companion Pass

The Companion Pass lets one person fly with you for just taxes and fees for a long stretch, so it's the prize a lot of Southwest fans are after. To earn it, you need 100 qualifying one-way flights or 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Points from card spending count toward that, based on when they post to your account.

But the terms of this offer say the bonus points do not count toward the Companion Pass or A-List status. The regular points you earn on that same spending still do. So if you're sitting at 125,000 points and hoping this promo pushes you over the line, it won't. Only the base points count.

Who should bother

  • You were going to spend $3,000 anyway between October 1 and December 31, say on holiday gifts, groceries, and gas. Register. It's free points.
  • You're close, but not there. Registering is retroactive, so you can wait and see what you spend. Just don't forget before the year ends.
  • You were thinking of putting extra spending on the card to hit $3,000. I'd skip that. 750 points isn't worth bending your budget.

One more thing. The terms can vary by cardholder. I've seen reports of different bonus amounts on different accounts, so the page you see after you log in is the one that counts.

What to do now

  1. Log in to your Rapid Rewards account and look for the Register button.
  2. If you see it, register right away so you don't forget.
  3. Keep using the card for the spending you'd do anyway. Don't add any for the bonus.
  4. Come back in the new year and check that the bonus posted. It can take up to 8 weeks.

I break down Southwest's rules, and which perks are really worth your time, in short videos on YouTube at @PaulsPoints.