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Most of our travel is road trips, but living states away from family, we do fly occasionally (maybe once/year average, maybe less). We don't have any airline miles or any reward credit cards. We're a family of 4, so airline tickets really add up.
I am considering applying for the Southwest rewards credit card. There is a $69 annual fee. Does anyone have this card? Do you think it is worth it? Thanks.
Last edited by Kibbiekat; 10-20-2011 at 03:26 PM..
Most of our travel is road trips, but living states away from family, we do fly occasionally (maybe once/year average, maybe less). We don't have any airline miles or any reward credit cards. We're a family of 4, so airline tickets really add up.
I am considering applying for the Southwest rewards credit card. There is a $69 annual fee. Does anyone have this card? Do you think it is worth it? How much do you charge on it/month and how many miles do you accrue? Thanks.
That's a hefty annual fee. I think you have to answer the above questions yourself, why is it your concern or relevant to you on how much people charge a month? - calculate how much you charge on cards a year vs. how many miles they give you per dollar. If you don't pay off your cards monthly you also have to put interest charges into the calculation.
Another factor under consideration is Southwest's ff program - how easy is it to get tickets, how many miles for a free ticket, do miles expire - that might be relevant questions for us.
That's a hefty annual fee. I think you have to answer the above questions yourself, why is it your concern or relevant to you on how much people charge a month? - calculate how much you charge on cards a year vs. how many miles they give you per dollar. If you don't pay off your cards monthly you also have to put interest charges into the calculation.
Another factor under consideration is Southwest's ff program - how easy is it to get tickets, how many miles for a free ticket, do miles expire - that might be relevant questions for us.
It's not. I checked, and it's 1 point/$. We'd probably spend enough to get one ticket/year. We pay cc's off every month, so interest isn't too big of a concern.
I also have a rewards credit card with a hefty annual fee, however what I gain from that credit card goes above and beyond what that fee is. I also charge everything and pay it off monthly, so interest rates don't concern me. Add up your total average charges in a year. Calculate how many points you will earn from SW by charging that amount. If the benefits far exceed $69/year, you win. You may end up paying $69 for two free flights yearly. Good deal (provided SW flies the routes you usually want to fly)! SW is one of the easier carriers to use free flights with, so that helps too.
I have a reward card that gives me 1 point for each dollar and 1.5 or 2 points from specific merchants. We use it for everything so we accumulate points quickly. It does not cost us anything to use it because we never carry a balance (guaranteed 7.24% interest rate on balance if payments are on time). There is also no annual fee ever.
We use the points all the time for hotels and car rentals. We could use them for airlines too if we ever saved enough points, but we never did. We travel extensively and have been using the points in every trip we took in the last four years since we have the card.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 10-21-2011 at 04:49 PM..
It used to be, before the new point system was introduced. I flew once or twice a year, used the card for most routine expenses, and I easily earned enough credits for a free flight each year. Now that you have to accumulate points which vary for each flight I'm not sure. I'm going to give it a year under the new system to see if it pays off. It doesn't look too promising though.
They have a special offer of 50,000 points when signing up. That equals two round trip tickets. You also get 3,000 points on you anniversary date. I called the customer service and she said most round trip flights are now 25,000-30,000 points depending on how far in advance you book. That's a lot of points. My credit union has a airline point system that only requires 15,000. I may apply and use the 2 free tickets for the holidays then cancel it. The card is through Chase bank which is another negative.
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Originally Posted by Dd714
That's a hefty annual fee. I think you have to answer the above questions yourself, why is it your concern or relevant to you on how much people charge a month? - calculate how much you charge on cards a year vs. how many miles they give you per dollar. If you don't pay off your cards monthly you also have to put interest charges into the calculation.
Another factor under consideration is Southwest's ff program - how easy is it to get tickets, how many miles for a free ticket, do miles expire - that might be relevant questions for us.
Excellent points ... AA was offering a great rewards credit card but the interest rate was too high. I try to pay my balance in full but there are times that I have to carry a balance over so it wasn't worth it.
For those that use miles I have a question.
With my Chase card I get value that I usually take as cash.
Money obviously can be used for tickets anytime and on any airline with no restrictions.
Do airlines miles equal more than the actual cash value?
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