[Targeted] Chase Southwest, IHG, Avios, AARP Cards: Get 5x Points on Bill Payments for Insurance, Utilities, Phone Service, Cable (Max 10,000 Bonus Points)

[Update: added the Southwest, Avios, and AARP offers now as well (thanks to reader Daniel and Scott)]

The Offer

Southwest offer | IHG offer | Avios offer | AARP offer (activate at these links)

Chase is sending out an email offer for the IHG card and for the Aer Lingus, British Airways, or Iberia Plus cards:

  • Earn 5x points (1x regular earn + 4x bonus) on up to $2,000 in purchases when you pay select bills with your IHG Rewards Club credit card between April 1 and June 30, 2019.
  • Earn 5x Avios (1x regular earn + 4x bonus) on up to $2,000 in purchases when you pay select bills with your Aer Lingus, British Airways, or Iberia Plus credit card between April 1 and June 30, 2019.
  • Earn 5x points (1x regular earn + 4x bonus) on up to $2,000 in purchases when you pay select bills with your AARP credit card between April 1 and June 30, 2019.
  • Earn 5x points (1x regular earn + 4x bonus) on up to $2,000 in purchases when you pay select bills with your Southwest credit card between April 1 and June 30, 2019.

Included Categories: Internet, Cable, and Phone Service; Utilities; Insurance.

The Fine Print

  • To be eligible for this offer, you must log on to the website referenced in this offer and enroll by 06/30/19, 11:59 p.m. EST.
  • You’ll earn 5 bonus points total for each $1 spent, on up to $2,000 in total spend on combined purchases in the reward categories listed below during the promotional period (4 additional points on top of the 1 point earned on each purchase).
  • After $2,000 on combined purchases in the reward categories listed below, you go back to earning 1 point for every dollar spent, with no maximum.
  • For a purchase to qualify for this offer, the merchant must submit charges to your credit card by the last day of the promotional period 06/30/19. All of your eligible purchases during the promotional period will be automatically counted, as long as you have enrolled by 06/30/19.
  • Please allow up to 8 weeks after qualifying purchases post to your account for bonus points to post to your account. To be eligible for this offer, your account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment.
  • Rewards Categories: Internet, Cable, and Phone Service category merchants provide internet, cable, satellite television, radio, cellular, wireless data, and landline services.
  • In addition, if you purchase or pay for your internet, cable and satellite television, phone or related services in a merchant’s store that is not registered by the merchant in the applicable services category, the purchase or payment will not qualify; for example, phone bill payments in a merchant’s store that register to Chase as a telephone equipment store.
  • Utility category merchants provide electric, household fuel, water, and sanitation.
  • Please note that purchases of equipment and some merchants that sell utility-related goods and services are not included; for example, electronics or other retail stores and merchants offering maintenance and cleaning services.
  • Insurance category merchants provide health, automobile, homeowners, medical, and life insurance.
  • What determines whether a merchant falls into a category? Merchants who accept Visa/MasterCard credit cards are assigned a merchant code, which is determined by the merchant or its processor in accordance with Visa/MasterCard procedures based on the kinds of products and services they primarily sell. We group similar merchant codes into categories for purposes of making offers to you.
  • Please note: We make every effort to include all relevant merchant codes in our categories. However, even though a merchant or some of the items that it sells may appear to fit within a category, the merchant may not have a merchant code in that category. When this occurs, purchases with that merchant won’t qualify for offers on purchases in that category.
  • Purchases submitted by you, an authorized user, or the merchant through third-party payment accounts, mobile or wireless card readers, online or mobile digital wallets, or similar technology will not qualify in a category if the technology is not set up to process the purchase in that category.
  • This promotional offer is non-transferable. For more information about your rewards program, see your Rewards Program Agreement.

Our Verdict

Same offer we saw on the Chase Amazon card, except that one gives you 5% cash back on up to $10,000 while this one gives 5x points on up to $2,000. The Avios and Southwest offers are obviously much better than the IHG offer since those points are worth much more than IHG points.
For those with an INK card who already get bonus rewards on the Phone and Cable categories, it’s probably the Insurance and Utilities categories which you’ll want to target to see if you can max this out. Consider paying out your utilities and insurances (car, health, life, etc) for the rest of the year at this 5% cashback rate. Worth doing a small test first to make sure it codes properly. (Plastiq payments weren’t working according to data points from the Amazon offer.)

Hat tip to Grant and PD

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