Update: Chase has confirmed that the offer is open to any and all California residents. Just keep in mind the one per brand restriction.
Earlier today we posted about an offer for California residents, giving them a companion pass after a single purchase on a new Chase Southwest card plus a sign up bonus of 40,000-60,000 Southwest points. Reader Eric rightfully pointed out some worrying fine print that states (found after clicking offer terms):
- Only the individual who received this email/offer from Southwest Airlines® is eligible for this promotion. Offer is nontransferable
There is also another restriction. It also states:
- This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new cardmember bonus for a Rapid Rewards Credit Card within the last 24 months
Now normally Chase’s exclusion will list something such as:
- This product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 month
Notice how the companion pass offer excludes you if you’re a current card member and also if you’ve received a sign up bonus on ANY rapid rewards credit card within the last 24 months. Chase normally only excludes you if you’re a current cardholder or if you’ve received a sign up bonus on that SPECIFIC card within the past 24 months. Is this evidence pointing towards Chase moving to a once per co-branded partner rule? I wouldn’t say yes definitively, I think it’s likely that Southwest want more restrictions than normal on this offer due to the companion pass being offered.
Targeted Language Not Being Enforced
I’ve contacted Chase’s media team to find out if the offer is intended to be targeted for recipients only, or if it’s open to everybody. Chase partners have been advertising this as open to public, but they haven’t been using Chase affiliate links so I am unsure how much oversight there actually is there (this comment by TPG staff states that Southwest confirmed to them all Californian residents are now targeted and it’s also showing up on the Southwest homepage when using a Californian IP address). I guess this just goes to show that you should always read the fine print. This reddit comment states that they were told by a Chase rep that the targeted language isn’t enforced, but front line reps have been known to be wrong.
Personally I’d just wait for them to remove this language to be on the safe side. I actually think the other language is much more interesting in any case.
Any update to this? I have opened the SW plus in the past 24 months, can I open the biz or premier?
For this promo? Doesn’t look like it.
My fiancée and I both live in Cali. If she refers me to credit card, will I still get the companion pass offer? Would like to see some data points if referral + companion is possible or if it’s one or the other.
Thanks!
Dan did his homework, see the screenshot he posted here:
https://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards/california-residents-open-southwest-card-get-companion-pass-123118/
We have a similar confirmation from Chase now, was just waiting for them to get back to us. As mentioned I think the one per brand section is more interesting
I can confirm that I live in California and have the offer on the home page, no targeting (or Southwest login) required. https://imgur.com/a/SKvDl
Also there is a disclaimer, once you click, specifically limiting this to California residents.
https://imgur.com/a/B8i5f
I see. But don’t you still have the fine print stating that it’s targeted when you click Offer Details? https://imgur.com/ITeCiaU
Anyway, TPG has confirmed it’s public for all CA residents (targeted to all CA residents). Hopefully we’ll get confirmation directly from Chase as well.
The other point about the 24-month rule is still interesting and matters quite a lot. Unclear if that’s a new thing which will soon roll out to all cards (and is just starting here) or if it’s for this offer specifically. Maybe it’s something that won’t be enforced.
Do they regard business card as a separate card?
This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new cardmember bonus for a Rapid Rewards Credit Card within the last 24 months
and it begins…
Yeah, they changed back to the regular Chase language. I am over 5/24 anyway, but even one flight would pay for itself. I guess they must feel the heat from the competition, but this is going to devalue the Southwest product more.
Can you show us screenshot showing what you see? I’m still seeing the “any Rapid Rewards card” language. https://imgur.com/ITeCiaU
It looks like they changed the language back to what you show in the link. I never planned on applying so didn’t save it. This would be fair to offer a companion pass as a one time only thing.
The offer is open to all California residents!
(not sure about the previous/present cardholder restrictions)
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/southwest/PlusCali?CELL=6G9Z&clk=HOMEPROMO2_CHASECPMEM171019
Click ‘offer details’ and you see the language I’m talking about:
“Only the individual who received this email/offer from Southwest Airlines® is eligible for this promotion. Offer is nontransferable”
Like I said in the post, I do believe this is a public offer for everybody in California but I’d like to see that language removed. More important is the other brand/family language.
In my version that language was removed. (I shared links to images of the offer but those are stuck in the mod queue.)