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In late 2023, Southwest Airlines finally entered the 21st century. Until then, booking Southwest flights through travel portals like Chase, American Express, and Citi required an old-school approach: picking up the phone and calling.
Now that Southwest flights populate in the Chase Travel℠ portal, it’s worth understanding why this functionality matters — and what to watch for before making a reservation. This way, you can avoid a headache and put your points to the best use possible.
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Two Ways to Use Chase Points for Southwest Flights
Since Southwest is a Chase transfer partner, you can convert Ultimate Rewards points into Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. These transfers are usually instant, which makes it easy to book flights directly with Southwest using points.
But Chase also offers another way to redeem points for Southwest flights: booking through the Chase Travel portal. In many cases, transferring points provides better value, but there are some scenarios where using the portal is worth considering. And we'll show you when that is.
Related: Can You Book Low-Cost Carriers With Amex, Capital One, Chase, or Citi Points?
When Booking Southwest Flights Through Chase Travel Makes Sense
One major advantage of booking Southwest flights through Chase Travel is that the ticket counts as a revenue fare, meaning you’ll earn Rapid Rewards points when you fly.
For Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders, using the portal can also provide outsized value. Points are redeemable at 1.5 cents each, which in some cases beats the value you'll otherwise unlock by transferring points. Ordinarily, AwardWallet users redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points for 1.52¢ apiece, though this value can fluctuate.
But to showcase an example, let's look at this Los Angeles (LAX) to Denver (DEN) flight. If you book directly through Southwest, the Wanna Get Away fare costs 10,747 Rapid Rewards points plus $5.60 — or $155 if you book it wholly with cash.
That's a redemption rate of about 1.39 cents per point — which is less than the 1.5 cents per point you’d get as a Sapphire Reserve holder by booking Southwest flights through the portal.
Depending on the flight, booking with Chase could still provide a reasonable value for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders, who could redeem points at 1.25¢ apiece in the portal.
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
If you only have a no-annual-fee Chase card, your only option is to book Southwest flights through the portal. Transfers to Southwest (or other partners for that matter) aren’t an option — unless you also have one of the aforementioned Ultimate Rewards-earning cards.
Related: Benefits of Booking Flights via the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal
The Catch: Chase Travel Prices May Be Higher
The convenience of booking Southwest flights through Chase Travel comes with a catch: flights are sometimes more expensive than what Southwest charges directly.
Take this flight from Chicago Midway (MDW) to Las Vegas (LAS) as an example. If you book directly on Southwest’s website, the 6:30 p.m. flight (Flight 2126) is priced at $93.
The exact same flight through Chase Travel costs $138 — a $45 markup!
But it's worth noting that not every flight is overpriced, though. The LAX-DEN flight we looked at earlier was the same $155 whether booked through Chase or Southwest.
The takeaway? Always compare prices before redeeming your points.
Booking directly also offers more flexibility
Beyond potential price differences, booking directly with Southwest provides more flexibility. For instance, if you use Rapid Rewards points to book directly with Southwest, you can cancel at any time and get the points refunded to your Rapid Rewards account. If the fare drops after booking, you can rebook at the lower price and get the difference in points back.
With Chase Travel, cancellations typically result in a future travel credit with an expiration date rather than a refund of points. That makes direct bookings the safer bet if there’s any chance your plans might change.
Related: How To Reprice Your Flights and Hotels To Save Money
Bottom Line
Booking Southwest flights through the Chase Travel portal is a good option in some situations, especially for those who want to earn Rapid Rewards points on a booking or don’t have a Chase card that allows point transfers.
But you shouldn't proceed without caution. Some flights in the Chase portal are priced higher than what Southwest charges directly — and the change and cancellation policies are far less flexible. Before booking, compare the cost of transferring points versus redeeming through the portal. In some cases, it’s a great deal. In others, you’re better off booking direct.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $120 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
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