[Ruby22]

Hi everyone!

I did a search on the forums and couldn't really find what I was looking for- so I thought I'd pose this question.

I recently moved to the midwest from California for graduate school. I got an offer in the mail for the Southwest Rapids Rewards Chase credit card. At the very least, I fly home once a year to visit for the hoildays, and will be flying back to California at least 3 times this year.

The credit card has a fee of $39 a year and offers a (somewhat confusing) system:

For every $1 you spend on the card for other purchases you get 1 Reward dollar. Those Reward dollars amount to "Rapid Reward" points that equal $1200 for one RR credit. If you have 16 credits in 24 months you get a free roundtrip flight.

I'm wondering, if I spend about $800 a month (to pay for groceries, car stuff, school books, etc.) and pay the credit card off each month, I should earn a free roundtrip flight in 2 years or sooner since you get more points for paying for SW flights on the card....but is this a good idea?

I hope my math is right and would appreciate the input.... I don't want to open up a credit card if it's going to be more hassle than it's worth or mess up my credit score. Anyone have experience with these cards? THANKS!

 

[Nishu]

We have that card only ours is a $59 fee. I don't have any complaints about it and we've got two free tickets so far. We got ours because we were traveling a lot by air last year and I wanted to pay all my dental bills on it. We also only fly SW.

For the amount of time it's going to take you to earn a ticket, I'd say it's going to be more trouble than it's worth. If you normally fly SW then getting extra points won't cost you anything extra, but SW tickets are usually more expensive than other airlines so it may cost you more than you'd normally spend. Plus you have to take into account that you're going to be paying that $39 fee 2 or 3 times before you get your rewards.

If you need a credit card to build credit, you can find ones that have rewards and no annual fee.

 

[Ruby22]

Thanks for the response! I think you're totally right- I think it'd be better to shop around for a ticket and get the best price, instead of feeling obligated to use SW so I can earn that free ticket....after 2 years, lol.

I have a rewards credit card now, so I think I'll just stick with that- no annual fee and cashback...so perhaps I'll just use *that* cashback towards the purchase of my next flight! hahah. Thanks again!