Like clockwork, I’m getting a flurry of January newbie questions about what card to get. Probably a new year’s resolution thing. I guess I started doing all this in a January myself. The year was 1897 and…well, I digress…
As of today, the answer to the card question is pretty clear for noobs. If you haven’t been playing this game at all in 2016 or 2017…it’s an ideal time to go for the Southwest Companion Pass. I’ve been talking about it forever. A personal card is worth 50,000 points at the moment and a business one is good for 60,000. That can change, but as of this post, the pass is yours through the end of 2019 if you can get both of those bonuses. Hard to beat. Your mom, cousin, boyfriend, girlfriend, buddy, or mail order bride can fly with you for free. Anyone you designate as your companion. It’s still the best deal going in domestic travel.
Obviously, this post doesn’t apply to non-newbies. If you’ve gotten more than 5 credit cards in the last two years, Chase isn’t your friend (with only a few exceptions).
