In this article
Three main news events of the day:
1) Chase launches the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card
Chase has launched it with a whopping 80,000 Rapid Rewards point bonus offer (when you spend $5,000 in 3 months)
Here’s how it earns:
- 3x points on Southwest Airlines.
- 2x on social media / search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
And the benefits:
- 9,000 bonus points each year after your Cardmember anniversary.
- 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
- Inflight WiFi Credits
- Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® Fee Credit
You are eligible for this card if you are under 5/24 even if you already have any of the other Chase Southwest credit cards. (At least that seems to be the case for now!)
And yes, the 80,000 bonus points (plus the 5,000-15,000 points you would earn from the spend to meet the bonus requirements) would all count towards the Companion Pass.
More info and how to apply
2) Qantas overhauled their frequent flyer program.
They are touting that there will be millions more available award seats for the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program going 
forward.
At first I was convinced that this would mean they were going dynamic.
They didn’t, which is fantastic.
They really are making more seats available and even lowering their fairly ridiculous award seat surcharges. But it comes with a price. While international award flights in economy are going down in price, international awards in first and business will cost more miles. Remember this only affects those redeeming with Qantas miles, not partners.
You can find a complete rundown on this program overhaul at Australian Business Traveller
3) Book Aer Lingus Awards with Alaska MileagePlan miles
You can now use your Alaska Mileage Plan miles to book award travel on Aer Lingus. Economy awards to Europe start at 30,000 miles one way and business class awards start at 60,000 miles on way. You can have a free stopover en route to your destination (per Alaska routing rules). As One Mile at a Time points out, they are also offering a quasi-dynamic mechanism for redeeming on Aer Lingus even when traditional inventory isn’t available – but for more miles, of course.
Thoughts?
Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
