Update: This offer is no longer available.
There is a lot of buzz about Chase Southwest Visa with a limited time sign-up offer of 50000 Rapid Rewards after 2000 dollars in spending. And for a good reason: it’s a terrific value for a family like mine. But what about AirTran visa, that promises 32 credits or 2 free roundtrip flights in economy ?
AirTran is being taken over by Southwest, so this card will go away sometime soon. I always give priority to a credit card, that is about to disappear. So, I decided to investigate further. First, my requirement for a bonus is at least 350 dollars in value. Let’s take a look.
I am planning a trip to Niagara Falls next June and will need to get 6 roundtrip tickets there. AirTran flies nonstop from Florida to Buffalo, perfect. I also will be able to use my Rapid Rewards from Southwest to book AirTran flights, so we can mix and match reward points.
So, I signed up for a free frequent flyer account to search AirTran award availability. I have discovered that there are almost no economy award tickets available on most dates. However, there are plenty of business class seats for 16 credits one way.
So, the bonus most likely would give someone in my situation 1 roundtrip flight in business class after paying 69 dollar annual fee (not waived). The economy flight to Buffalo from our airport runs around 200 dollars roundtrip.
Because it’s somewhat short at around 2.5 hours, I maybe would pay 50 dollars roundtrip to upgrade, but no more. So the real value to me would be 250 dollars minus 69 dollar fee, or 181 dollars total sign-up bonus .
This card also comes with some business class upgrades, but I am not sure, I would utilize those, although some might. Also, for longer , more expensive flights, some may get more value out of sign-up bonus, so do some research to see for yourself.
But as it stands, it’s not worth it to me to apply for this card, since the bonus value is only 181 dollars, well short of 350 dollar benchmark. Because I am very selective about Chase cards, I will reluctantly pass.
If you need more information on this card, go to this discussion on Flyertalk. I get no commission on this offer. Here is the LINK
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
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@ Nguyen Thanks for the compliment! You add a fair point, and I am aware of the conversion. The reason, I did not mention it, is because my requirement is: guaranteed availability on the dates I have chosen. When you convert to Southwest, the award availability is not great through that particular scheme. But yes, its a good point and something I should have added.
I loved your interview w/MMS. I just want to add that you can convert these AirTran credits to SW credits which effectively gives you two RT tickets with SouthWest. Thanks.
Thanks! I actually think this card makes sense for a lot of folks, just not for me at this time.
Reasonable way of investigation. I agree.